As the industry chain matures, how far is today’s VR content from Metaverse?

Since the Metaverse concept became popular, imaginations and layouts about it have emerged in an endless stream. Some survey agency reports even predict that a real "oasis" world will appear in 2030.

Image source: Ready Player One movie

Metaverse is a combination of Meta+Verse, or the metaverse. To put it more specifically, it is the fantasy of the next generation of the Internet in human literature. Metaverse is a "new world" built in virtual space in the future. It has everything that human society has except physical objects, and people can live, entertain, work, and trade in it.

The concept of Metaverse has evolved from a personal fantasy about the next generation of computing platforms to a common ideal for many people about the future world. For the VR/AR industry, the underlying technologies we are involved in, such as spatial positioning technology, gesture recognition, real-time audio and video interaction, Avatar, modeling, brain-computer interaction, etc., are the core of building Metaverse.

So, standing at the center of the VR/AR industry, with the underlying technology in our left hand and the ideal of Metaverse in our right hand, how far are we from the real "Metaverse"? VR Tuo Gyro has discussed topics such as users and technology before. Today, let's talk about the "top priority" that will never be outdated on the Internet no matter how it develops - content.

Current status of VR content: rich variety and gradually mature industry chain

The most intuitive way to imagine Metaverse is the game "Oasis" in "Ready Player One". In Oasis, players can do almost anything. Characters who are good at mechanics can build their own giant studios, the male and female protagonists can go to bars to dance retro disco when they are in love, and they can make money through racing games when they are out of money.

Image source: Ready Player One movie

Oasis can be said to be a virtual complex that encompasses everything, with different functions interconnected - this is why content is the top priority in building an ideal Metaverse. At this stage, the first thing to do is to ensure that the content is rich enough.

In the VR industry, Oculus Quest 2 and its content platforms have stimulated the development of the ecosystem. All platforms are working to build a VR content ecosystem, but in fact, some domestic VR companies, led by HTC, have begun to lay out content ecosystems in 2016. Take VIVEPORT as an example. After years of careful operation, the content on the platform is also very rich, involving games, film and television, social networking, art, education, exhibitions, virtual office/conference, live broadcast, browsers and other aspects.

Image source: HTC VIVE

Another important part of VR content that can "retain customers" is social interaction. Facebook CEO Zuckerberg has publicly stated many times that he is optimistic about VR/AR because such technology can truly improve users' social experience. From another perspective, the important value of VR/AR content lies in its social attributes, and good social interaction can attract more users. At the same time, under the influence of the epidemic, online virtual social interaction has flourished, making social interaction the most watched VR content demand category in 2021.

HTC Vive Content and Platform President Lin Junwu said at the recent HTC VIVE New Product Experience and Developer Customer Conference: "Future life will be presented in digital form, and VIVEPORT has already completed the planning and application of many scenarios." On the C-end, the VR content platform has social applications such as "Rec Room" and "VRChat" that are popular with users. On the B-end, it involves office, conference, education, etc., with a wider range of applications, which is inseparable from VIVEPORT's careful layout over the years.

Lin Junwu mentioned: "In the past year, with the popularization of 5G and the catalysis of the global epidemic, we have seen the trend of the real and virtual worlds about to merge. HTC has already led the trend several years ago and launched the world's first virtual content platform with subscription services - VIVEPORT VR content store, which successfully subverted the business model of VR content platforms and gradually included more types of high-quality content to meet the needs of end consumers."

Image source: HTC VIVE

“On the other hand, in order to accelerate the overall development of the VR industry, HTC has also taken a multi-pronged approach and listened in depth to the needs of corporate users. The recently launched new VIVE Business platform provides companies with solutions from hardware, software and integrated services, once again creating an innovative model for the VR business model. As the VR application market continues to develop, we have also announced the ISV partner program globally, inviting developers and brands to join the Vive Reality ecosystem. We hope that through this partner program, we can jointly usher in a new industrial revolution and realize an all-round virtual world.”

