What is the metaverse?
The word metaverse was first mentioned in the 1992 book “Avalanche” by the writer
Mark Zuckerberg says the metaverse isa virtual environment in which you can be present with other people. An embodied Internet, where a person is and acts inside it, and not just observing from the outside.
According to Matthew Ball, a venture investor and author of articles on metaworlds, the metaverse combines the physical and virtual worlds, has its own economy and an unlimited number of users.
Based on these opinions, in the modern understandingThe metaverse is a hybrid world that combines physical, augmented and virtual realities in a shared online space. The Metaverse is a new stage in the development of the Internet. A version of Web 3.0 based on blockchain technology with data stored in a decentralized distributed registry, and not on servers owned by a specific company or person.
Virtual universes are often compared to online games, but there are big differences between the two. Metaverse:
- It is infinite and exists simultaneously for everyone in real time, it cannot be paused.
- Decentralized and does not depend on the actions of specific developers.
- Combines real physical and digitalworlds. Items and artifacts from different worlds are compatible with each other. That is, you can buy a car designed for Porsche and use it in the Roblox game.
- The space of the metaverse can include an unlimited number of users.
- It has a full-fledged internal economy in which people can earn, spend, invest money, take out loans and generally conduct economic activities.
According to Grayscale's report, the potential market for the metaverse could be around $1 trillion.
In 2021, sales on the main fourMetaverse platforms Sandbox, Decentraland, Cryptovoxels and Somnium reached $501 million. Republic Realm bought land on the Sandbox platform for $4.3 million. The company is developing 100 islands, called Fantasy Islands, with its own villas and water transport. 90 islands sold out on the first day at a price of $15,000.
The metaverse market is not limited to earth andreal estate. Major global brands - Adidas, Puma, The North Face, Balenciaga, Gucci, Tommy Hilfiger, Vans, Aston Martin, Maserati, Tesla, Rolls-Royce and others are already creating specialized digital products for the metaverse. For example, in January 2022, H&M announced that the company would offer customers a 3D shopping experience at its store in the Ceek city metaverse, and many brands are already releasing virtual clothing collections.
3 ways of development of metaverses
Unanimous opinion on what they will look likemetaverses in the long term, not yet: they can become the same breakthrough as telephone communications and the Internet in their time, or they can turn out to be hype that will be forgotten in a few years. Let's look at the three most likely development paths.
Metaverse according to the ideologists of space
If the plans of Meta, Epic Games, Microsoft and otherslarge corporations are successfully implemented, then in a couple of decades we will live in a hybrid space that combines the digital and real worlds.
There will be many metaverses and they will be compatiblebetween themselves. People will be able to move things from one world to another. With the help of a hologram, it will be possible, without leaving home, to attend meetings anywhere in the world. Quality education will become more accessible. Students in the form of an avatar will be able to attend classes in person, which is very important for certain specialties, for example, for doctors.
There will be new opportunities for sports. Users will be able to attend training in virtual studios and participate in real-virtual tournaments.
In the new world, people will feel the presence of other people in the process of communication, no matter how far apart they are.
Metaverse under state control
Metaverses - possible multi-billion dollar marketswith an unlimited number of users. It is logical that if successful, the states will influence the metauniverses at the legislative level. At the same time, the scope of restrictions will directly depend on the attitude of the state to new technologies.
Some countries are already seeing additionalopportunities for the development of metaverses, others are rather wary of the idea. In May 2021, the Metaverse Alliance was created in South Korea with the active participation of the state. It now includes more than 500 companies, including such giants as Samsung and Hyundai Motors, and the government plans to allocate about $26 million in 2022 as a support measure.
In Russia, such optimism is not shared.A study by the Science and Technology Center (STC) of the GRCH states: “The problem of identifying avatars also makes identity and personal data vulnerable to copying, erasing and manipulation. The dominance of digital currencies in the metaverses will lead to the violation of political boundaries due to the inability of legislation to regulate the chain of sale.”
Restrictions may primarily affect the economic sphere, labor relations, as well as access to the metaverses.
Local metaverses at the level of individual corporations
The likelihood that Zuckerberg, Ball and othersideologues are wrong about the potential of the metaverses, also remains. In this case, in a few years, the hype will subside, and the metaverses will remain at the level of individual corporations and virtual online gaming platforms.
In favor of the development of this path is the fact that the ideaaugmented reality has been around for a long time, but real demand from consumers remains minimal due to the lack of comfortable helmets and VR / AR glasses, as well as technical restrictions related to Internet speed and connection stability that prevent the creation of large-scale virtual realities. The metaverse requires a new programming model - an open platform where the avatar moves from one world to another, and all the code interacts.
Today, no one can say for sure what will bemetaverse in 10–20 years. Each company that is working on the creation of the metaverse or some of its components has its own idea of the future. At the same time, the metauniverse is created for people; without them, its existence is meaningless. That is why metaworlds, regardless of their form, should improve the quality of people's lives, make it more comfortable and safer.
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