For most its time, computers interact with humans through the screen. This is no longer the case.
From the early days of computers, to desktop computers, laptops, tablets and smartphones, as well as some other smart devices, it's safe to say that a screen is what they have in common. To go beyond the screen, researchers have ventured onwards to develop Virtual Reality (VR), as well as Augmented Reality (AR).
In the so-called virtual worlds, users are no longer restricted to the interactions they were bounded when using mouse, keyboard or other peripherals.
By entering the virtual worlds, the boundaries between reality and computer-generated worlds start to fade.
And when Meta unleashed what it calls the 'Horizon Worlds', it started showing a bold vision in the so-called metaverse.
Former Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aimé is pessimistic about that idea.
During South by Southwest (SXSW), Reggie who was in attendance at the show talked to Bloomberg about the disruption the metaverse has created in the entertainment and leisure markets.
Reggie who has then became a non-executive director at Spin Master and Brunswick, was asked about his thoughts on the metaverse. But his thoughts about it was less than enthusiastic.
Reggie believes that elements of the metaverse already exist in games like Fortnite and Roblox.
Before that, there was Second Life that pioneered the concept.
What Meta did, was picking up the existing business, and gave it a huge push.
When Mark Zuckerberg first announced the change of name from Facebook to Meta, he signifies his company's shift in interest.
This created ripple throughout the tech sphere.
With Meta's huge influence and resource, Zuckerberg is certain to propel the business into a height that was previously unseen.
And this really happened because others quickly followed.
For example, Microsoft in leveraging its Mesh technology to create its own metaverse, Pokémon GO Niantic Labs sharing the technology needed to create AR/VR apps, Samsung in developing its own chips for the metaverse, and Qualcomm in developing chips dedicated to headset devices among others.
I am bullish on @FortniteGame and @Roblox pushing the metaverse concept — not @Meta, not @Facebook https://t.co/44LNy0ID5k
— Reggie Fils-Aime (@Reggie) March 14, 2022
This is why Reggie stated that Meta is not an "innovative company", saying that the reason why is because "they have either acquired interesting things like Oculus, like Instagram, or they’ve been a fast follower of people’s ideas."
"It's a label that every business is trying to grab on to to say that they're business is part of the metaverse."
"For me, the metaverse is a digital space where you interact with your friends, in a social, and I believe in gaming type of environment."
So rather hoping for bigger tech companies to pioneer this metaverse future, Reggie tends to believe that it's the smaller companies that would be the ones that are "really innovating".
To be innovative, "you really need to be thinking about the consumer first."
This is unlike Meta, which according to Reggie, is a company that thinks about advertising revenue first, because that is "98% of their revenue."