Economic Observation Network reporter Feng Qingyan at the beginning of 2022, the world of the meta-universe added another powerful player. On the evening of January 18, 2022, Microsoft announced the acquisition of Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion (about 436.5 billion yuan) in cash, and after the completion of the transaction, Microsoft will become the third largest game company in the world after Tencent and Sony in terms of revenue. Heavy money into active vision Blizzard, which represents Microsoft's determination to bet on the meta-universe.
For the popularity of the meta-universe and the future direction, Chen Longqiang, chief strategy officer of Baixin Bank, told the Economic Observation Network reporter that the construction and improvement of the meta-universe will take at least 30 years, and 2050 is a time point that is particularly worth looking forward to. Why? Looking back 30 years, in the early 1990s, the Internet had just landed in China for commercial applications, and since then the Internet has begun to enter a stage of rapid development. The advent of iPone4S in 2011 meant the real arrival of smartphones and the mobile Internet. 2021 is also a very important watershed year, and the impact of the epidemic is driving our lives to move further into the digital space. By 2025, China's digital economy will move towards a period of comprehensive expansion, and the added value of the core industries of the digital economy will account for 10% of GDP. Once it exceeds 10%, it will usher in greater acceleration.
The end game of the Internet is the metacosm, and the mobile Internet will enter the era of immersive Interconnection. Analogous to the path of the Internet, did the iconic products and events of the metaverse happen? Chen Longqiang believes that the iconic product of the metacosm may be virtual reality, artificial intelligence, or even life sciences, and will not be single. Where changes in the user terminal are very important observation dimensions. Shipments of VR are already growing rapidly, especially when it's becoming a consumer-grade product, "Imagine buying a VR glasses is much cheaper than a phone, and even replaces a phone, would you use it?" Chen Longqiang said.
Research firm IDC recently released the 2021 AR/VR headset market overview, said that the total shipment of AR/VR headsets in 2021 reached about 9.7 million units, which is expected to nearly triple in the next four years. According to IDC data, AR/VR headset shipments in 2021 increased significantly by 348.4% year-on-year, integrated VR headsets accounted for 89.8% of shipments, and Meta devices had the highest market share of 75%.
Chen Longqiang saw that after Facebook (now known as Meta) acquired Oculus, VR has become very popular in foreign countries, the Chinese market is also rapidly opening, immersive games, entertainment and shopping have greater appeal, and future hardware and software devices, networks and computing power will not be a problem, but content may be a bottleneck for a long time.
Will VR glasses replace mobile phones as the next generation of phenomenal products? "Personally, I think VR still needs revolutionary iterations, because it's unrealistic and uncomfortable for everyone to wear VR glasses on the streets. The future may be an era of human-machine symbiosis, which is the inevitable trend of industrial digitalization and the end of the metacosm. Chen Longqiang told reporters.
![VR glasses can be so cool! Steampunk wind, forced to gram, weighing only 250 grams[fig]](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAP///wAAACwAAAAAAQABAAACAkQBADs=)