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[정재원 기자] Will the movie’Ready Player One’ directed by Steven Spielberg become a reality? While the non-face-to-face and online trend is accelerating due to Corona 19, the metaverse service that mixes virtual and reality is gaining popularity. In particular, Gen Z (a generation born in the mid-1990s to early 2000s) reacts eagerly, predicting another world beyond reality, the metaverse era.
It is a compound word of the Greek word meta, meaning’beyond,’ and universe, meaning the world or the universe. Users don’t just enjoy games or virtual reality using avatars, they engage in social and cultural activities just like in real life. It is a new social space. Furthermore, economic value can also be created, owned, invested, and rewarded.
On September 25 last year (U.S. local time), BTS (hereinafter referred to as BTS) unveiled their new song Dynamite in Epic Games’ online game’Fort Knight’.
The stage of a new song was unfolded in a game, not a music video or showcase, and the stage where BTS appeared is’Party Royale’ in Fortnite, where gamers watch movies or concerts with other players with their avatars. It is a space to enjoy.
On the 27th, Nocut News reported, “A lot of gamers who participated in the party royale danced to BTS’ dynamite. They also bought a new BTS choreography emoticon.”
Prior to this, celebrity rapper Travis Scott held a concert at Fortnite in April of last year. The 12.3 million people who connected simultaneously danced with Scott’s giant avatar, and the concert sales at the time reached 20 million dollars.
As such, the space in Fortnite where BTS or Scott performed a virtual performance is called’Metaverse’. On the 27th, Nocut News introduced the metaverse today and tomorrow with the title of’The SNS era is coming and now the’Metaverse’ era is coming’.
The media said, “The metaverse is rapidly spreading along with the corona pandemic. People who have nowhere to go are building their own world in the metaverse. Together, they accelerated the metaverse era.”
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Nintendo’s’Gather, Animal Forest’, which was released in March last year, is also considered a representative metaverse. In a virtual world where real-life time passes, gamers fish, grow plants, and decorate their homes. Rather than simply playing games, they have become a place for hobbies and social activities to heal. The game became popular all over the world, and since its launch, it has led the operating profit of the second quarter of last year (April to June) by 428%.
On the 26th, Korea Investment & Securities said, “Metaverse and virtual reality are not new concepts, but what I thought was a future thing is different from the past in that it came before my eyes after the novel coronavirus infection (Corona 19).” As more people access the virtual world, various revenue models such as advertisements, virtual currency (virtual assets), and contents are also being created.”
Kwon Yun-gu, a researcher at Korea Investment & Securities, said, “The fact that the technology development of virtual reality and augmented reality (VR, AR) devices such as Oculus’Quest 2’is rapidly progressing is a factor that accelerates the era of metaverse.” Is expected to change our lives by expanding the scope of commerce beyond games.”
He predicted that “the interest in companies that will lead the metaverse such as Roblox, which was before the listing, and Unity software and Tencent will gradually increase.”
“We are also conducting various experiments that mix virtual environments and reality,” Jung Ki-hyun, CEO of Facebook Korea, wrote to a media outlet. “Microsoft recently used HoloLens, a mixed reality device, to enable Brazilian medical staff to communicate with medical staff in France and the United States in real time. We announced the case of performing arthroscopic surgery in collaboration. Three doctors scattered across three continents exchanged opinions in real time, and it was like doing an operation together in one space,” he said.
Since the launch of Facebook’s VR headset’Oculus Quest 2′, it is estimated that about 1.98 million units have been sold in the fourth quarter of last year alone. Facebook introduced Infinite Office, which helps effective home work through Quest 2, and a health app that can measure the performance of home training, while also releasing AR glasses Aria to create’Metaverse Economy’. Was evaluated.
It is known that Apple is preparing a’Mixed-Reality’ headset that combines VR and AR. Apple’s headset can combine real objects around the user with VR being used in games or apps, for example, by putting on a headset, it becomes possible to mix reality and virtuality, such as placing a virtual game board on a real table. Apple is working hard to preoccupy the metaverse era by patenting VR gloves.
Market research firm Strategy Analytics (SA) predicts that the metaverse-related industry, currently estimated at 190 billion dollars, will reach 280 billion dollars (about 314 trillion won) by 2025.
“The future technology will become today’s technology if application and content innovations blossom on the basis of excellent devices and well-equipped communication infrastructure. And it will naturally take place in everyday life like the air. Recently, contents and technology areas, including several unicorns, will become the technology of the future,” said Jung. It is an era where Korean companies that lead innovation in the industry are constantly appearing. It is not a dream for Korea to lead the global market if there is a big strategy that incorporates such innovation capabilities with the overwhelming competitiveness of the manufacturing industry as a weapon.”
“The Metaverse will continue to challenge and change the way we all interact and communicate today. Another opportunity opens up for our competitiveness to shine.”
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