Ask HN: What do you think of the metaverse? [March 2022]
Just wondering what you think of the metaverse concept, and what it could mean (day in the life) for us 10-20 years from now.
Then Minecraft has become the world's flagship interactive 3d world for creativity. There's obviously a huge social aspect, but that largely plays out on YouTube, twitch etc
Zuck's "Metaverse" concept is now pretty ancient, and I don't see anything new, innovative or exciting, just another Second Life with more ads in your face.
With the technology we have now, I don't know why there isn't an app that does voice recognition searches for products and lets you swipe through augmented reality 3d photos of each product accompanied by reviews.
Or supermarket shelves where you say "fruit" and then tap the items you want.
I suspect 20 years from now the concept of in-person shopping with a staff member at the checkout will be quaint (e.g. gift shop) and specialised (E.g. Apple store).
But as for Zuck's Meta, unfortunately I think their offering will beat everybody else's, no matter how shitty it is, as you'll be able to import 100% of your FB/Insta/WhatsApp data, and that matters to consumers more than anything else.
Facebook however, is simply attempting to create artificial scarcity (virtual real estate) in a platform that they control and are involved in every transaction that happens in it.
It's a dystopian nightmare-- and this coming from a guy who owns two Oculus headsets and likes them.
I'm starting to think maybe the reason is because it's too realistic. People want to play video games and browse the internet because it's in a sweet spot of comforting and mind-numbing, to the extent they can just sit and do that all day. VR doesn't quite hit that spot I don't think.
If a kid had a full paintball course in his backyard with players on standby, and could play anytime he wanted, do you think he would do that or play COD on ps5 more? Honestly I think COD.
Basically: You’re not going to get good metaverse hot takes on HN. You’re mostly going to get blanket dismissals from people who aren’t the target audience anyway.
That being said, much injury may be done to innocent persons in the name of this concept, and I would warn against getting tied up in it, regardless of its name.
I have an Oculus Quest, there's currently only one app on it I use (Wander) and sometimes I try to dip my toes into VR development. I like VR, although I think its potential is vastly oversold. It's only going to succeed to the degree that Facebook can force it to.