Atari – Patches and Blockchain

TL;DR

Atari announced limited-edition patches, made available on blockchain powered marketplace DYLI.

Atari Patches – Powered by Blockchain

Atari is dropping collectible patches, as announced on Medium. Limited to 500, Patch Packs are available to purchase via DYLI.

Each pack includes one patch, plus a chance to receive a bonus item. The extras include stickers, a gift card for Atari.com or a sticker signed by Atari Co-Founder Nolan Bushnell.

Noted in the announcement FAQ, this is not a pre-order. All patch packs are ready for shipment. Under section “Is this an NFT?”, it’s listed that “each patch pack is a tangible, physical product not a digital-only asset”.

I love a good video game related collectible. And patches are a fun way to bring physicality into our increasingly all-digital gaming ecosystems. However, admittedly I wouldn’t have written a blog post on this alone.

What intrigued me was this last bit of FAQ. Specifically, that these patches were for a physical product and not a digital-only asset. The announcement itself speaks at some length on Atari’s history with issuing patches for Atari Club membership, packing them with collector’s edition cartridges and for other notable events. Nothing would have really indicated anything other than this being a sale of old school patches.

Only when reviewing earlier FAQ entries is there any indication there is more here than simply ordering a patch. Sections noting ‘Opening Patch Packs’, Holding, Trading and Relisting Patch Packs(s)’ and ‘Will I pay shipping if I elect to redeem my patch pack(s)’ are not questions I typically have when ordering a video game keepsake.

Old Meets New (Meets Old)

The key lies in Atari’s means of distribution. DYLI (Do You Like It?) describes itself as a platform that utilizes blockchain for authenticity and trading purposes.

It’s funny. Depending on whether I’m reading DYLI’s About page or Atari’s Medium post, I walk away with 2 very different interpretations of what’s being purchased with each Patch Pack. Or better put, that you come at this from totally different directions, yet perhaps end at the same place?

DYLI specifies that “collectors purchase digital drops for exclusive products”. Emphasis is placed on the digital aspect of purchase. This can then be redeemed for a physical good if you so choose.

As noted earlier, the Atari announcement clearly states that a patch pack is a tangible item and not digital-only. Though they are clear to note specifics regarding opening and redemption of the packs.

The Atari announcement minimizes the blockchain connection here, instead highlighting the tangibility of what’s being purchased. I have to imagine this is due to the negative sentiment the gaming community has shown towards initiatives to integrate blockchain into our favorite pastime.

Atari meets Blockchain, meets patches. We’ve come full circle.

My (Surprisingly) Positive Take

Admittedly I know little about Web3 or Blockchain. I enjoy throwing a log into a steam engine to power up my video game consoles.

NFTs, in and of themselves, have zero interest to me. An item has value based on demand for that item. If people place high demand on an exclusive frog picture that is digitally signed as a 1-of-1, I won’t argue that it doesn’t actually have value. But for me, I just can’t comprehend how that picture has value when it is infinitely reproducible. I understand this may be true in the same way you can purchase a print or facsimile of the Mona Lisa. However, in that example you’re not laying eyes on the same paint laid out with the same brushstrokes as the original. They are in fact different. For digital froggy, you are indeed seeing the same exact pixels in the same exact way, whether it’s the true original or not. Again, just my opinion.

That being said, this Web3 application of Blockchain is one that I can actually get behind. Or at least one that’s not quite so obtuse to me. You’re buying a patch. You get a patch. Blockchain is used to facilitate selling the patch should you choose. If you do, the creator earns a royalty on the re-sale and the new buyer knows that they are getting a genuine article.

Granted, this is likely only the case so long as you don’t redeem your non-NFT NFT for the actual patch. While Atari notes that ‘packs will be held in your DYLI account indefinitely until you elect to redeem them or relist them for sale’, I have concerns for what happens should the marketplace go bust while you’re waiting to hit the lottery with an Atari patch re-sale. But I see this as an innocuous and unintrusive way for Blockchain and Web3 to impact gaming. And I like old school patches. So, not so bad.