The "metaverse" quickly became a buzzword and spread widely. But in reality, the answer to the question, "What is the metaverse?" is still unclear. Some say that it is just an empty buzzword after all.
So we asked writer A, who is knowledgeable about games and Web 3.0, and individual investor B, who suffered a major failure in investing in a metaverse project, to talk frankly about the reality of the "metaverse."
A: Today we are free to discuss the metaverse freely. But first, what exactly is the metaverse? That's the question. It's not uncommon for the word to have completely different meanings depending on who uses it, so I'd like to start by clarifying that.
B: You're right, it's often used with an ambiguous meaning. Personally, I think the word metaverse is used in three contexts.
The easiest to understand is "3D digital games with high-quality games and social network-like human relationships." In this case, the metaverse is an extension of online games such as MMORPGs.
A: This is the pattern where you would think of games like "Final Fantasy 14," "Fortnite," and "Animal Crossing" as the metaverse.
If you use it this way, then all 3D games that multiple people can play and interact with are metaverses. However, it's rare to find online games these days that don't involve other people, so it could just be a cool way of saying the latest online games.
B: Another way it's used is the pattern typified by Meta, a company that changed its name from Facebook. This is a pattern that removes the game element from the "metaverse" mentioned earlier and uses it to mean a 3D space where people can interact, learn, and work.
The current Internet has moved a step forward from text-based communication, and communication using videos such as online meetings has become widespread, but we are trying to take it a step further.
The idea is to use 3D digital space and avatars instead of inorganic backgrounds and flesh and blood to communicate in a more realistic way than we can now. "Virtual Shibuya" is another type of metaverse similar to this one.
