Polium’s NFT/Web3 game console plan meets with plenty of skepticism

Web 3.0 company Polium’s plan to make the world’s first “multi-chain gaming console” to support games across different blockchains is an ambitious goal that has met a chorus of skepticism. 

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Fast facts

• Polium, a startup that first announced its plans in a June 26 blog post, said it aims to release the Polium One console to the public in 2025, but will make it available in 2024 to gamers who buy a Polium Pass, an NFT on the Ethereum network, of which 10,000 will be sold.

• The console seeks to streamline and integrate blockchain gaming, bringing games from chains such as ImmutableX, Solana, and Ethereum to one place, without users needing to create multiple wallets and switch chains while playing or trading assets. 

• Cyber hackers have targeted blockchain gaming in the past, but Polium says its controller will include a TouchID-like function for security, requiring a user to scan their fingerprint each time they sign in, power on their console, or make a transaction.

• Polium’s bold plans to release a prototype this year has met with doubters, and Video Games Chronicle reported the company had only four employees working on the project.

• The Polium Discord channel is home to some trolls and users calling the project a scam, and the company’s logo has been memed on social media for appearing eerily similar to an upside-down Nintendo GameCube logo.

• In a statement on Polium’s official Twitter handle, Polium addressed the “criticism and mixed reviews,” and said they did not copy Nintendo’s GameCube logo but that they will illustrate “a new logo that is original.” 

• It is not yet clear which games will be available on Polium, with the company stating they are “in talks with different Web 3 Game Developers” and will make some announcements soon.

• According to Zion Market Research, the gaming industry garnered revenue of nearly US$201 billion in 2021 and is expected to more than double by 2028. 

• The metaverse market is expected to surpass US$500 billion over that same time period, according to a study by Global Market Insights.

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