Concerts, fashion and comedy: Life in the metaverse
Concerts, fashion and comedy: Life in the metaverse
The startups and corporate initiatives changing healthcare
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To begin this week’s edition, I’ll admit I’m not the heaviest of gamers (I do enjoy playing the NYT Spelling Bee on my phone), but I have been incredibly fascinated by the nature of how gaming platforms are developing. Seemingly accelerated by shelter-in-place, they offer experiences that are not quite VR but still very virtual, an eerie blend of real and synthetic.
Lady Gaga performing in Roblox, Rap concerts and fashion shows in Fortnite, clothing lines debuting in the Sims, financial markets thriving in Animal Crossing. Even watching a movie with 15 million other “theater-goers” or spending a day in a virtual Disneyland.
This is a trend and product evolution that feels inevitable for the way we consume media. And, for those of us not immersed in Fortnite, it can feel a bit confusing. The idea of a metaverse has been in our collective imagination from books like Neal Stephenson’s Snow Crash and Ernest Cline’s Ready Player One. But rather than asking you to read these (though they come highly recommended), I would recommend to start by reading Matthew Ball’s, The Metaverse: What It Is, Where to Find it, Who Will Build It, and Fortnite. It’s a wonderful introduction to the history, present and future of these ideas.
We’ve curated a number of pieces this week on what’s been happening so far. Travis Scott on Fortnite. Lady Gaga’s One World concert on Roblox. Brie Larson changing her clothes more in Animal Crossing than real life. Advertising in the metaverse.
Next week, we’ll be covering the future of payments. If there are any specific startups or initiatives you’d like us to highlight, just hit reply or email me at erica@nycmedialab.org.
We wish you and your community safety, calm, and solidarity as we support each other through this unprecedented time. Thank you again for reading.
All best,
Erica Matsumoto
On Fortnite’s Travis Scott Concert
Matthew Ball, who we referenced in the introduction, also provides a masterclass on what the Travis Scott concert on Fortnite means. He referenced this tweet from Epic Games founder Tim Sweeney, which feels very prescient:
MatthewBall.vc — 7 min read Read More I’ve Never Played Fortnite, but Was Forced to Attend Travis Scott’s Fortnite Concert
A very funny and somewhat cynical take on the Travis Scott on Fortnite concert.
Rolling Stone — 5 min read
Read More Roblox to Stream the One World: Together at Home Benefit Concert Inside a Virtual Theater
The global event featuring Lady Gaga, Sir Elton John, and pretty much every famous artist of today, was streamed in the multiplayer, kid-friendly platform Roblox.
The Verge — 2 min read Read More Imagining the Future of Fortnite In-Game Events
An ESPN deep dive into the possibilities of metaverse events. It’s especially intriguing to get the perspective of a media giant like ESPN, who have been already been experimental with showcasing esports and drone racing.
ESPN — 13 min read Read More Cute Dress. How Many Bells Did You Pay?
We loved this piece on fashion in Animal Crossing from the NY Times Styles Section:
Ask the actress Brie Larson, who tweeted in mid-April that she now changes clothes more often in Animal Crossing than in real life. Ask Elijah Wood, whose avatar turned up recently on an island belonging to someone with the Twitter handle directedbybryian — who in the game goes by Jessa — to trade bells for turnips and pick fruit while dressed in purple sneakers and a preppy blue button-down shirt.
NY Times — 8 min read Read More Why “Animal Crossing” Fascinates Financial Analysts
According to one study, Animal Crossing: New Horizons’ “fearless leader” Tom Nook is 40x richer than Jeff Bezos. But that hasn’t stopped the game’s 12 million players from agreeing to his loan terms.
Morning Brew — 1 min read Read More Esports: Changing the Name of the Advertising Game
The concept of gaming as a competitive sport has been around for nearly a quarter of a century, but the industry as a legitimate opportunity for professional gamers, content creators and advertisers is still just scratching the surface of its potential.
AdMonsters — 10 min read Read More Fortnite Pandemic Rap Fest Shows Future of Gaming
In these days of sheltering in place, music fans looking for live entertainment in a concert or large-group setting are pretty much out of luck. The best many can hope for are at-home performances of their favorite entertainers beamed through Zoom or on TV.
Bloomberg — 4 min read Read More This Week in Business History May 26th 1908: A discovery creates the Middle Eastern oil industry
Shortly after 4:30 A.M. the Middle East oil industry is born. At a desolate site in Iraq’s Zagros Mountains drillers for the British firm Burmah Oil Company were suddenly drenched with a 50-foot-high gusher; they nearly suffocated in the accompanying gas. It was the world’s largest oil reserve.
Burmah had been drilling fruitlessly in the region for six years, and a letter ter was already on its way from London to the field crew to stop exploration ration because the money had run out.
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