Is Metaverse just a Poorly built Video Game or a Great Marketing Tool?

What do INTERPOL, Flipkart, Union Bank of India, and Virat Kohli have in common? They all entered the metaverse in the past quarter.

Virtual reality (VR) gear is still too expensive for most people. Technically, you can enter the metaverse without it using a normal web browser. But, sadly, it feels like a badly designed video game without the proper gear!

Facebook, which betted big on the metaverse and even changed the name of the company to Meta to reflect its commitment to the concept, is not doing so well. And industry-watchers are suggesting the company should start focusing on other things, and even change the name again. What’s more, Apple CEO Tim Cook thinks the metaverse is too bizarre a concept for common folks to understand and meaningfully incorporate into their daily lives.

Yet, none of this seems to discourage people—especially companies—from setting foot in the metaverse. Some early movers feel there will be tangible gains in the near future, while some are simply curious, and adventurous enough to explore and test the new waters. Others are driven mainly by the fear of missing out.

Whatever be the motive, there is undoubtedly a lot happening in this emerging new world called the metaverse. Therefore, we continue to bring you our quarterly update.

E-tailers wooing customers in the metaverse

All major e-commerce brands have been experimenting with the metaverse in the past few months. As part of its Great Indian Festival, Amazon brought its Metaworld experience to a few Indian cities, including Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Kanpur, and Nagpur. This was an expo kind of setup, replete with actual physical events like concerts and games.