Only 4.2% of South Koreans ‘use’ metaverse services - but not really

Executive summary

Welcome to your weekly briefing on the metaverse. Here are your snippets to sound smarter in meetings this week:

• Hot off the press: Bloomberg confirms several details on Quest 3.

  • “The main north star for the team was from the moment you put on this headset, the mixed reality has to make it feel better, easier, more natural... You can walk effortlessly through your house knowing you can see perfectly well.”

• Headline: Doctor Who and Top Gear are working with The Sandbox (analysis below).

• Stat of the week: Only 4.2% of South Koreans ‘use’ metaverse services, according to the Korea Information Society Development Institute (analysis below).

• Other stories: Apple invited UploadVR and Road to VR to WWDC, Nreal rebranded to XREAL, and XR Today announced the winners of the XR Awards (more stories below).

• Partnership: I’m looking for collaboration opportunities to help the Immersive Wire grow. If you’re up for it, then reply to this email and let’s chat.

Analysis

Doctor Who and Top Gear are working with The Sandbox 

• Why? "This project forms part of BBC Studios' broader ambitious plans to grow our brands into new categories, with innovative technology and platforms forming an integral part of this," said Nicki Sheard, President of Brands & Licensing, BBC Studios.

• Details are light so far and I am curious to see how effective it will be - how integrated will the experiences be, and what type of audiences will be pulled in?

South Koreans may not use metaverse platforms as much, with only 4.2% dipping in occasionally.

• Firstly, hold this with a grain of salt as it focuses on Minecraft, Roblox, and Animal Crossing. The majority of South Koreans don’t play these games.

• Perhaps more importantly, what makes a good survey on the metaverse? So many have been littered with issues, from only focusing on gaming to being cluttered by dubious blockchain-based technologies. I am unsure, but I will have to think over the next few weeks. But it’s an important question because it’s exactly why our predictions on the metaverse’s future are more discombobulated than me on a night out.

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Other notable stories

Got any stories? Let me know at tom (at) immersivewire (dot) com.

• Apple invited UploadVR and Road to VR to WWDC.

  • Hmm, I wonder why.

• China’s Nanjing City will research blockchain-based technologies.  

• DigiLens announced it is teaming up with Taqtile to provide a solution that will assist deskless industrial and defense workers.

• GEENEE AR announced the launch of its advanced virtual try-on solutions for brands and retailers.

• Nreal rebranded to XREAL.

• Sony sold 600,000 PSVR 2 units between February and April, which is 8% higher than the original headset within a similar time period.

  • Also, Sony unveiled a few games for its PS VR 2, including a cool-looking one called Synapse.

• The Park Playground announced the opening of a second VR entertainment venue in Birmingham.

• VR Motion Learning created Tennis Esports, which realistically simulates the sport. The game will release 1 June.

• XR Today announced the winners of the XR Awards.

  • Disclaimer: I was a judge at the XR Awards.

Help corner

Need some assistance from other readers? Let me know at tom (at) immersivewire (dot) com.

• For a new project by new media artist Katharina Haverich, the team is looking for VRChat designers, coders and assets. The team is aiming at designing an inclusive theatre stage in VRChat to rehearse and perform excerpts from a play by German playwright Bertolt Brecht. For more information visit the open call on the website.

• Lowpass is a new newsletter run by Janko Roettgers, who wrote a multitude of XR-related exclusives at Protocol. Check it out here.