ICO Spotlight | NITRO – Disrupting the Video-Games Economy

kryptonaut (57)in #nitro • 7 years ago (edited)

I’ve seen a lot of NITRO marketing recently and it has apparently working its magic because soon after I found myself downloading and reading their whitepaper.

The one ad that specifically caught my eye is this image where they claim that they will bring 348 million unique users to cryptocurrency through their network:

Nikita Nitro.png

Ooops. That’s NITRO’s Head of Communications (I wonder if they call her NITRO Nikita in the office). I better save the pic in case I need to um…reference it for later.

Here is the pic that I’m talking about:

nitro ad.jpg

348 million users is NOT a trivial number. Just who does NITRO think they are? This made me even more curious because I love shooting holes in marketing sorcery.

So here’s the skinny (bear with me): icandy interactive is backing NITRO and is helping facilitate NITRO’s entrance into the video game market economy. icandy recently acquired Animoca brands along with their 325 million unique smartphone user base. In addition to icandy’s 23 million network, that makes a network of 348 million unique smart phone users that NITRO will work their ass off to convert to their platform.

Phew. Ok, I’ll buy that claim. Even if they convert 10% that’s still one hell of an ready built economy ready to use NITRO. Advantage: NITRO.

Before we get into the nitty gritty of NITRO’s value proposition I want to say that NITRO is fitting for a video game company. “NITRO Retirement Home” just doesn’t have the same gravitas. It also reminds me of the old Monday night Pro Wrestling days on TNT when I was a young gamer.

nitro wrestling.jpg

Ok, enough fun and games…wait, NITRO is about fun and games (I’m obviously having too much fun writing this review) Let’s get down to business.

NITRO: VIDEO GAME MARKET SAVIOR

NITRO has identified several challenges within the video game economy that they are trying to solve:

Video game market is an oligopoly, dominated by big players.
Video game market is fragmented and inefficient.
Video game studios have a difficult time accessing funding.

All three are constricting the video game market from its full potential, but #3 is where NITRO really believes it can make the most impact by leveraging blockchain technology to give anyone the opportunity to partake in the video games economy.

NITRO IS A PLATFORM

Think of NITRO is a platform. NITRO will issue a cryptocurrency token called NOS. NOX token holders will be able to easily buy, research, vote, and fund promising video games.

It gets better: NITRO will have a revenue sharing model for 20%, up to a maximum period of 5 years. On the NOX holder side, 40% will be earmarked to replenish funding for games and the other 60% will be held in Vault and may be distributed as rewards to NOX holders from time to time as rewards. Here is their illustration nitro ecosystem.png

Don’t think a small investment will make a difference? Think again. Everything counts. Just ask a start-up cofounder that is trying to raise funds to make sure operations has enough working capital to survive. 25% of new businesses die due to lack of working capital.

NITRO’s goal is to allow the average person to partake as much as they can afford AND get rewarded for their efforts for backing profitable games.

Lastly, the NITRO platform will also act as a social media hub where it will connect gamers, game studios and other types of stakeholders to increase efficient communication and transactions.

NOX UTILITY

NOX will be the life-blood on NITRO’s platform. In addition to being a tradable cryptocurrency, NOX will have other utility:

Instantly distribute income to game studios from in-game purchases. Currently game developers only receive income form major app stores after 30-60 days.
Levy lower transaction fee on in-game purchases of virtual items. Game developers will receive higher percentage of revenue from in-game purchases. Currently, game developers are levied 30% fee by major app stores.
Publish open API and NITRO Software Development Kit (SDK), to allow stakeholders to easily connect to the NITRO market[lace and use NOX as default in-game currency to transact. Game developers will be able to use open API and SDK to intergrate their games with NITRO, so that NOX can be used as in-game currency to purchase virtual items. Gamers will then be able to browse the NITRO marketplace API to use NOX as in-game currency to buy and trade virtual items.
Gamers will also earn NOX by doing marketplace activities requested by game studios/marketing companies such as feedback and surveys.

CROWDSALE DETAILS

TOKEN: NOX

CIRCULATION: 60,000,000 at Crowdsale

TOTAL CIRCULATION: 120,000,000

ACCEPTED CURRENCY: Ethereum (ETH) and Bitcoin (BTC)

COUNTRY RESTRICTIONS?: N/A

MIN ACCEPTED: 5 ETH required for 30% bonus during Pre-sale

ICO PHASE	BONUS	EXCHANGE RATE
Pre-Sale (NOV 19-23)	30%	1 ETH = 800 NOX (equivalent in BTC)
Crowdsale (DEC 1-26) 1st Hour	25%	1 ETH = 800 NOX (equivalent in BTC)
Crowdsale (DEC 1-26) 2nd-3rd Hour	15%	1 ETH = 800 NOX (equivalent in BTC)
Crowdsale (DEC 1-26) 4th-Onward	0%	1 ETH = 800 NOX (equivalent in BTC)

PROCEED DISTRIBUTION

AREA	PERCENT
Funding Games	60%
Operations	10%
Marketing	10%
Platform Development	10%
Working Capital	10%

ROADMAP

DATE	MILESTONE
NOV 2017	NITRO Crowdsale
FEB 2018	Game Funding Platform Beta
MAR 2018	Game Funding Platform Launch
APR 2018	NITRO Marketplace Test: Feedback & community functions ready
JUN 2018	Marketplace Alpha: Pre-Launch cycle ready
SEP 2018	Marketplace Beat: Launch cycle ready
NOV 2018	Marketplace Live
FEB 2019	Marketplace Network Beta
APR 2019	Marketplace Network Live

FINAL THOUGHTS

Perhaps NITRO's real value and greatest advantage is their team which brings a wealth of experience from already being successful in the industry with iCandy Interactive. If you look at NITRO's website and scroll down to their NITRO team section you will find an impressive list of people that are familiar with the video game industry.

Here is a great quote:

“If you give a good idea to a mediocre team, they will screw it up. If you give a mediocre idea to a brilliant team, they will either fix it or throw it away and come up with something better.”
― Ed Catmull, Creativity, Inc.: Overcoming the Unseen Forces That Stand in the Way of True Inspiration

Investors put a lot of weight into assessing the management team. NITRO's management team certainly checks that box. It can also check the box on marketing as it is apparent they know marketing is also a key factor for success. Let us not forget that 348 million unique and loyal smartphone users to convert is a icing on the cake.

In sum, the NITRO platform has all the ingredients to make a great business recipe. It has considered benefits for both the gamer and game developer side and the video game market is only going to grow. Don't sleep on this one.