The Pixelmon project caused hilarity and annoyance in the crypto community earlier this year after unveiling some particularly sloppy visuals. And the non-fungible token (NFT) project is now trying to make a comeback, with a more polished aesthetic. Will it manage to generate enthusiasm
Pixelmon: a review of an abysmal failure
Remember, at the beginning of 2022, the crypto ecosystem was rather optimistic, especially when it came to NFTs. At the time, we heard a lot about Pixelmon, a non-fungible token project. The idea: to create an equivalent of Pokémon in the metaverse, by offering original creatures.
But the laudable project has hit a major snag. Despite raising $70 million, the first visuals presented proved to be unpolished, if not downright ugly:
Welp, @Pixelmon just made over $70 million dollars and when reveal happened, this is what everyone got. pic.twitter.com/3v6euOIdkT
– Hustler (@0xHustler) February 26, 2022
Enraging to investors and amusing to others. Kevin, the NFT in our image, has also achieved meme status. In the end, Pixelmon was put in the category of dubious projects, which would have capitalized a little too much on the enthusiasm of the first investors.
Pixelmon NFTs attempt a comeback
But if you thought the teams were going to be defeated, that’s not the case. The project has undergone several major developments since the beginning of the year. Firstly, it has been acquired by Web3 LiquidX studio, which now owns 60% of Pixelmon. Secondly, the visuals have of course been changed. The new ones are no longer in the voxel style, and are closer to the “classic” artworks of Pokémon or Digimon :
Remember @Pixelmon? They redid their art and is still going strong. That surprised me. I swept a few. As long as the team is still going strong and they’re doing land airdrop soon. I like the new art! NFT ETH pic.twitter.com/Nf7KuYsj1J
– 0xNotWar✌️ (@0xNotWar) September 23, 2022
The only exception is the famous Kevin, who has not been touched up. Pixelmon is trying to capitalize on its “bad buzz”… And it seems to work. The NFT was recently offered on OpenSea at a price of 8 ETH, or more than 11,000 dollars at the current price.
The development of the project has also been extended in time. The Alpha test phase will start in the first quarter of 2023. The full game is planned for the end of next year. Will Pixelmon succeed in rising from the ashes? It’s not certain, but the teams seem determined to leave this first catastrophic stage behind them.
