What is Metaverse? What about "Atsumori" and "Pokemon GO"? Basic knowledge every gamer should know

Do you know the word "metaverse"? We often hear about it in the news, but some people may not have a clear idea of ​​what it is. Meta means "transcendent", and verse is a coined word taken from the word "Universe", which means "outer space", and refers to the virtual space of 3DCG and its services.

It is difficult to grasp the exact concept of the Metaverse, and people in various positions are proposing various forms of the Metaverse. You can think of it as creating another world for people to work in.

In a familiar way to game users, "Atsume Animal Crossing" is sometimes introduced as a metaverse in a broad sense. Well, if something like "Atsumori" is fine, then there are a lot of metaverses in games... If you thought that, you're right. In that sense, it can be said that game users have been interacting with the Metaverse for a long time, and the Metaverse that is making a lot of noise now is a move to further develop such an extension of the game world, or to use it in other fields. I also do.

I would like to introduce what the Metaverse is like now and what it is likely to be in the future, using specific examples of companies that are focusing on the Metaverse.

■VR-type metaverse led by “Meta” (formerly Facebook)

Speaking of companies that are focusing on the Metaverse, Facebook is a giant US IT company known for its SNS. Let's put in enough effort to change the company name from Facebook to "Meta". Mata invests 10 billion dollars a year in the Metaverse, which is about 1 trillion yen. It's literally an order of magnitude different.

Meta originally acquired Oculus VR, which develops the VR platform, and has it under its umbrella. In addition to Horizon World, where users can interact and play freely in the VR world, as well as creative activities, Horizon Workrooms, which allows people to gather and work remotely in an office built in the VR world, is undergoing a beta test. It is done.

It is a dream to put on a VR headset and enter a VR world that is completely different from reality, where you can play, work, or enjoy a concert in the same space with people who are far away. Currently, there are still many problems. In the first place, VR headsets themselves are not very popular.

But there is also the fact that these problems are gradually being solved. In the past, OCULUS was connected to a PC and connected with a cable, but in the OCULUS Quest series, it became independent and did not require a separate PC or smartphone, and OCULUS Quest2 was even lighter. Although it has not yet become widespread, if Meta seriously invests money and proceeds with development, it can be expected that the speed at which these problems will be improved will increase significantly. If so, it will contribute greatly to the development of not only the Metaverse, but also VR games.

The AR-type metaverse that Niantic is aiming for

Niantic, which is famous for developing "Pokémon GO" and "Pikmin Bloom", has also announced a Metaverse concept, but the immersive metaverse advocated by Meta are very different. Niantic proposes connecting the physical and digital worlds, describing it as the "real world metaverse."

The Metaverse that Niantic envisions is a world that is a further evolution of Pokémon GO. The states of hundreds of millions of users around the world, or the digital objects they create, are shared by all, and then combined with the real world by unprecedentedly detailed maps developed for computers. The challenge, he says, is to tie it correctly.

If the development of glasses-type terminals that are always worn like smart glasses progresses, as Niantic says, the digital world will merge with the real world, for example, a world where Pokemon is walking in the city. It may be possible.

Why "Atsume Animal Crossing" is attracting attention as a metaverse

Lastly, I would like to touch a little on why "Atsumori" is introduced as an example of a metaverse. From the point of view of game users, I think there are quite a few people who feel a little uncomfortable calling "Atsumori" a metaverse. This is because although "Atsumori" has online elements, they are supplementary and limited, and basically it is a game that you spend a lot of time playing alone.

The reason why "Atsumori" is introduced as a metaverse in a broad sense is because there are many people playing it all over the world and it is attracting a lot of attention. As a result, there were cases in which the real world gradually flowed into "Atsumori". To give an easy-to-understand example, the Metropolitan Museum of Art released more than 400,000 images of its collection as QR codes for My Design of "Atsumori". Then, in the world of "Atsumori" where people from all over the world are playing, a phenomenon occurs in which real works of art appear.

As these activities become more popular, they will soon be used by politicians for election campaigns, and companies will begin to think about inducing purchases of products. In response to this, Nintendo has come up with a policy that prohibits its use for political and business activities. From Nintendo's point of view, the game "Atsume Animal Crossing" was banned as a measure to allow users to enjoy it with peace of mind. "Atsumori" will be taken up as an example of the metaverse.

"Atsumori" is a virtual space, but it's a game that can be played without an online connection in the first place. Despite this, this series of events is very interesting in that it proves that the most important thing is that it's "interesting and everyone is doing it". It may be said that it is the key to popularization.

The term Metaverse may seem like a difficult word, but it may be correct to say that game users have been living in a virtual space for quite some time, and attention has begun to be drawn to it. not. And now, with the spread of applications other than games, it has become a field where a lot of investment has gathered and technological development is progressing. For game users, I would like to pay attention to the possibility that companies around the world such as Meta and Niantic will work together to open up future games.