Take-Two Interactive CEO Strauss Zelnick has expressed skepticism about the term “metavers”, warning that it could end badly for companies trying to take advantage of the buzzword.
While there is no universally accepted definition, “metavers” is broadly defined as a network of 3D virtual spaces where users can socialize, play, and work, and some see it as a successor to the mobile Internet. .
Companies like Sony, Epic, Lego, Meta, Krafton, Bandai Namco and Microsoft are planning their own interpretations of the concept.
When asked about the concept in a new video interview on GamesIndustry.biz, Zelnick of Take-Two said he was skeptical of anyone “investing behind the buzzword” and argued that his company already had their own metaverses in games like GTA Online.
“I’m always skeptical about buzzwords because they mean different things to different people, and people who invest behind buzzwords probably don’t end up with great results,” Zelnick said.
“I’m not at all skeptical about huge, interactive, dynamic, entertaining worlds because our company is responsible for housing at least three of them,” he said. “The Biggest on Earth, Grand Theft Auto Online and Red Dead Redemption Online and then NBA 2K Online, and others to come.
“So I’m a wool – dyed believer that people will go to the digital worlds for entertainment, and if you offer a super entertaining experience, I think people will go for it.
“I think where my skepticism lies is that all companies suddenly believe that saying the word‘ metavers ’next to their company’s business strategy means that they will somehow be transformed and nirvana is at around the corner, and of course not. ”
Zelnick noted that he is particularly suspicious of blockchain-based metaverses, adding: “It’s very difficult to entertain people, building hip properties is incredibly difficult. It costs a lot of money, it takes a long time and there’s a lot of risk.
“So when a company that didn’t exist two years ago launches into a white paper, a blockchain-based metavers, and sells hundreds of millions of dollars of digital real estate in a two-day period, of course, I’m a little skeptical. .
“Because I have a healthy respect for how difficult it is to entertain people in that real estate, and in the absence of giving reasons to visit people, I do not know why the property has any value. And that seems to have been lost in the mix.
Zelnick noted that the concept of “metavers” has been in video games for a long time, dating back to Everquest and earlier games.
“But of course, ultimately all speculation is over; the question is not whether, the question is when, and when a lot of money is being thrown at one word, and there’s part of that, you can probably guess how it will go. end for a lot of people, and i think the answer is “not right”.
Zelnick later clarified that he was not saying that every metavers will fail, simply that there is no guarantee of success. He equated the situation with the boom of the dot-coms of the late 1990s, noting that while it led to a series of big success stories such as Meta, Google and Amazon, “many companies also went to fail “.
“It would be an exaggeration to say that nothing will succeed that focuses on building a new and massive digital experience,” he explained. “Of course, I think there will be many successes and we hope that we will be among a continuous group of companies that will be successful.
“But there will also be failures, and just calling something ‘metavers’ or ‘metavers-adjacent’ is not a guarantee that value will be created. In the absence of creating value for the consumer, there is nothing.”