In the rapidly evolving world of Web3 and blockchain technology, FSL has emerged as a pioneering force as the developer of STEPN and STEPN GO, two groundbreaking lifestyle apps that reward users for their daily activities.

Building on the success of its predecessor, STEPN, FSL has addressed key challenges in Web2 user onboarding, tokenomics, and social engagement with their latest product STEPN GO.

Pacific Meta has played a crucial role in facilitating collaborations with G-SHOCK. This collaboration not only marks a significant milestone for STEPN GO but also exemplifies the potential for synergy between traditional brands and Web3 innovations.

Within the interview, we have welcomed Yawn Rong, co-founder of FSL, the developer of STEPN GO. We asked for his insights on the achievements gained through Pacific Meta’s support and future prospects.

* This interview was conducted on August 27th, 2024.

Some of the information has been updated due to subsequent developments.

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■ Table of content

Overview of STEPN GO and Background of the Project Launch

– Could you briefly explain the overview of STEPN GO?

Source: https://stepngo.com/

Yawn

STEPN GO’s main objective is to make people go out and walk with their family, kids, or friends. It’s a social connecting product and also good for your health. I think that’s the big objective for STEPN, and STEPN GO.

However, when we look back at STEPN and compare it to STEPN GO, we notice three major changes.

The first one is the onboarding barrier.
Web3 products require downloading a seed phrase, using gas for transactions, and having tokens to buy NFTs. This remains a significant hurdle for Web2 users.

For STEPN GO, we aimed to improve it by encouraging a large number of people to register and onboard. As a result, we built a product to ensure smoother onboarding—this is one of the key differences.

The second difference is that we reviewed our tokenomics. We’ve spent a tremendous amount of time designing a system that will address inflation.

The third thing is that we wanted people to get more engaged socially through the game. We actually have quite a lot of meetups. People organize the gatherings themselves, and this is outside of the game. Furthermore, we want to include social components in the game to provide in-game social functions.

So these are roughly the difference between STEPN and STEPN GO and I will answer how we achieve these 3 points later in the interview.

– What was the background reason for launching the STEPN GO project?

Yawn

For people who didn’t follow us closely, we began internally discussing our phase six and seven updates around mid-last year.

We looked at how we can address tokenomics and how we can build long-term growth, having a lot of discussions and very good ideas.

Initially, we wanted to do major improvements on STEPN, but then we came up with more ideas and the concern is that the product may become too complex if we have implemented all the updates.

Additionally, for many of the changes, there was concern that they would fundamentally affect how NFTs work.

Therefore, we thought it may be risky to change everything for STEPN, so we built STEPN GO alongside STEPN, and we launched STEPN GO this year.

Japan is a Crucial Market for STEPN GO, Yet with Significant Entry Barriers

– How important is the Japanese market for STEPN GO?

Yawn

For STEPN GO I think we have a lot of Japanese users that got involved in the raffle mint and also the early alpha test. So certainly, I think within the entire FSL ecosystem user base, the Japan users have a pretty sizable community.

What we can see is that Japanese users are active nowadays, but in the very beginning, we haven’t seen many Japanese users being vocal on social media. 

At some point, we began noticing Japanese users becoming more socially engaged with the product and in communication with global users.

Now we can see that many of the Japanese users have gained significant influence, not only from local Japanese audiences but also international audiences.

For example, there are groups where people talk not just about games but also about their lives, or young people organizing gatherings, so It’s as if STEPN GO has become a hub for social gathering. They spend their time eating and chatting and not only running all through our app. 

I am happy to see that STEPN GO is enabling people to make connections both offline and online. While connections on socials can easily end relationships, we believe there’s value STEPN GO is enabling by connecting people in some kind of traditional, old-fashioned way of making friends.

– Are there any unique characteristics or challenges for the Japanese market?

Yawn

The language barrier is a significant challenge in Japan. For example, in all our AMAs I’ve explained everything in simple terms, recognizing that not everyone is fluent in English. 

We are grateful to have dedicated Japanese community members who translate our AMAs and create minutes, and discuss in dedicated Japanese channels via our Discord. They diligently attend all sessions, but due to the language barriers, it’s natural that some nuances and portions of the information may not be fully delivered as intended.

We are making progress in bridging the language gap. In recent face-to-face conversations with Japanese users, I found that taking a more deliberate approach led to better understanding. When I took the time to explain things step-by-step, users often responded positively saying they now understand clearly.

While making progress, delivering information without losing key points remains a challenge for us. Looking ahead, I’m looking forward to seeing how advancements in AI technology will further improve our communication infrastructure, helping us overcome these language barriers more effectively.

