Metaverses, a cool name, yes, but what is it?
In 1992 came out The Virtual Samurai, a novel by Neal Stephenson. In this dystopian universe of cyberpunk, we read there for the first time the term metaverse », a virtual universe where people lived in digital form. We can say that the writer was a little ahead of his time, at a time when the Internet as we know it today was a long way off. Since Matrix at Ready Player One, parallel worlds abound in fictions before finally inviting themselves into our own realities. So everyone is engulfed in what could be (or maybe already is) the next major shift in our modern, ultra-connected society.
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Metaverse: A New World
The principle of metaverses is quite simple since it involves virtual worlds in which you create avatars that can take on any appearance. An early notable example of the genus was Second Life, released in 2003. In almost 20 years, the technology having evolved, the proposals which are profiled will however be much more extreme in the immersion. And if the Facebook company recently changed its name to Meta, it’s no coincidence. The king of the social network wants to push the principle even further and launched, a few weeks ago, Horizon Worlds. Attached to the Oculus virtual reality headset (also owned by Meta), it isa universe where everything is to be built through users who have the keys to shape it in their image. The collaboration between those who connect to it is the major argument since the “community” side is put forward. It is available for free on the manufacturer’s website, but for now only in the United States and Canada. For the most impatient, a small switch on a VPN can solve the problem.
If we have (for the moment) only one reality to put under our feet, this is not the case for the already numerous metaverses who reach out to us,Entropia Universe at Habbo Passing by Active Worlds. But the one who seems the most likely to fascinate is called The Sandbox.
The grain of sand in the metaverse
Why bet on the longevity of this one rather than another? Because we witness every day the interest shown in The Sandbox by the companies that invest their money in it. This mark of trust is still always a good sign for the financial health of a platform. In this metaverse that looks like Minecraft based on the blockchain, you can buy land, called Land, to create your little neighborhood.
Also Read: How to Create and Sell NFTs: Get Rich and Famous!
The number of plots is however limited to 166,464 and they are purchased with Sand, the game’s own virtual currency that you can buy on Binance. Warner Music, for example, now owns it and will soon offer concerts there. Carrefour has also just proudly announced that it has acquired a Land in the universe.
We’ve just picked up the keys, it’s official: Carrefour is the proud owner of a beautiful piece of land in the #metaverse !
📍(33,147) @TheSandboxGame. pic.twitter.com/wffvvodt6F
— Elodie Perthuisot (@ElodiePerthuiso) January 31, 2022
If, as usual, the businesses will come to ogle like birds of prey on your wallet, the world of The Sandbox also contains a strong tendency to play-to-earn.
Also read: NFT: new paradise for money laundering?
It offers its “inhabitants” create their own NFTs via in-game software for the purpose of selling them. What make you dream of a virtual success that would be reflected financially in reality. Other metaverses are on the same niche, like Decentraland who even offers to make exhibitions of NFT.
Finally, virtual worlds may have a better future than our real world, which is finding it increasingly difficult to seduce!
