Clicker gaming on Steam has become a sizzling topic recently with the inclusion of some of the most popular games on the platform. “Banana” has become a sensation for its NFT-like prizes, which can be sold on the Steam marketplace for over $1,000. However, the click phenomenon has sparked debate among members of the cryptocurrency community about the state of crypto and online gaming.
Peeling Clicker Game Sensation on Steam
Banana is an indie game on Steam that involves clicking on an image of a banana to get rewards. While it’s not the first of its kind, its players are rewarded with digital bananas every few hours. The rewards can range from regular bananas worth pennies to infrequent bananas that can sell for up to $1,300.
The free-to-play game made headlines after surpassing some of the most popular titles on the platform. Banana overtook Elder Ring and Baldur’s Gate 3 on the list of most played games. The clicker game took second place after Counter-Strike 2.
At the time of writing, the game remains the fourth most played game on Steam, with over 344,000 current players and a peak of 578,000 in the last 24 hours. Moreover, it reached a record 917,000 players earlier this month.
However, the simplicity of the game caused concern among players. Many believed that the clicker game contained malware that turned devices into cryptocurrency miners. Others wondered if the game was some kind of cheating.
One of Banana’s creators, Hery, has denied the accusations. Hery told news site Polygon that it was “just a stupid game” with Bananas, not a scam.
Many users also speculated whether the game was related to NFTs and cryptocurrencies, as it resembled NFTs but without blockchain technology. A member of the Banana team explained that “Banan does not want to have anything to do with cryptocurrencies.”
They explained that the game had no intention of integrating crypto because it didn’t “mix well” with Steam. They further emphasized that it started as “a stupid game where you could collect some bananas on your Steam profile.”
Are crypto and Web3 games becoming more popular?
While Banana has no plans to integrate with the cryptocurrency industry, the game has sparked several conversations among the community. Several members took the opportunity to discuss its implications for online gaming.
The user highlighted the game’s popularity despite its plain mechanics, suggesting that the industry doesn’t need “AAA games” to explode. Several community members agreed and he suggested There is a misconception about the type of games needed in web3.
While complicated and super action games are believed to be the only option, “guys just want to have fun and score points,” said user X. Apparently, many felt the industry was “making it even more complicated than it already is.” .
Some users be careful that Banana and similar games could support web3 gaming. The quality of the game’s memes has been cited as a potential catalyst for wider adoption.
Similarly, this week Avalanche Gaming discussed the implications of Banana for its Gamified Show. According to Paul Bettner, game developer and co-founder of Playful Studios, Banana could be an escape into the larger world of crypto gaming.
For Bettner, “the behavior that we all love and participate in web3 as degents and native web3 and crypto users is actually universal.” The game creator, observing the evolution of the click phenomenon on Steam noticed that users are “a group of degenerates who don’t yet know they are degenerates.”
Ultimately, he believes that “people learn to degenerate.” If most of these users knew “what a wallet or blockchain is, they would realize they could do it on a scale 1,000 times larger than blockchain.”
Featured image is from Unsplash.com, chart is from TradingView.com
