Video games
A report published by UKIE points out that British consumers spent 45.6 million pounds (over 50 million euros) in 2020 on streaming and video content related to video games. This category includes the turnover of creators on platforms such as Twitch, YouTube, Facebook Gaming and many others.In other words, British players have supported streamers and content creators by spending a total of over 45 million. pounds, a turnover higher than that linked to books and magazines dedicated to video games (10.5 million pounds), films and soundtracks, the latter a business of 22.9 billion pounds. The toys and merchandising sector, on the other hand, shot upwards with 119.6 million pounds and an annual growth of 22.4%.
The other sectors mentioned as books and magazines and films and soundtracks recorded a decrease of 24.5% respectively. % and 22.2% compared to 2019. The related business segment and exhibitions, fairs and events loses 97% and generates revenues of 249,000 pounds in 2020, a figure that is not surprising since all the live events have been interrupted due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The "Streaming and Video Content" sector was monitored by UKIE for the first time only last year and therefore there are no references to previous years. refer only to the British market.
NFTs could bridge video games and the fashion industry
Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) offer new ways for consumers to collect, wear and trade fashion online, and now that most fashion shows have scaled back or gone virtual, they may become an important tool for the industry.
Because some of the most profitable NFTs are produced by celebrities with teams, it makes sense that music corporations, fashion brands and designers are venturing into the NFT market as well. Just this month, sneaker brand RTFKT Studios garnered $3.1 million in seven minutes by selling crypto collectibles. In December 2020, NFT startup Enjin partnered with Netherlands-based fashion house The Fabricant on a virtual collection. Real-life fashion brands use NFTs for marketing in virtual worlds like Minecraft, plus several Atari and Microsoft video games.
The fundamental value NFTs offer to bridge virtual fashion items with video games is the option to secure custody of the item for use in other games or mobile apps.
“Brands are coming up with some creative solutions because the pandemic is persistent, and fashion is something that is so close to our identities,” said Bryana Kortendick, Enjin’s VP of operations and communications. “You can snap a photo of yourself wearing your Atari-branded NFTs. You’ll also be able to wear them in video games.”
Breakout NFT star Beeple said he imagines a future where fashion NFTs could be redeemed for specific items in physical stores, especially at luxury retailers like his former client Louis Vuitton.
“You can relate NFTs to clothing in new and interesting ways,” he said. “This will be seen as the next chapter of digital art history. This is a continuation of digital art history that started decades ago, by that I mean art made on a computer and distributed through the internet.”
Fashion designers like Schirin Negahbani are already creating NFTs that represent actual clothing. Precisely because multimillion-dollar NFT sales are breaking records, spectators have been prompted to question the role speculative trading plays in this trend.
Textile designer Amber J. Dickinson says fashionable NFTs shouldn’t primarily be viewed as speculative trading opportunities. “The way I think fashion translates to the digital world is to view an NFT as a collectible piece of the garment for history,” said Dickinson, known for hand-made silk scarves and her work with Alexander McQueen. “I would only buy art as a piece that I liked. Whether digital or in the real world, I don’t take an investor’s point of view.”
There are many fashion fans who disagree with Dickinson, preferring to invest through assets like Birkin bags. They may have a different approach to NFTs. The DIGITALAX crypto fashion platform, for example, is being built with a plethora of trading features. As for Dickinson, she said she is still looking for her tribe of crypto-savvy artists on Twitter.