Is Akash Nigam the Harbinger of the Metaverse?
The human race endlessly strives to innovate and expand upon its capabilities.
- About two hundred years ago, in 1822, Charles Babbage began building the world’s first computer.
- Around a hundred and fifty years ago, in 1876, Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone.
- Approximately a century ago, in 1926, Shintaro Uda invented the Yagi-Uda radio transmitter.
- Fifty years ago, in 1971, Federico Faggin invented the single-chip microprocessor, making personal computers possible.
Advances in telecommunications have come thick and fast since then, with the Internet, cellular telephones, virtual reality, Wi-Fi, and eCommerce all iterating on each other to push the collective capabilities of humanity further and further. Akash Nigam, the CEO of Genies, the 3D avatar company, believes that the next leap forward will incorporate all of the above into one transcendent technology called the Metaverse.
Paving the Way for the Metaverse
The Metaverse, as discussed in numerous sci-fi franchises including the novel and recent movie blockbuster Ready Player One (2018), is a universal virtual space, a kind of Internet town square, where people can gather to share and participate in their interests together, whether those interests be gaming, fashion, art, music, business, or anything else.
“It starts as an idea in your head and later turns into literature that people write books on. People read the books, create movies on them, while others watch in excitement. This continuous cycle shows that people speak the Metaverse into existence and buy into the fantasy in the concept,” Akash says. “If you talk to anybody in Gen-Z, they think we live in a video game, like if something goes wrong, they’re like, “oh, it’s a glitch in the simulation…Because Gen-Z understands the bad side of the internet, they are looking for some sort of safe haven, and that’s the mindset right now.”
Genies’ avatars are what Akash hopes will become the most common method of self-representation in this platform-agnostic space. The cartoonish proportions and bold, exaggerated animations of the customizable Genies are an appealing deviation from the photorealistic avatars that other companies are developing. They have more in common with the simplistic but charming character designs featured in Nintendo’s smash hit Animal Crossing: New Horizons, one of 2020’s most successful video games with 31 million sales. Animal Crossing is notable for being a sort of trial balloon of the Metaverse, in fact. Players design their digital identities (including a wide variety of fashion options), build a community, and then invite each other to visit the virtual space they have created, sharing resources, socializing by playing and exploring together, even celebrating events such as holidays together. Of course, while the parameters of the game are not quite as broad as could be imagined in the Metaverse, the viral popularity of the game (especially in countries such as Japan where it is the second best-selling game of all time) indicates that the world is ready for a virtual social hub such as the Metaverse. This need has been compounded by the conditions of the COVID-19 pandemic rendering standard social interaction potentially unsafe. While the world recovers from the pandemic, the importance of a virtual space in which users can congregate, express themselves visually, and participate in events together is unlikely to diminish substantially.
Full Expression in a Digital World
The world of big business, and the tech industry in particular, is keeping a close eye on the potential earnings in virtual spaces. The massively popular online game Fortnite earned $1.8 billion in revenue in 2019, and $400 million in April 2020 alone. The majority of this profit was made from subscriptions for premium game access, and microtransactions: sales of cosmetic alterations to character (also known as skins). These products have a low development cost and incredible potential for return on investment. The key is building a large enough userbase with interest in expressing themselves and distinguishing themselves from the crowd that these cosmetic alterations are desirable. Genies is working hard to distinguish itself not only as a creator of appealing avatars, but a partner in building online marketplaces that generate substantial returns. The avatar company’s present strategy may well pay off: revenue from virtual worlds could approach $400 billion by 2025. How much of that will land in Akash’s pockets, be they virtual or real, shall depend on how magical his Genies prove to be.
