Good morning everyone! I’m happy today to write again about Metaverse and VR. In our last article about this topic, we introduced the basic concepts to understand the first differences between Metaverse and Virtual Reality.

Today we're going to see side by side what the criteria are to identify well which are VR and which can be defined as Metaverses.

Let’s start from Virtual Reality.

• Definition: Virtual Reality or VR is the technology for creating three-dimensional environments with elements of sight, touch and sound.
• Ownership: The brand owns the VR system and all related content.
• Technologies: VR is a limited technology and could only go to the extent of providing simulated 3D environments.
• Experiences: Users are limited to the virtual experience offered in VR systems.
• Persistence: The VR experience of a user stops at the moment they switch off their device.

Now let’ see the differences of Metaverse.

• Definition: Metaverse is an open, shared virtual world with 3D virtual spaces where users can explore and interact with content and other users as digital avatars.
• Ownership: Users have complete ownership of their assets and experiences in the metaverse.
• Technologies: Metaverse draws support from various technologies such as VR, AR, decentralization and connectivity technologies, alongside facilitating open prospects for integrating new technologies.
• Experiences: Users can access a wide range of experiences in the metaverse.
• Persistence: Metaverse is a shared and persistent virtual world that exist even when you are not in the metaverse.

it is important to note that there is no clear definition of the metaverse. As a result, VR has an upper hand in terms of definition in a virtual reality vs. metaverse debate. You may wonder why metaverse doesn’t have a clear definition when there is already one right in front of us.  In this case, you should note that there are many definitions of the metaverse. Some definitions of the metaverse present it as an open, shared, and persistent digital world, while some define it as an embodied internet.

The most important difference, in my opinion, is the difference between metaverse and virtual reality refer to prospects of ownership. When you are using a VR system, you are basically experiencing a system under the ownership of a brand. Metaverse is a completely different game altogether as it allows ownership of virtual assets and experiences to users. Everything you create and own in the metaverse is yours, whether it is a piece of virtual real estate or an artifact.

After this side-by-side key difference comparison what is your opinion about these 2 technologies?

After this overview we can state that metaverse is more than a “simple” VR. However, we know that we are only at the beginning of this technology. The ecosystem and the technological infrastructure, software and hardware, is still very immature and requires significant development if we want to bring this technology within reach of everyone.

I would like to know: have you already had some metaverse or VR experiences? What’s, in your opinion, this technology needs and what could be the uses for which you could use this technology?

Let me know in a comment!