Advertising in VR Gaming – Metaverse Predictions

3

October

2021

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Ready Player One (2018) is a popular movie that follows the story of Wade Watts, a typical young adult, who dives into a Metaverse system called OASIS as do many of his peers. The technology in that sci-fi movie depicts a world in which people can fully immerse themselves within the Virtual Reality game. Of course, an infamous company’s CEO Nolan Sorrento, has for objective to gain ownership over the OASIS system in order to have full advertising power over the players.

Although this is purely science-fiction, the ethical questions that the movie encompasses can become very relevant indeed, and in the near future! Facebook’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced that the company would become known as a Metaverse company. As in any industry, if there are opportunities of profit, they will be seized.

Facebook’s VR Gaming Brand Oculus has known a global success with the launch of its latest VR Headset, the Quest 2. Having sold over 5 Million units since its launch in October 2020, making it the most popular VR console ever released, surpassing HTC, Sony, HP and Valve equivalents. The Quest 2’s success is greatly attributed to its affordability at a price of about $300 for its most basic version.

Although the industry is at its beginning stages, Facebook has started making moves with regard to advertising and the future of the Metaverse. In June 2021, publisher and creator of its popular game Blastron, Resolution Games, was the first to sign up for advertising trials that Oculus was looking forward to.

First trials of putting Ads in VR Gaming

Facebook had envisioned the ads as being a background with an emphasis on context and relevance. For example, these ads may be shown as part of the virtual environment, where there would be ads if it were in real-life. As shown in the picture above, these ads would be posted in a banner-type style as additional decor.

However, due to poor communication on Facebook’s part, the news was turned with a different narrative. Instead of being passive advertising which would melt in the environment without removing any sense of immersion, the VR community believed that the ads would come in between Menu screens, and be completely detrimental to the VR experience. Many thought that this was only the start and that it would eventually resemble what the villain in Ready Player One (2018) wanted to achieve.

The players complained that it was unfair for advertising to be added to a payed-for game. Oblivious to the fact that the extra revenue stream would be destined towards the developers, the community rejected the concept and called upon a boycott. Due to a high level of backlash, Resolution Games came back on their word and decided that their game was not a good fit for advertising trials. Against their will, Facebook was forced to postpone their advertising trials.

What does the future of VR Gaming hold, and what type of advertising will be implemented?

Sources :
https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-57568039
https://uploadvr.com/facebooks-head-of-vr-responds-to-ad-criticism/
https://www.counterpointresearch.com/xr-headset-shipments-almost-triple-yoy-q1-2021/
https://www.theverge.com/2021/6/16/22535511/facebook-ads-oculus-quest-vr-apps
https://www.theverge.com/22588022/mark-zuckerberg-facebook-ceo-metaverse-interview

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A different taste of VR

5

October

2016

No ratings yet. The virtual reality world is changing rapidly, Google just announced their vision (no pun intended) on VR headsets with the Google Daydream View. Many other companies have their headset already on the market and our now developing applications for these devices (Lamkin, 2016). Consumers are slowly starting to get into virtual reality, Deloitte Global predicting that at the end of this year VR will have about $700 million in hardware sales. Of which the vast majority is focussed on video games but in the longer term VR is likely to have multiple applications (Lee & Stewart, 2016).
Virtual reality hardware offers visual and audio content to replicate a realistic environment. Immersing users into a simulation that allows them to feel like as if it was reel. However this illusion remains incomplete, only satisfying sight and hearing. So that’s why Ubisoft developed the Nosulus Rift, which will offer gamers a different immersive experience while playing the game “South Park: The Fractured But Whole”. This game has a new character whose superpower is farting. And since a fart is not visible, Ubisoft created a new VR wearable device that users need to strap onto their nose and will make them able to smell the farts of the characters (Passary, 2016). Ubisoft is showcasing this device at game conventions where people can try-out the game as well as the headset. Some of the reactions give a good indication of how well the device works. “A horrible, noxious gas” according to Farokhmanesh (2016) and Dingman (2016) says “it can make you retch and feel like you want to die!”
Then the questions arise, is this a good development for VR? Will it help VR become the next chapter in the continuing disruption in technology and innovation? The Nosulus Rift is more than just showing a new way to experience VR, it opens a large field of new opportunities in the sector of VR. Helping VR become integrated into our lives and workplaces in the near future.

Sources
https://www.wareable.com/headgear/the-best-ar-and-vr-headsets
http://www2.deloitte.com/global/en/pages/technology-media-and-telecommunications/articles/tmt-pred16-media-virtual-reality-billion-dollar-niche.html
http://www.techtimes.com/articles/174579/20160822/forget-oculus-rift-meet-nosulus-rift-this-wearable-tech-will-let-you-smell-fart-in-new-south-park-game.htm
http://www.polygon.com/2016/8/19/12550744/south-park-fractured-but-whole-nosulus-rift
http://www.pcworld.com/article/3116197/software/south-park-the-fractured-but-wholes-fart-simulating-nosulus-rift-almost-made-me-vomit.html

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Siri: Your virtual assistent

4

October

2016

3.67/5 (3) Five years ago on 4 October 2011, Apple released a personal-assistant application named Siri. Siri, nowadays fully integrated into Apple’s iOS operating system, processes the voice commands of users into simple actions. For instance, one can record a message and Siri turns the recording into a written text message. How did this application develop through the last five years?

Siri was initially created by an eponymous American startup and started as an independent application. The app could recognize only simple voice commands and answer them. Apple bought the startup in 2010 and first introduced the function in 2011 in the new iPhone 4S. After a year, the iPad users gained access to Sire. Mac users are only able to use Siri since this year.

In the early stage after introducing Siri, using the application in the Netherlands was difficult. The only languages which were supported were general and common languages like French, English, and German. Besides, Siri was not aware of locations in the Netherlands, so the app could only suggest restaurants and other hotspots in the United States. The Dutch language update arrived in 2015. This update made it possible to dictate Dutch text messages. In addition, a lot of Dutch locations are now familiar with Siri.

Not too long ago, developers gained access to Siri. This is a great leap forward for Siri because other application can now implement Sire in their systems. For instance, you can not only dictate a regular text message now but also a Whatsapp message.

Your conversation with Siri is still improving each day because Apple is using a self-learning technology for Siri. This technology helps the application recognize more words and more sentences. Think about the possibilities which will arise if Siri keeps learning to better understand voice commands. Maybe, in five more years, we will be able to fully control our mobile devices using our voice.

Do you often use Siri? And have you noticed the improvements of Siri in the last couple of years?

(http://ipadhulp.com/handleidingen/hoe-werkt-siri/)
(http://www.nu.nl/mobiel/4330702/slimme-apple-assistent-siri-bestaat-vijf-jaar.html)
(https://www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2016/10/04/apples-slimme-assistent-siri-is-vijf-a1524715)

 

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