If you don't like the answer, reframe the question.
It's Friday and we're lookin' to have some fun...
So we're going to indulge in focusing on a weird little 'niche within a niche,' from a relatively small news story.
GameStop just announced a partnership with crypto exchange, FTX, in the hopes of bridging the divide between the broader gaming community, and crypto.
...the idea being that, if GameStop can get its customers excited about crypto, they might start buying the NFT collectibles they're pushing.
The 'niche within a niche' that we are going to dig into is 'Skeuomorphism'...which is:
A word you can use to impress your graphic/product design friends.
A term for items that resemble their real-world counterparts.
For example, in the early days of the iPhone, app thumbnails often used skeuomorphic imagery.
Then, once we all got used to navigating our smart phones, they flattened things out. Check out the Newsstand App transformation:
Skeuomorphism is a great way to get people used to new technology - it takes what we're used to, and applies it to new concepts.
So...what does this have to do with GameStop and FTX?
The broader gaming community haven't exactly welcomed crypto, and NFT sales never really took off for GameStop.
In an attempt to remedy this, GS will soon be selling FTX crypto gift cards in-store - so their customers can explore the world of NFTs, using something they're already familiar with.
Old concept → introducing the new. That's skeuomorphism baaaby!
(Sort of, technically it's a little off - but just let us have this one, ok?)
Sure, this change alone probably isn't going to be the spark to light a crypto-gaming revolution...hell, it may have no impact at all.
But the way it re-frames the pitch to gamers, is genius.
Before:
'Use decentralized cryptocurrencies to purchase unique digital collectibles, verified on-chain using non-fungible tokens'.
(New, scary, confusing)
After:
'Use gift cards to buy digital collectibles.'
(Simple, familiar, easy to understand)
Will it win gamers over? No idea ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
But we admire their game plan (accidental pun, leaving it in).
