I suspect this is the kind of thing Paramount were like, "NFTs can make us money, do something Star Trek" and despite them being 100% opposite to what Trek stands for, they've gotta do what their paymasters demand.
Or that's what I like to think. Otherwise... fuck em.
Yep, I suspect that's exactly what happened. Big parent company is gonna do what it's gonna do and jump onto the latest bandwagon. It's a surefire thing, they can't lose!
Well, whenever these things are announced, I always notice a pattern and it's the same every single time. It never fails:
1. The NFT announcement and pledge, accompanied by loads of buzzwords about how much value they'll bring to the customer.
2. The following uproar and backlash.
3. The assurances by the company that this is the future, that they really are a great value, and that anyone against them don't really understand them. Cue the Rapp quote above. I don't mean to single him out, but it sounds so much like what I've heard before from other companies. None of them can offer a convincing argument as for why these things are needed. They're all vague and hollow assurances.
4. For the most part, those who are against them know what they're talking about. They're not just vocal minorities. They are warning about the dangers because they understand how terrible they are. They're usually the ones that are informed the most. In certain cases, I've seen companies do 180s after realizing the mistake they've made, but they're usually smaller ones that can't afford to piss off their demographic.
This isn't just a bad trend, but a harmful one that I can only hope will die off in a year or two. It's not a sustainable industry, and the companies that invest in this are going to find out the hard way when they crash.