"If you wish to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first invent the universe."

— Carl Sagan

The business of video games has ruined video games.

Modern games insist they are “free,” then flood us with microtransactions: paywalls, purchasable “bonus” content, loot boxes, subscriptions, extra lives. They insist a game is “purchased,” then insult us by offering additional features for the game we just bought: “rare” skins, extra weapons, characters, and other content. The business of video games assures us a game is “competitive,” then gives any player the chance to cheat through purchase pathways: powerful weapons, stronger armor, better stats.

This denies us the freedom of play. It denies us the elegance of the one-time-purchase videogame, the complete game experience, the totality of the developer’s vision. It also denies us fairness of play, where winning is determined solely by a player’s skill, not their spending.

Here at Consortium9—the team behind NOR—we believe that video games cannot continue to exist within their current incentive structures. We believe there is a way to restore the purity of play in video games, and ensure that players know exactly what they’re getting, free means free, purchased means purchased, and competitive means competitive.

Our way forward is simple: Sports.

Sports are fully monetized while maintaining the “spirit of the game.” Even as the massive economies around professional sports continue to grow, play itself remains free. From basketball to football to soccer to baseball to tennis to tag, sports can be played by anyone. Not everyone is guaranteed success, but everyone is welcome to try. This is our vision for the future of gaming.

NOR is the first and only Digital Sports Platform designed for the Metaverse. Using Web3 technology, we’re able to offer an expansive portfolio of free, fair, and competitive games funded by a professional sports economy that we call The City.

In NOR, each individual sport is a “Game” managed by the developers who created it, while the professional sports economy supporting these games is built out and realized as a living city. We keep these two sides, the Games and The City, separate. You, as a Resident of Khora – someone who plays Games and affects the flow of the economy in The City – are the link that joins them. You are the connection. You are the meaning the world is making.

After all, if you wish to make a Game from scratch, you must first invent The Metaverse.
Disclaimer:

Look. What we are building is something nobody has made before. While we are taking our cues from the giants of both crypto and gaming, the reality is that neither have figured out what to do with huge amounts of their own designs. At any point we may find a new reality, a new way of working, a new edge that we can’t cross and this document may change.

To put it another way, the information in this document should not be construed as a promise or guarantee by Consortium9 Labs, Inc. (“C9”) in connection with the release or development of any future products, services, or any related digital tokens or other digital assets. The information in this document is provided strictly for informational purposes only and does not constitute an offer or solicitation to sell tokens, shares, or securities. It does not constitute, and should not be construed as, any offer for sale or subscription of or any invitation to buy or subscribe for any securities nor should it or any part of it form the basis of or be relied upon in any connection with any contract or commitment whatsoever.

All information in this document is provided on an “as is” basis without any representation or warranty of any kind, and C9 and its parents, affiliates, related companies, officers, directors, employees, agents, representatives, partners, and licensors (the “Company Entities”) disclaim all warranties and conditions, whether express or implied, of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and non-infringement in connection with the information in this material, or the underlying products or services described herein. The Company Entities make no warranty or representation and disclaim all responsibility and liability for the completeness, accuracy, availability, timeliness, security, or reliability of the information in this document.