All old-school gamers respect the Atari brand. While those born post-1990 grew up playing games on Sony and Microsoft consoles, people raised in the 1980s have a bond with products created by this California-based developer. Its importance cannot be overstated, as they were the company responsible for the first-ever home console. The Atari 2600, released in 1977, is the granddaddy of them all. It popularized microprocessor-based hardware and ROM storage cartridges while introducing the world to legendary titles like Combat, Asteroids, Pong, and Pac-Man.
Just as Atari revolutionized video gaming back in the 1980s, they now have their sights on the crypto sphere, trying to kick up a storm by launching a branded gambling platform. Rumors regarding their entry into this industry have been circling since around November. However, Atari officially announced its intentions in March of 2021. Frederic Chesnais, Atari SA’s Chief Executive Officer, believes that the move will revitalize the firm and lead to younger generations getting familiar with this historic developer.
For their debut effort, the company will try to leverage the Atari brand along with Decentral games. The two will collaborate on the platform that should launch in May of 2021 on the Ethereum blockchain. In light of the newly established partnership, Decentral released a statement in which they claimed that they look forward to developing Atari-themed games that combine luck and skill and will accept different casino crypto deposits. For more detailed information about crypto casinos, check out the most secure and trusted platform of Cryptogamble.
What is Decentraland?
According to Atari’s March press release, their branded casino will get constructed in Vegas City, in the gaming section of the Decentraland metaverse. The company struck a deal that entails a two-year lease agreement with Decentral Games.
Created in 2015, Decentraland is a 3D world, visually similar to that of Minecraft, on the Ethereum-based blockchain platform. It divides into many parcels known as LAND, which users can buy via an ERC20 token. Each LAND-owner gets total freedom to do what he wishes with his digital lot and attain all the income generated by his creations on it. Users can build, purchase, and monetize virtual reality applications in this universe.
In August of 2017, Decentraland completed its initial coin offering, raising around $24 million in digital funds. 20% of this amount got distributed to partners and the community, while 20% got retained by the Decentraland foundation. Users got to purchase LAND via two initial auctions held in December 2017 and 2018. In the secondary market, LAND sales happen at the discretion of the parcel owners.
Atari Is Targeting the NFT Market
Patrons of Atari’s crypto casino will be able to earn $DG (Decentral Games’ native token) by using Dai, Mana, and Atari’s token. DJ Dillion Francis should perform at the platform’s launch, and during it, Decentral claims that it will give away exclusive NFT prizes. Per both companies’ statements, they expect to see user activity generate up to $150 million in bets in 2021, and this number should rise by $250 million in 2023.
NFTs or non-fungible tokens are provably unique digital assets that contain identifying information in smart contracts. You cannot divide, swap, or duplicate them as no two are alike. It is this distinctiveness that leads to NFT’s digital scarcity. Bitcoin, on the other hand, is a fungible token. It is divisible.
NFTs have many uses, including in-game tokens, objects that can prove the ownership of digital items, and so on. In essence, they represent ownership deeds to a verifiably scarce digital commodity.
Atari is looking to tap into this booming market by partnering with blockchain platform Enjin to launch NFTs from The Fabricant, the famous digital fashion house. The Enjin deal also makes room for other game developers to churn out Atari-branded crypto products.
On April 6th of 2021, Atari announced the creation of its blockchain division. It is a company segment that will develop technology such as Bitcoin provably fair games and cryptocurrencies. In a statement, it emphasized that the company hopes to move in a new direction by evaluating its opportunities in the NFT sphere and blockchain-based online worlds.
Recently, the NFT market has generated sizeable interest, as people like Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban and actress Lindsay Lohan have ventured into purchasing NFTs. An example of this niche is NBA Top Shot. These are packs of official NBA-licensed highlights that get released in limited supply, creating a sense of scarcity, thereby upping their value.
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To Sum Up
In the past three years, crypto gambling has exploded in popularity. However, unlike most big-brand operators, Atari has taken a more novel approach to chance-based games by exploring virtual worlds. Its gaming platform should open around May of this year in the Ethereum-based Decentraland. It is a move with which the company hopes to appeal to younger demographics who already understand online-based universes.
About the Author
Shelly Schiff has been working in the gambling industry since 2009, mainly on the digital side of things, employed by OnlineUnitedStatesCasinos.com. However, over her eleven-year career, Shelly has provided content for many other top interactive gaming websites. She knows all there is to know about slots and has in-depth knowledge of the most popular table games. Her golden retriever Garry occupies most of her leisure time. Though, when she can, she loves reading Jim Thompson-like crime novels.
