How does Proof-of-Time (PoT) affect new players?

Proof-of-Time is the idea that early adopters are rewarded for the time spent with a product. In Splinterlands there were two historic moments where early investors made a fortune even with a small investment.

• The first historic moment was the SPS airdrop. Early adopters who held many alpha cards received giant airdrops of 50K USD in SPS per month. Most of them sold immediately and made a killing.
• The second historic moment was the land sale. Players who bought into land in the presale are still 5x-10x up from pre-sale prices. One region sold for 700,000 USD. Altough prices have come down a lot, they are still far above presale.

All players who came after these two events lost money. After early adopters have been rewarded generously they are rewarded generously again with the arrival of land because they have the highest production power.

The concept is great. Old cards that gradually lose their value as new and better cards come out are becoming more valueable again.

Altough I entirely support the concept of Proof-of-Time (PoT) and the role it plays in Splinterlands, as a player-investor I ask myself how PoT affects the adoption of the game.

I am not sure who would be willing to join a game where early adopters are exponentially rewarded better forever and with every new phase the game enters. To me it seems much more likely that new players will turn their backs on Splinterlands and move to other newer games. My assumption would be that only a very small fraction that has little financial interest (and little money) will join as new players. Players with a player-investor focus will go somewhere else.

What do you think? How does Proof-of-Time (PoT) in its current state affect new players in Splinterlands?

Posted using Splintertalk