原文
:For metaverse enthusiasts like Matthew Ball, a venture capitalist, online games such as Roblox—and “Minecraft”, “Fortnite”, “Animal Crossing” and “World of Warcraft”—serve as proof that immersive virtual worlds can be popular and profitable. According to Newzoo, a market-research firm, consumers spent $178bn on video games in 2020. Besides blasting each other, many gamers use them to keep in touch with distant friends. And they are already happy to spend cash on virtual property. Newzoo thinks around 75% of the industry’s revenue comes from games that allow the sale of virtual goods, for example powerups or clothes for players’ avatars.
译文
:对于元宇宙爱好者马修·鲍尔这样的风险投资家来说,罗布乐思、我的世界、堡垒之夜、动物森林、魔兽世界这样的游戏证明了沉浸式虚拟世界可以在火的同时赚钱。根据市场调研公司Newzoo的数据,2020年消费者在电子游戏上花费了1790亿美元。除了狂轰乱炸,许多玩家喜欢在游戏里和远方的朋友保持联系。此外,能在虚拟财产上花钱他们就已经很开心了。Newzoo认为游戏业75%的收入都来自可以买卖虚拟商品的游戏,比如升级装备和人物皮肤。
解读
:从目前的情况看,元宇宙最致命的问题在于,虚拟世界中的一切无法造就真正的生产力。不管怎么说,虚拟世界最终总是要与现实世界相联系的。如果前者无法在后者中体现真正的价值(注意是真正的价值),那么元宇宙必然只会是资本的赚钱工具而已。
原文
:The video-game industry has been experimenting with virtual worlds for decades, says Raph Koster, a veteran designer, exploring how players use them to socialise, create and run entire economies based on virtual goods. Interest waxes and wanes as each generation’s ambitions bump up against technical limitations, he says. But now that the subject is in the air again, some metaverse enthusiasts reckon that the benefit of all that experience might let video-game firms like Roblox, Epic Games and Unity beat the tech titans to the punch.