It is an interesting time for NFT enthusiasts. After a meteoric rise over the last couple of years, the market crashed to a 12-month low in June. What once seemed like the future is now passé. However, there’s still those clinging to the controversial concepts of NFT games and Web3 technologies.
Web3 company Polium have announced a new video game console – the Polium One. It is intended to bring NFT games under one roof by centralising games from numerous different blockchains.
What’s more, the company is touting unbelievable specs and performance from the console. This has lead fans to speculate that it is the latest in a long-line of NFT related scams. And it’s easy to see why.
What is the Polium One?
The Polium One is a video game console that will allegedly support Web3 games from different ‘blockchains’ – the ledger tech behind NFTs and cryptocurrencies. Included blockchains are: Ethereum, Solana, Polygon, BNB, ImmutableX, Harmony, EOS, and WAX.
Web3 is the theoretical successor to the current World Wide Web (AKA Web 2.0). If realised, it will be built around decentralisation, blockchain technologies and token-based economics.
Polium’s website stated that the console would be capable of 8K HDR gaming up to 120fps. But in reality, it is basically impossible with present tech. However, since being called out on Twitter, their website now states 4K Ultra HD up to 120fps. A change like that is suspicious to say the least.
The company are saying the console will also include the following features:
Multi-chain wallet for trading, swapping and bridging.
Download games, metaverses and apps.
Buy & Trade NFTs and In-Game Items.
Check leaderboards, transactions and game activity.
Stay connected with your friends with messaging and voice chat.
Polium One website.
Interestingly, the Polium One’s logo is alarmingly reminiscent of the Nintendo Gamecube’s. This has caused many to speculate that the company has simply copied Nintendo. Take a look for yourself, it’s easy to see the similarities.
The video game community has responded by ridiculing the console and suggesting it is not legitimate.
Twitter users were also quick to point out that Polium had originally billed their fingerprint scanner as “Touch ID”, a registered Apple trademark. User @Rhysmorgan wrote: “And they’ve completely stolen Apple’s Touch ID name and logo. I’m sure Apple’s lawyers will be *very* keen to shut these liars down.”
Polium One Controller
The Polium Once console will also come with its own unique controller.
The controller plays into the NFT gimmick with the inclusion of a Wallet button and a fingerprint scanner for security purposes. As a result, it is clear the new console is being built with players spending cryptocurrency in mind. As if microtransactions and loot boxes weren’t bad enough…
The controller will include the following features:
Fingerprint Scanner
Wallet button to quickly access your wallet while in a game.
Haptic Feedback
Headphone jack to voice chat.
Sensitive touchpad.
Polium One website.
Polium One Release Date
Polium say the Polium One console will be available in 2024.
How To Get A Polium One
Most dubious of all is the method through which customers can secure a Polium One pre-order. To bag yourself a console, you must first buy a Polium Pass NFT of which only 10,000 will be minted.
According to the company, the Polium Pass entitles holders to a free Polium One console that can be claimed on launch day.
Is the Polium One Console a Scam?
Making customers purchase an un-regulated NFT to pre-order the console is a shady way of doing business.
Recently, so-called NFT “rug pulls” have become a popular online scam. They involve individuals selling NFTs related to a project only to discontinue the project and take the money once the sales period has ended.
It’s clear how the Polium One could be one such scam. Simply build up hype for a console using false promises (such as 8K 120fps gaming) to sell pre-order guaranteeing NFTs and then run off with the proceeds without ever launching the console.
Even if the console isn’t a scam, that doesn’t mean buying the Polium Pass NFT is a good idea. Say the project fails naturally (due to funding or distribution issues, for example), Polium Pass owners will still be out of pocket.
There is simply no way to guarantee the security of your purchase in a project like this – even if it has legitimate intentions.
Despite criticism, Polium remain resolute in their belief that Web3 and NFT games are the future.
On Twitter, they wrote: “A lot of criticism and mixed reviews. Web 3 Gaming will be the future.” To reassure potential customers that the project isn’t a scam, they added: “We will have a functional prototype ready before we take any pre-orders or funding.”
Do you think NFT games are the future? Let us know in the comment section below and don’t forget to check out our other gaming articles…
