Metaverse hype fizzles out as Korean tech giants pull plug
The metaverse hype that surged during the Covid-19 pandemic has largely fizzled out, as Korean tech companies shut down the virtual meetup services they launched during the heyday with an ambition to impact social media and gatherings culture.
There was hype?
Within the billionaire bubble there was a lot of hype. Outside of that, not so much.
A new platform to colonize, gathering info on what people were looking at in the virtual world and selling that to advertising made their wallets go very erect.
I think the biggest part was selling people fake clout for a nearly 100% profit margin. They were going to sell us virtual clothes and status in mass en masse for our very real money. Not that this doesn't already happen in gaming but it would have been expanded greatly
Yeah man.....for like 2 weeks, and then it released. Then again when they added legs. For like a day.
My same reaction. I bet most people don't even know the term.
I always thought this metaverse crap was just an obvious money-making scheme that preyed on isolated people during COVID-19. They only started developing their metaverse platforms during the pandemic. Of course they all failed to capitalize because the world largely returned to normal while they were still flaunting NFTs and unfinished metaverse platforms that still can't do better than a private Minecraft SMP with your friends.
I suspect that it's one of those things that will happen at some point in the future, but we just don't have the technology and equipment ready for it just yet. I figure it's similar to AI research in like 2007 when they were able to put the computer on Jeopardy and have it compete against the contestants. It worked, but it wasn't ready for mainstream usage at the time.
The second life/metaverse/virtual reality concept will never be widely accepted by the majority of the population because it just isn't what the vast majority of people want. They want communication methods that compliment their real world lives.
Yes, it will probably be more popular at some point than it has been so far if they can pull off affordable ultra realism, but the escapism of virtual worlds appeals to a relatively small portion of the population. Not to mention that a lot of people have a limited amount of free time, and even if it was extremely popular at first, the novelty would wear off fairly quickly for most people.
I think that's just a coincidence because it was also just after buying Oculus and developing the Quest 2 which sold like hotcakes. I think things fizzled out because everyone I know, myself included, got tired of VR after a couple weeks because the software just isn't there and it can be quite isolating to use.
There was never non-manufactured hype for it. I saw people who were paid to be excited about it be excited about it, and literally nobody else cared. Nobody else even knew what the hype was event supposed to be for.
I remember a bunch of people seeming sincere about it, and a lot of money was wasted on it, including from companies like apple.
I never understood why. It was so obviously a doomed idea from day 1
The only "metaverse" that gained any traction is VRChat and that's mostly just a way for furries to show off their character designs.
All the ones that started as a way to leech money from home working have gone nowhere.
To a surprise of no one. The headsets are fucking uncomfortable. Which doesn't bother me when the goal is a gaming session because I gain something that I like (playing immersive games) to offset it. But to see some fucking avatars of people for a meeting that most likely could have been an email or two? No thanks.
Fortnite kind of evolved into a metaverse
That and Roblox, the commercially successful metaverses that zuckberg dreamed of.
If Facebook wasn't behind it trying to make it a thing then it might stand a chance to become a thing.
cries in PortalTV
I have enjoyed VR, but the "metaverse" angle was something largely no one asked for.
I'll admit even at its best it is still niche, but I have enjoyed it, particularly for simulation genre.
Yeah, VR is best as a solo experience. The metaverse idea comes from cyberpunk books and it is basically never presented as a good idea.
Just like 3D film and television. The VR stuff surfaces periodically with another iteration of the tech.
Which is typical of tech that hasn't yet hit the sweet spot for a tipping point.
Look at how many palm pilots or handheld note taking mobile devices existed (and how many cycles) before the iPhone.
I think that's exactly what's needed, something that makes it mainstream without compromises. For example, if it came as standard with the PS6 and people could use it with all their games such as call of duty.
I don't see what could be the tipping point that makes this happen; Sony certainly isn't going to bundle a headset with the PS6, although I wouldn't be surprised if Nintendo eventually tried something like this. What I know is that a legless version of the Wii avatars or a $3000 headset that requires you to carry a battery in your pocket wired to your head ain't it.
I bet Meta spent a lot of money to develop the Metaverse. Would they really just drop it.
Google would
They already did years before Facebook rename themselves.
It was called project loom
The only amazing thing about the metaverse was that some people believed the hype, and that people paid to promote it could do it with a straight face.
Spatial compute seems cool still. VR raves are sick VR to let people with some disabilities experience more social scenes and some enhanced forms of remote work are very cool to me.
IF they had pulled it off well we wouldn't all be here making fun of it. It would have been cool Well... by cool I mean let's say for argumnets sake they absolutely nailed the virtual hangout, so you got something that felt holographic it was so real. It would be cool to hang out with your friends that way (if being together wasn't an option) and it would be more bearable than zoom for a work meeting. At least it might have made non-verbal cues flow better and making virtual converstaion less of a ballache. If it had been flawless then it might have galvinised the movement to make working remotely the new default
Unforunately they didn't pull it off. But it was worth trying is all i'm saying..
A VR headset would be nice as a monitor replacement for your pc. Or maybe an AR for media while doing chores.
I love how my monitor makes me sick after two hours.
My question is whats worse over long term exposure modern VR headsets or the Virtual boy?
Only if it comes with a cooling fan, though. My face gets really sweaty when I wear a VR headset.
Hard pass on that.
I have no proof but also no doubts that the whole metaverse think was just a way for the Zuremborg Lizard Boy to sink a lot of money so his company had to pay less taxes.
He pushed it after he got called out by congress. So he probably thought, my billonaire company is going to have a lot of losses on this useless shit and you are not going to see my money.
I reckon it's simpler than that. Zuckerberg has never really invented anything novel; Facebook was a straight clone of a whole bunch of competing social media sites (which just so happened to win the numbers war), and WhatsApp and Instagram were both acquisitions.
I think the Metaverse was Zuckerberg trying to prove to himself and others that he and he personally could come up with the "next big thing". The fact that he came up with something which absolutely no-one wanted (and most people barely understood) is a testament to why he never came up with anything ground breaking before, too.
Except for the payroll tax and the thousands of people it employees who also brought things.
Better Zucc waisting it on jobs than moving it to Panama and never seeing it again.
But, yes it should have been taxed regardless.
Actually you should still tax Meta. It's not too late
We already have wide screens. Just ask the users to place their hand dividing their face so that each eye sees an independent image. Then just play stereo images and watch the new eye disease craze grow!..."95% of Americans have one lazy eye or two!" "Scientists don't known why, but you can fix it with this weird hydrogen peroxide hack!"
metaverse failed because it lacked the digital cornerstone species.
if they wanted success, they should have catered to furries.