The metaverse will revolutionize a dozen digital industries
- Antonio Lorenzo
- Xavier Galiana
The global industry of the metaverse will generate a business of 21,000 million dollars (18,500 million euros) in the next eight years, according to estimates by the consulting firm Constellation Research to which elEconomista has had access, with year-on-year growth of between 30 and 50% until 2026. Precisely in the horizon of the next four years, this sector it expects to move more than 5,351 million dollars, with a special impact on industries such as video games. communications, leisure, software and application developers, electronic commerce, social networks, tourism, real estate and business productivity, among others.
The big disruption in the world of the metaverse came late last year, when recent strategic decisions by Facebook and Microsoft coincided. First there was the world's largest social network, now called Meta, which At the end of last year, it announced a radical shift in its priorities to focus on those new spaces where real and virtual activity converge. This week, Microsoft shook the foundations of the technology industry with the purchase of Activision Blizzard for nearly 70,000 million euros. Its initial objective is to become a kind of Netflix for video games, with a catalog that includes franchises such as Call of Duty, World of Warcraft, Diablo and Candy Crush, among others. But, apart from climbing onto the global podium of videogames, the owner of Windows ensures the talent and the ideal platform to take the lead in developments related to the metaverse.
At first, investors were excited by Facebook's move to become Meta Platforms, something it announced on October 28, which helped push the social network's stocks up almost 6% in three days.
However, in the last three months the sectors that could be more exposed to the metaverse have not reflected considerable advances in the stock market, at least for the moment. An example is the Semiconductor index of the Philadelphia Stock Exchange (Sox), which brings together the thirty main components of that industry in the United States. The average rise in the stock market price of these thirty securities barely It reaches 2%, although it is true that Qualcomm shares earn 30%; Micron Technology, 24%; Lam Research, 14%; and Intel, 10%.
On the other hand, the main video game design and development firms revalued on average another 2% on the stock market in three months. But individually there are increases in Ubisoft (17%) and Nintendo (12%), while Take-Two Interactive Software and Konami lose around 8.5% in the same period.
Likewise, the leading companies in the luxury sector, which have an opportunity to be present with their coveted designs in the metaverse, reduced an average of almost 5% in the stock market in the last three months. LVMH shares rise 3%, those of Kering (Gucci, Saint Laurent) barely do so by 0.8% and those of Lululemon Athletica plummet 25% in this period. Even those of Adidas, a company that has expressed interest in the new virtual platform, have seen their value fall by 10%.
NFTs and cryptocurrencies
To get a remote idea of the invention, it is enough to remember the ill-fated Second Life, the virtual community devised by the Linden Lab company almost two decades ago, and where it was possible to access free of charge from the Internet. The metaverse is now a colossal leap from all of the above, with the interaction of real people in those virtual spaces and intangible properties. This environment is also enriched with other ingredients of special value, such as NFTs (tokens or non-fungible assets), cryptocurrencies, blockchain, advances in virtual and augmented reality, the Internet of Senses, and very high-speed and very low hyperconnectivity. latency (network reaction times). In the three-dimensional Internet of the Metaverse, which offers corporeal experiences thanks to the virtual reality perceived through viewers, the space is designed to interact, as opposed to conventional Internet browsing known up to now. Virtual reality headsets will be complemented by headsets for surround sounds and controls for hands and fingers and even haptic clothing, capable of feeling touch through digital impulses.
Real estate companies for avatars
At the end of last year, the Canadian investment firm Tokens.com, owner of the Metaverse Group, carried out an investment of 2.3 million euros ( to the change in the Mana cryptocurrency) to acquire a virtual space of approximately half a football field. It is a piece of land located in the commercial almond of Genesis City.
Metaverse real estate investment firm Republic Realm shelled out more than $4.3 million last year for land in the virtual world The Sandbox. This company markets 2,500 virtual pieces of land in 19 virtual worlds, including shopping malls, avatar apartment buildings, and a private island.
Among Sandbox's most distinguished clients stands out Adidas, a sportswear giant that sells its virtual shoe models for all kinds of avatars.
Nike is also participating in the Roblox metaverse with its own Nikeland, where users can practice various sports with their avatars, suitably dressed in products from the American brand.
The fashion firm Balenciaga has also explored the metaverse with the sale of decorated masks for Fortnite characters, at a rate of 8 euros each.The BMW and Nissan automobile companies are also experimenting in the territories virtual through avatars and recreations of the activity of their factories, respectively.
The Coca-Cola company, always concerned about innovation and marketing issues, markets its own collection of NFTs in a disruptive way: at an avatar party, located on the roof of an acquired building in the metaverse of Decentraland.
Siemens' digital twin experiences also interpret the possibilities of the metaverse in their own own way in the industrial field.
The game producer Gala Games specialized in the metaverse, owner of the role-playing game Mirandus, also has a metaverse with different prices depending on the conditions. Thus, he establishes common, uncommon, rare, epic, legendary and ancient land, with prices ranging between 11,822 of the Gala cryptocurrency (around 3 euros in exchange) or 1.4 million Gala ( 360,000 euros). In the Mirandus game, for example, the fact of having a protected territory opens infinite possibilities for players to market products and harvest other goods that can be valued within the video game.
In the case of Somnium Space, which, like Decentraland, is based on blockchain and ethereum, it is a free video game that is played in virtual environments. Among other incentives, the game allows you to customize avatars and properties. The same firm also sells different peaks of virtual ships, as well as docks, ports and piers to be able to dock them.
A possible virtual Bernabéu
The metaverse promises to open up countless business possibilities in the entertainment industry, especially among live content providers. Among all of them there will be football, possibly one of the most powerful audiovisual claims of our days. Without, for the moment, there being a specific project on the matter, nothing prevents the big football clubs from multiplying their income from the sale of stadium seats through the new virtual environments. The success model of the metaverse could be applied in the new Santiago Bernabéu, but also in any other stadium in the world. Without the physical limitations typical of sports venues, always subject to a certain number of seats in the stands, backs or grandstands, the owners of these facilities may take into consideration the possible sale of all their virtual seats thanks to personalized 360-degree images. and immersive ambient sound. It will be like watching the game from the stadium, but without leaving the sofa at home. In addition, each viewer's point of view could be programmed to be identical to that enjoyed by in-person fans. In this way, the price of a seat at the Bernabéu would be different if it is a location in the box, a grandstand or a third amphitheatre. These new features will allow citizens from all over the world to enjoy football live, with an experience very similar to the one that exists in the stadium itself... but without the need to go to the Paseo de la Castellana temple.
The same example of the metaverse version of the Bernabéu could be replicated -with identical rules- in other performance venues, such as large theaters or concert halls. Recitals by Rolling Stones or Bruce Springsteen, for example, can be enjoyed live from the front row with the help of virtual reality glasses and special headphones.
Vodafone Spain, for example, has created a metaverse where it incorporates a room for live shows. Concerts can be offered there, broadcast live, within the reach of those users who frequent this virtual room. The possibilities of these platforms could also find utility for political conferences or rallies, press conferences or business summits. Likewise, the metaverse offers other benefits in the field of education, with virtual classrooms, or spaces to make purchases of brands with meta-presence.
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