[Introduction]
As a combination of the prefix “meta,” meaning transcendence, and the root word “verse,” meaning world, “metaverse” is a new word meaning the transcendent world. Many people from the new generation are already users of metaverse, but the word itself is often found unfamiliar. Although it was a concept used before the beginning of the 4th industrial revolution, the Metaverse era started after the pandemic outbreak. The main reason is that while physical contact among people has decreased, meetings on networks have increased, and more new societies have been formed. The ever-growing Metaverse market is approaching as an attractive and new opportunity for numerous individual investors and companies. As a result, there are many expectations for the future, but there are also skeptics. Their representative opinion is that the Metaverse is a bubble, like Japan’s real estate market bubble or the tulip crisis in the Netherlands. The argument is that the market size will decrease significantly after the pandemic is over.
Is the Metaverse a mirage or a new opportunity?
- Definition of Metaverse
1-1. Dictionary meaning of Metaverse
To describe the Metaverse in simple terms, it means “virtual world.” It is widely used to refer to a virtual world in which the real and the unreal coexist in general aspects of politics, economy, society, and culture. However, a clear definition of the current concept has not yet been established.
1-2. The current meaning of Metaverse
The term Metaverse, first used in Neal Stephenson’s novel “Snow Crash” in 1992, was a medium used only in the sense of constituting a part of a fantasy novel at the time. However, in the society we live in in 2021, political, economic, social, and cultural activities are being made smoothly within the virtual community realized through avatars.
- Applications of Metaverse
2.1 Games and Metaverse
The field where Metaverse is used the most is by far the game field. Representative games include “Roblox” and “ZEPETO.” Roblox and ZEPETE have 160 million and 32.6 million monthly users, respectively. Interestingly, the age group of users is aimed at Generation Z, that is, teenagers or younger. Also, unlike other existing game platforms, these two platforms allow the user to directly control the game or system in the game. The degree of freedom for the user to create games and set the rules is specified. The most representative reason for making such a game is that they can earn or make “money” in the game. In Roblox, the in-game money or currency is called “Robux.” In other words, the companies that are building metaverse platforms are companies that manufacture distribution and engines in a broad framework. This structure lives in an environment isolated from each other due to the pandemic, but Generation Z has a highly developed network and is familiar with it. Therefore, it is seen that the generation is no different from the real society.
2.2 Entertainment and marketing
Travis Scott, currently the hottest hip-hop singer globally, faced COVID-19 ahead of the release of his new single “The Scotts.” We were faced with a situation where we could not even film a music video, let alone a concert. So, he came up with a new idea to overcome this obstacle. It was an online world tour titled “Astronomical” inside the game “Fortnite.” Fortnite, a third-person shooter game produced by EPIC GAMES in the United States, is a game platform that 40% of teenagers aged 10 to 17 in the United States access every week. The first album release concert, which lasted for about 15 minutes, was visited and enjoyed by roughly 12.3 million users.
Companies that faced the first pandemic in modern society were quick and clever. Their strategy was to use platforms that already had many users to introduce various products, services, and goods regardless of the field. This marketing strategy provided a win-win business environment for the platforms and the companies in the store.
- The future of the Metaverse
The size of the Metaverse market predicted by experts in 2030 is more than $1.5 billion. More important than the numerical meaning is that we can change the structure of our real life. For example, virtual world architects or virtual world apparel makers are born into new professions.
Just looking at Asian metaverse platforms such as Nintendo’s “Come to Play Animal Crossing” and Naver’s “ZEPETO,” luxury brands such as Gucci and Versace requested to enter the store, and entertainment companies knocked on the door first. Various collaborations are in progress, and new occupations related to this are emerging. It is analyzed that recognizing these facts from a business point of view can have tremendous competitiveness.
It is an undeniable fact that digital culture will gradually melt into our daily life. Even when a new continent is discovered, many people stayed in the old continent. Whether it is an unexplored continent or an existing place of residence, civilization is developing over time. Recognizing it and living without realizing it makes a big difference.
Reference
ball (2020). The Metaverse: What It Is, Where to Find it, Who Will Build It, and Fortnite. [online] Matthew Ball. Available at: https://www.matthewball.vc/all/themetaverse.
Herrman, J. and Browning, K. (2021). Are We in the Metaverse Yet? The New York Times. [online] 10 Jul. Available at: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/10/style/metaverse-virtual-worlds.html [Accessed 15 Jul. 2021].
Jun, G. (2020). Virtual Reality Church as a New Mission Frontier in the Metaverse: Exploring Theological Controversies and Missional Potential of Virtual Reality Church. Transformation: An International Journal of Holistic Mission Studies, p.026537882096315.
Wikipedia. (2020). Metaverse. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metaverse.