G-SHOCK: STEPN GO’s First Partnership and a Watch Lover’s Dream

– What is your honest opinion or impression about the collaboration with CASIO?

Yawn

Those familiar with me know that I’m a watch lover. My early career even involved the watchmaking industry.

When my team first told me about our potential collaboration with a watch brand, I was very excited. Upon learning that the brand was CASIO, my excitement reached new heights. I was amazed and eager to see the design of the sneakers as I knew it would be inspired by physical watches.

So, the collaboration with G-SHOCK is one of my personal favorites. What makes it remarkable is that it marks STEPN GO’s first partnership, featuring co-branded sneakers and the first Genesis collection in STEPN GO. This milestone holds a big meaning for STEPN GO’s journey.

I believe the G-SHOCK edition will become highly sought after by collectors in the future.
Looking back to the STEPN’s history, where the ASICS being the first collaboration, became one of the most collectible items, I anticipate the G-SHOCK sneakers will play an equally important role in STEPN GO’s ecosystem over time.

The Power of Web2 IPs meeting Web3 projects

– What impact may this collaboration have on the blockchain and the Web3 game industry?

Yawn

I still believe in what I said last time I came to Japan, when I was delivering a speech about the importance of Web2 IPs in Web3. I mentioned that Web2 IPs can quickly gain recognition in the Web3 world. Our previous collaboration with ‘Ghost in the Shell’ exemplifies this, where users were able to trade the associated NFTs at premium prices.

Source: https://x.com/Stepnofficial/status/1659069296536944641

I believe this principle will be illustrated in our collaboration with G-SHOCK which I believe created a triple-win situation. Firstly, it allowed STEPN GO to reach potential Web2 users who might be familiar with G-SHOCK, but new to blockchain technology.

Secondly, it provided G-SHOCK with an opportunity to engage with the Web3 community. Lastly, users who acquire these NFTs not only gain a digital asset but also receive a premium product associated with a renowned brand.

Pacific Meta Played an Important Role in Collaboration between STEPN GO & G-SHOCK

– What role did Pacific Meta play in facilitating this collaboration with Casio? What are your thoughts on their involvement?

Yawn

I think Pacific Meta played an important role in bridging the two companies because we’re communicating with a Japanese traditional company, and there’s a cultural and language barrier. 

Having somebody that understands both sides is very important to avoid miscommunications and misunderstandings.

We were also satisfied with having a very clear structure of what we needed to discuss. For example, having a checkpoint at key events where we can gather to understand that we are on the same page so that we can move on without any waste.

The worst thing that can happen to any of the BD collaborations is abortion in the middle and then you just waste a lot of time and energy. We have to make sure that it follows through and both understand exactly what is happening. It’s important that neither side is wasting their time, energy, and then we have a successful collaboration and outcome in future.

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Planned Updates for Early 2025

– Could you tell us about the future prospects of STEPN GO?

Yawn

We have launched an open beta on 5th September (JST). Now people can start trading their NFTs and tokens. Also, people can now start inviting their friends and family through the Haus System.

Each person can invite 5 users, so we make sure that the invitees can use an NFT without buying the NFT, and without the need of having a wallet. This is our way of how we can onboard Web2 users to Web3. 

Also after we open beta, the game token will be used as gas to further reduce learning barriers, as it takes people time to understand gas. 

We are trying to lower the learning curve as much as possible where one Web3 user can onboard Web2 people. This is the purpose of the open beta.

After the open beta, we’ll have the first major update, which is the Gem System. We had gems in STEPN but the gem system in STEPN GO is totally different, a totally new system.

In STEPN, people could earn a token alongside a mystery box which had Gems inside. But in STEPN GO, you can only earn one thing at a time. Either you earn the token or you earn Gems, so the Gems will become a standalone earning item.

Also, users can’t earn the gem directly, you earn an item called Raw stones. Users have to cut their Raw stones to acquire the gems. It’s almost like how you are really doing jewelry making, you actually cut the diamond and users can choose where to cut.

Cutting a Raw stone has a certain percentage of failure rate. If the users fail, the raw stone will break and you have to start over again with other Raw stones . If the users succeed in cutting into the raw stone, they can use the Gem from the cuttings in-game. This is the way that we’re adding a gamified element to the Gem System.

After the launch of the Gem System, there will be the Outfit where people can customize their Avatar. Custom avatars will be shown to each user on social map view. Launch of this system is planned to be somewhere early next year.

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