In recent years, with the gradual popularization of the concept of "virtual reality", the popularity of "virtual idol" and "metaverse" has risen. This concept has been frequently followed on social platforms, and the battle for the control of the metaverse has quietly started. The occasional flapping of an Amazonian butterfly's wings can trigger a major storm across the Pacific Ocean. And last week, the technology giant Facebook announced that it would change its name to "Meta" and turn to Metaverse, which triggered a new round of discussions and caused a double shock in the technology field and the capital market.Now, another giant in Internet technology is following up the layout: Microsoft has entered the Metaverse!Prior to this, major companies such as Tencent and Ali had applied for trademarks such as "QQ Yuan Universe" and "Ali Yuan Universe". Tianyancha data also shows that more than 400 companies have applied for Metaverse-related trademarks.
On November 2, Microsoft announced at the annual Ignite conference that it will launch a new Mesh for Microsoft Teams software, turning its Microsoft Teams into a "Metaverse", that is, integrating Microsoft's mixed reality platform Mesh into a video conferencing tool In Teams, people in different geographical locations are allowed to join in collaboration and share holographic experiences, and realize more functions such as joining virtual meetings, sending chats, and collaborating on shared documents. It's a big part of combining Microsoft's mixed-reality headset HoloLens with work meetings using video calls, with animated avatars that anyone can join.
It is expected that this platform will be launched in 2022. At that time, users can use Microsoft's MR head display HoloLens or VR and AR head display devices to experience, and customers who lack corresponding devices can also experience 2D content. The first feature of the software, a version of the Microsoft Teams chat and meeting program with digital avatars, is currently in testing and will be available in the first half of 2022. Maybe it won't be long before people will be able to write Words and make PPTs in the Metaverse.
Microsoft released the video on the page, which attracted the attention of many people. While feeling novel and amusing, some netizens noticed that the people in this metaverse picture had no legs, so they shouted "Reject levitation!"
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella (Satya Nadella) CEO shared about the experience scene in Mesh, a mixed reality meeting platform, where people can meet and interact in the form of virtual avatars, and share Office files.
In addition, Nadella said that the Xbox gaming platform will also join the "Metaverse" in the future. At the close of trading on Tuesday, Microsoft’s stock price climbed 1.14%, and it was quoted at US$333.13 per share. The company’s market value exceeded US$2.5 trillion, surpassing Apple and becoming the world’s largest listed company in market value!
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No headsets, 3D avatars for meetings
In March of this year, Microsoft launched this new product Mesh, which aims to create applications that allow people to collaborate remotely through AR/VR technology. It's a virtual platform with 3D avatars and other XR capabilities, and leverages the Azure cloud platform to facilitate shared collaboration experiences for remote participants via HoloLens 2 and other devices.
In the future, Microsoft Teams will launch a new 3D virtual avatar, and users no longer need a VR headset to use the new features. So if you don't want to turn on the camera, you can choose to use an animated character instead of yourself. Interestingly, the platform will make your face move according to voice prompts.
Jared Spataro, head of Teams, said, “With 250 million people worldwide using Teams, the introduction of avatars will be the first metaverse element that looks real.”
Language barriers can also be broken down in the future. Microsoft is currently building translation and transcription support, and people can meet colleagues from around the world in virtual Teams spaces.
Mesh for Teams can pre-build a series of immersive spaces to support various environments such as meetings and social activities. Like playing ping pong, or using a whiteboard for color coding tasks, or even displaying product prototypes on a table.
Katie Kelly, chief product manager of Microsoft Mesh, said that this is not binary, so people can choose how they want to present, whether it is video or virtual avatar, and there are various customization options to choose how they want to attend the meeting.
Currently, this version of the app is currently in testing and will be launched in the first half of 2022. A year ago, Microsoft launched the first-ever shared holographic experience in Barcelona. 200 people brought Hololens and experienced holographic images around them.
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Metaverse + Games: Are the paintings beautiful?
At this Ignite conference, in addition to Mesh, which is mainly used for work and teamwork, Microsoft's ambitions for the metaverse have also spread to other areas, such as games. In an interview with Bloomberg at the event, Nadella made no secret of Microsoft's confidence in the gaming platform and the Xbox family of consoles embracing the Metaverse.
Microsoft is currently one of the top three game console manufacturers in the world and an important player in the PC game market. Microsoft's combination with the "metaverse" in games is not surprising. In fact, the Xbox has become home to a "metaverse" in some platform games.
"You can definitely look forward to what we can do in gaming," Nadella said. "In fact, many of our current games are themselves a metaverse. For example, "Halo", it is actually a metaverse. "Minecraft" and "Flight Simulator" are also metaverses."
"In a sense, these games are 2D today, and the question is, can you take them into a full 3D world now. Now, that's our future plan," Nadella said.
What Nadella said was true. In fact, as early as the 2015 E3 Game Show, Microsoft used an AR headset HoloLens to "move" the pixel sandbox game "Minecraft" from the screen to reality.
This is a special version of "Minecraft" created by Microsoft for HoloLens glasses. From today's point of view, many immersive game experiences are very similar to the settings of "Metaverse".
In 2019, Microsoft launched "Minecraft Earth" on the mobile platform, further enhancing the original AR/VR experience. However, the game was discontinued at the end of June this year.
It is an ambitious project to completely transform games that support AR expansion technology such as Minecraft, Halo, and Flight Simulator into a complete 3D world.
It is worth mentioning that Microsoft's "Flight Simulator" may have gone ahead. Players fly aircraft in multiplayer environments that simulate real-world weather and locations. Microsoft Flight Simulator is the most realistic flight simulation game with the widest range of objects in history. The game includes 2 trillion individually rendered trees, 1.5 billion buildings, and nearly every road, mountain, city, and airport in the world. All of these look like "the real thing".
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Yuan universe, who is in charge of ups and downs?
The metaverse war of digital avatars has just begun.
Last week, Facebook, which changed its name to Meta, officially announced its efforts to build the Metaverse, and immediately acquired the studio behind the VR fitness app Within. Facebook has been focusing on the layout of the four metaverse components of hardware entry, underlying technology, artificial intelligence, and content. A number of updates have also been rolled out, including Horizon Worlds, Horizon Homes, Horizon Workrooms, Messenger VR and fitness VR, platforms where users can create virtual worlds, meeting rooms and home spaces of their own design.
Microsoft announced its joining at this time, and for Facebook, there is no doubt that there is another strong competitor.
Over the past few years, Microsoft has not fared behind in the layout of the VR field, including the acquisition of HoloLens and AltspaceVR. For Meta, it has billions of daily users on Facebook and Instagram to fulfill its metaverse ambitions. And Microsoft now has 250 million people using its Teams app, with more than 13 million daily active users.
Now, tech giants like Microsoft and Facebook are chasing interconnected virtual worlds. Facebook highlighted the investment needed to make this happen, predicting that spending on Metaverse-related technologies will exceed $10 billion by 2021.
Bloomberg estimates that if current trends continue, the Metaverse market could reach $800 billion by 2024.
Nadella said, "For years, we have been talking about how to create this digital world, but now, we actually have the opportunity to enter that world and participate in it. The most important thing is that we can bring our individuality and choose us. The way we want to experience the world and the people we want to interact with.”
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References:
https://www.pcgamer.com/microsoft-says-it-has-metaverse-plans-for-halo-minecraft-and-other-games/
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