The global gaming industry will be worth $321 billion by 2026, according to PwC’s Global Entertainment and Media Outlook report. Existing video game worlds are the precursor to the larger environments and economies of the metaverse.
Meta has the Oculus Quest. Apple is doing pioneering work in AR. Microsoft is working to acquire Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion and owns Xbox.
Each of these companies is positioned differently. Each will build-out metaverse experiences in different ways. They all understand the role of storytelling.
I can only apologize to colleagues and friends for Hiro’s latest ‘hot take’ on storytelling and video games in the metaverse. While his tone can be jarring, I’m not sure an emphasis on gaming is anything new.
Some of you may remember the 1995 Nintendo ‘Virtual Boy.’ It was way ahead of its time. What GenZ readers don’t realise, is that VR was having ‘a moment’ as early as the 1990s. Writers like Jaron Lanier, popular culture & Hollywood movies were fascinated by many of the things we are discussing today. Check out this conversation with Brett Leonard, the director of Lawnmower Man on the UAE Tech Podcast, for historical background.
Many of us can agree with Nakamoto that gaming has a more emotional appeal than a virtual office or even owning virtual land, while continuing to explore education, fitness and other verticals in the metaverse.
The global gaming industry will be worth $321 billion by 2026, according to PwC’s Global Entertainment and Media Outlook report. Existing video game worlds are the precursor to the larger environments and economies of the metaverse.
In terms of communicating the metaverse, I suspect the journey or ‘story’ aspect is actually critical, and possibly missing. See the advert below for a 101 in how to capture the sense of exploration and imagination inherent in the promise of digital worlds.
This trailer understands that for the metaverse to be realised… we’re going to need VR. And dragons. Obviously.
Mega video game worlds already exist. Fornite has around 83 million players, with between 3-4 million playing concurrently at any given time. These experiences lack immersion and a sense of physicality. A rain drop falling into a puddle on the ground. The sound of a non-player-character behind you, about to strike.
Luckey’s prescience may have undervalued the Oculus technology. At some point it will become clear that video games are no longer the future of VR.
In all likelihood,VR is the future of video games.
In 2015 I attended the VR Expo in Palo Alto, and eventually brought an Oculus Rift Dev Kit II back to Jordan, where I was living at the time.
During that Expo, Palmer Luckey pointed out that VR could help transform several industries, from simulations in defence to training in healthcare. But the real use-case, he insisted, was in humble video gaming.
Luckey’s prescience may have undervalued the Oculus technology. At some point it will become clear that video games are no longer the future of VR.
In all likelihood,VR is the future of video games. Over time, it will play an outsized role in the metaverse.