There's been a lot of conversation regarding the "metaverse" in recent weeks. Facebook even changed its corporate name to Meta as it pivoted toward the metaverse, though it pivoted back following a massive stock price drop soon after. If anything, that shows just how confused people are about what the metaverse is, let alone why they'd want to take part in it. HTC Vive thinks it has the answer, or at least an answer. In a new video, HTC Vive shows what it sees as a day in what it sees as the metaverse.The three-minute video from HTC Vive is, obviously, an advertisement for HTC products at its heart. As such, it shows off a range of potential products, even if they may not all actually exist. It's a proof of concept, at best. The demos shown include an AR exercise bike program in which a woman is able to see her vitals through her AR glasses, a virtual reality coffee shop with a custom avatar, a VR business meeting with colleague's 3D avatars, a virtual wine tasting including Bitcoin-purchased digital wine, a live VR concert, and an NFT museum visit with grandma's AR avatar. Many of the events shown in the video are already entirely possible, such as purchasing cat NFTs or buying products with Bitcoin, as well as VR social and professional spaces. It's often the context, the unnecessary attempt at creating a whimsical digital space, that comes off as ridiculous. Purchasing a bottle of wine with Bitcoin can be done relatively simply, but drinking virtual win while also drinking real-life wine isn't realistic (and would likely be quite messy).
The result is a video from HTC VIVE that aggressively tries to push blockchain technologies like cryptocurrency and NFTs as inherently tied to AR and VR. Or, at least, that's what HTC Vive envisions in the future. While it's true that VR's growth rate may not be as fast as some would like, increasing monetization through support of the blockchain may be more detrimental to HTC Vive's efforts than it realizes.
At the very least, it's true that VR, AR, AI, and wireless technologies like 5G all have unrealized potential worth exploring. It just isn't clear what HTC Vive is envisioning that isn't already currently available. VR chats and MMOs are increasingly common. AR technologies continue to be experimented with, particularly in smart vehicles but also in the high-tech industry. AI is constantly evolving. Then there's wireless technology like 5G, which is just one step forward in a race to provide constantly-improving wireless bandwidth.
For those looking for an answer to the question, "What is the metaverse?" then this video may not be a great answer. It is, however, a good example of what companies like HTC Vive want to market the metaverse as.