Now when I look at things like PFPs and memberships, they’re a bit like neighborhood access cards: once you get one, it’s definitely more convenient and it gives you a bit of identity—but if you want it to truly be worth something long-term, it still comes down to whether there are ongoing services and rules that actually keep running after you get in. Put simply, a brand isn’t about how good your avatar looks; it’s about whether people are willing to keep playing the same “voting + incentives” game—and whether it stays fun instead of feeling uncomfortable.

Lately, those “chain game crash/implosion” breakdowns are also pretty telling: once inflation shows up, once studios start moving in, and once token prices begin spiraling, people’s attention gets whiplashed—hot today, gone tomorrow. If PFPs rely only on “bringing in new users and handing out treats,” then in the end it’s basically the same storyline, just with a different skin.

I’m actually not against short-term attention—who doesn’t want excitement… but it’s annoying when you see a bunch of membership systems turning themselves into “you have to check in every day or you’ll be at a loss.” If memberships were like gym memberships, at least you wouldn’t have to lift weights every day just to prove you still deserve to be a member. Anyway, what I care about more right now is whether the exit mechanisms and the distribution are explained in plain, human language—otherwise, no matter how expensive the avatar is, it’s at most just a pretty-looking “emotional tax.”