Although there are seemingly endless possibilities for the Metaverse, developers may miss out on affluent prospects if the ecosystem doesn’t adopt standards, promote interoperability, and inform users. This is supported by a recent analysis from the analyst firm ABI Research.
Speaking about the findings, ABI Principal Analyst Michael Inouye told TelecomTV that the total addressable market (TAM) for the consumer metaverse would be built around metaverse-related developments in the streaming video, social media, gaming, and digital advertising sectors, which will be crucial in the growth of the immersive virtual world.
He stated that rather than the infamous renaming of Facebook to Meta, established patterns in the digital content sector are what support the metaverse, and growth in these industries will serve as its foundation. The analyst also believes that the metaverse is poised for significant gains in the consumer sphere if trends within these well-established markets continue. He said, “As more aspects of our lives are integrated into these virtual ecosystems, increasing percentages of our media and entertainment spending, advertising spending, etc., will be categorized as metaverse potential. Consequently, many of the problems businesses face in these industries will also include internal market perception challenges, political and economic factors, and worries over data protection.
Inouye cited, as one area that “may hinder the growth of the metaverse,” consumers rejecting the idea of non-fungible tokens (NFTs), which are thought to be inherently linked to the future metaverse. The ban on cryptocurrencies in some nations and restrictions on some Web3 components may further impede the development of the metaverse. Before we achieve a unified metaverse, there are undoubtedly many issues that need to be resolved.
He thinks legislation and regulations are essential for establishing standardization, interoperability, and consumer education. And as they push for standardization and interoperability efforts, groups and platforms like the Metaverse Standards Forum and NVIDIA’s Omniverse platform will come into play.
According to the analyst, the debut and widespread use of popular smart glasses will mark the turning point for bringing “the most dramatic changes” to the metaverse and to the sphere of digital services in general. These devices will begin to unlock the full potential of the metaverse, especially as it relates to public spaces, although perhaps not on the same scale (or as widely) as smartphones. This will happen across the consumer and enterprise markets. Additionally, this will give mobile markets a stronger entry point into the metaverse, according to Inouye. By the 2030s, it’s anticipated that such headsets will be readily accessible.
“While the opportunity is certainly there because there are so many things that must occur before a full metaverse future, for the time being, I’m holding more conservative expectations (and classifications) on what is directly driven by the metaverse versus just evolutionary changes to pre-existing markets,” Inouye said. “If, however, the pieces fall into place faster and better than expected, this could certainly accelerate the curve,” and could mean the $2 trillion revenue is achieved.
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