17May/20Off
Virtual Reality Won. Just Not the Kind You Think.
Online spaces like ‘Fortnite’ and ‘Animal Crossing’ are replacing the physical world
You had to be there. But you didn’t have to be there:
- For years, massive multiplayer games have been evolving beyond entertainment and into gathering places. The stay-at-home orders have only accelerated that trend. This week, a Democratic political strategist suggested that Joe Biden’s campaign could take a cue from rapper Travis Scott’s virtual Fortnite concert and project a giant hologram of the candidate against the Grand Canyon as part of the Democratic convention. Scott’s April 23 takeover of the battle-royale game, which drew more than 12 million concurrent viewers and nearly 28 million in all, has quickly become a benchmark for the potential of in-game live events. The idea of Biden trying to stage anything like it is both undeniably absurd and surprisingly plausible.
- The idea came as the prospect of a virtual Democratic convention is looking more likely. On Tuesday, party leaders took a step in that direction, giving convention planners the authority to allow virtual voting if needed. Online voting more generally remains contentious, with some states launching experiments even as the federal government warns that it’s “high-risk” because the systems that support it have not been proven to be fully secure. Ready or not, coronavirus is pushing key elements of our democracy online, including Biden’s campaign, which has struggled to adapt his backslapping political style to livestreams from his home in Delaware. In a New York Times op-ed earlier this month, Barack Obama’s former top strategists said he’ll have to get more creative and interactive in his use of platforms: “Online speeches from his basement won’t cut it.”
- Even if and when the pandemic recedes to the point that we can safely cram tens of thousands into an arena or convention hall, or even hundreds into a club, the logistical infrastructure that supports those events — from venues to promoters to StubHub and Live Nation — may lie in ruins. When you think of how Netflix was chipping away at movie theaters even before Covid-19, it’s not a stretch to foresee virtual events like Scott’s Fortnite concert permanently supplanting some portion of the live events industry, including but not limited to concerts. ESPN’s Arda Ocal, a former WWE announcer, predicts Fortniteweddings, Fortnite business meetings, an in-game WWE event, and Survivor: Fortnite.
See the full story here: https://onezero.medium.com/virtual-reality-won-just-not-the-kind-you-think-c3c49ea2d412