This also shows HTC VIVE's determination to serve the content needs of B-side customers. Especially since 2021, HTC VIVE has connected enterprises and service providers with VIVE Business and ISV partner programs, and expanded the boundaries of the VR ecosystem.

According to Lin Junwu's description, in VIVEPORT's social experience, users can use applications such as "Engage" for business communication, or use "VRChat" for easy social activities. It is understood that there are many office social applications for enterprises in VIVEPORT, such as virtual conference platforms "VIVE Sync" and "Spaces" specially prepared for corporate users. During the epidemic, HTC employees around the world often use the "VIVE Sync" platform for work.

Business presentation scene in Engage (Source: Steam)

Meeting scene in "VIVE Sync" (Source: HTC VIVE)

Education is also an area that VIVEPORT attaches great importance to. This is different from foreign manufacturers, who seem to pay more attention to practicality. VIVEPORT combines the good performance of HTC VIVE and introduces multi-scene, online English speaking training applications such as "MageVR Learning Platform". On the one hand, it plays the advantages of VR technology and VR hardware immersive experience, and on the other hand, it provides users with more diversified services to the greatest extent.

Image source: HTC VIVE

As all-in-one VR headsets gradually move toward consumer-grade and are recognized and accepted by more and more people, their positioning has gradually shifted toward "game consoles", and VR games have become the core pillar of VR content. The ecological focus of various manufacturers naturally falls on games. For example, VIVEPORT announced at the beginning of 2021 that it would increase VIVEPORT's developer revenue share to 80%. During the same period, Steam's revenue share was 30%. The 80% share provided by VIVEPORT is a huge benefit to developers.

VIVEPORT includes all kinds of popular games, such as shooting games "Hyper Dash" and "Budget Cuts", multiplayer online games "Extreme Sprint", "Final Assault" and "Elf Assassin", sports games "Squash Space", etc. At the same time, VIVEPORT also sets up columns such as popular member content and good game recommendations for users, which not only facilitates users' selection, but also encourages users to explore different game experiences.

Image source: UploadVR

As well-known film festivals at home and abroad, such as the Venice Film Festival and the Beijing International Film Festival, have successively set up VR units, and art exhibition halls such as UCCA have successively introduced immersive art exhibitions including XR content, VR art content has gradually gained attention. HTC VIVE also attaches great importance to the field of art. For several years, it has continued to invest in the filming of VR films and the production of VR animations, including investing in the well-known art film director Tsai Ming-liang and introducing his VR art works such as "Home in the Desert". VIVEPORT also has art-oriented VR content such as "Surreal Museum".

The more than 50 works in the "Surreal Museum" are specially designed for the virtual VR world by artists from all over the world. Different from "watching "Mona Lisa" from a 3D perspective", in the "Surreal Museum", users can truly "enter" a virtual art world, surrounded by objects with rich colors and representing avant-garde art concepts. At the same time, the background sound is also filled with music that best fits the current atmosphere. Being in it is like entering the artist's mind and surrounded by beautiful fantasies. In addition, users can also "visit the exhibition online" with other users, and make like-minded friends while experiencing the new atmosphere of art works.

Image source: HTC VIVE

The Surreal Museum has also launched many DLC activities, such as the Cannes Film Festival, the Tribeca Film Festival, etc., to keep users fresh. It is understood that the Surreal Museum will regularly update the content and activities to make it a real online art exhibition space, allowing users to get fresh immersive interactive art experience at any time just like visiting a real offline exhibition.

In the field of film and television, since it is an entertainment demand of the consumer side, just like games, it is also the added value of VR all-in-one machines. At the same time, based on consumers' inherent understanding of VR hardware, such as watching movies and 360° videos, there is a strong demand for VR film and television content on the consumer side.

At present, in the field of VR film and television, there are leading film and television companies such as Sandman Studio that produce, distribute and promote films. The production level of film and television companies is also improving, from simple 360° panoramic videos to interactive and entertaining film and television works such as "PaperBirds".