Disrupting the Metaverse

Ranking 5 metaverse platforms from best to worse

Bay Keeper
July 19, 2023

What’s up, MetaverseBay here.

We share what newcomers should know, what experts can be updated on, and what others might find interesting.

Let’s get down to it.

4%?! Let’s call that 1/25. Sounds better, no?

This week brings us Metaverse Platforms.

If you’re tired of interacting with people in real life and being unable to casually dip out of a party when you want, the metaverse can help you!

This week’s quote: “I’ve discovered a brand-new world nobody knew about before!” - Christopher Columbus on Spatial, 2023

Who is the Metaverse?

What’s on the table this week?

Beauty Week makes us question which graphics make us look good
Causing waves in the metaverse environment
Buy. Trade. Sell. Become a digital real estate agent
A definitive ranking of metaverse platforms…?
Plummeting attendance and shut down platforms left and right.
But… High attendance on others

This week brings us (Metaverse) Platforms.

This term refers to what much of the media, people, and users refer to as “Metaverses”.

The term “Metaverse” refers to the space as a whole, not an individual part, platform, or world within it.

It is important to make this distinction for standardization.

Utilizing familiar and consistent terminology will allow for industry experts, news media, and users to all communicate effectively.

Explain Like I’m Five:

Imagine you have a big box of toys. Inside there are different things you can play with, like cars, dolls, and blocks.

Now, imagine that the box is called the "Metaverse." It's not one toy, but the space where all toys are.

When people talk about "Metaverse Platforms," they are talking about specific parts of the Metaverse. It's like saying cars or dolls.

It's important to use the right words so everyone understands each other. That's why we call the whole box the "Metaverse" and the parts inside it "Metaverse Platforms."

Now, everyone can talk about it in the same way, like when we all agree to call a toy car a "car" and a toy doll a "doll."

You know the deal.

Three mystery topics. Five Mystery Guests.

Every Saturday at 10:00 AM EST | 2:00 PM UTC | 4:00 PM CEST.

Unity vs Unreal, Metaverse Beauty Week

Given the attention Metaverse Fashion Week has gotten the past two years, Metaverse Beauty Week became reality in June.

The event was held across 3 platforms (Decentraland, ROBLOX, and Spatial) with a focus on interoperability and shared experiences across them.

On the surface the event ran well and offered a top tier experience to visitors.

Many top brands such as Neutrogena offered NFTs, wearables, games, and gifts to visitors.

But during our call, one of the experts stated that Unreal engine will be much better for such events.

Two of the major graphics engines are Unreal Engine and Unity.

The choice of which to use when developing a platform is directly related to device support, interoperability, and user experience.

Interoperability is a huge factor in fully developing the metaverse and to achieve it fully we need to decide what will power each platform.

Experts on our call shared their loves and hates of each platform with a few key consensuses reached.

Unity wins in interoperability, scalability, and device support, but Unreal has far superior graphics.

Main drawback is that Unreal graphics are only supported by computers of a small niche of users.

What is better: a more populated experience with lower end graphics or higher end graphics with few people?

Explain Like I’m Five:

Imagine there was a special week where people celebrated fashion in a special make-believe world called the Metaverse. It was so popular in 2022 that they decided to have another special week for beauty in 2023.

There were a lot of different places people could join from too. They could get presents, play games, and even talk to each other.

This special world is called the Metaverse and there are two ways to make it.

One is good for a lot of people but isn’t as pretty. The other is very pretty but doesn’t work for many people. What do you choose?

Watch Now: Unity vs Unreal, Which One is Better?

Our Take

The Metaverse is about socialization and that requires accessibility. But what good is it, if users leave due to poor experience.

Disrupting the Metaverse

Industry disruption brings about change, there is no argument there and the metaverse is no exception. As they say, there is no such thing as bad publicity.

If you read our previous newsletters we shared articles saying the metaverse is dead and others saying its never been more alive.

The space is changing everything and is grabbing attention.

Virtual spaces offer incredible value for entertainment, industrial, and social purposes and the public should be better educated on how.

Although we are some time away from achieving the fullest potential, now is the time to learn and gain traction.

“We need to collaborate to disrupt”, a speaker shared on our call.

In this digital realm we need to capitalize on the collective nature of it and share in the potential it offers.

By design it is meant to be a collaborative, shared space we can all understand and benefit from.

Explain Like I’m Five:

Imagine you have a big box of toys everyone likes then one day a special toy comes out that’s better than all others.

Some people might say good things about it and others might say bad things. But that is okay. As long as people talk about it the toy will be popular and improve.

As the toy improves more people will want it. On a call toy experts said that we need to work together to make toys better so more people will want them.

Watch Now: Business Insider: Metaverse is Dead

Our take

There’s no such thing as bad publicity and people like waves. Make some noise and have fun. Just don’t rug pull people..

Platform Rating & Upland

If you are a user of metaverse platforms or are familiar with a handful of them, think of how you would rate them.

Graphics, offerings, and user experience are primary drivers of how these platforms are seen by the public.

Upland is a blockchain powered platform delivered as a familiar 2D mobile app. On this platform you can try your hand at property trading mapped to the real world.

Other more known platforms such as Decentraland are a more immersive 3D experience. Play games, attend major events, or just explore.

Without a strong (positive) impression being left on the user, they won’t return.

Value has to be delivered to both the new and experienced user, the game lover, explorer, and socializer.

This week we held a challenge on the call:
Rate 5 platforms blindly, you don’t know what is coming next and you can’t change the rating later.

The 5 platforms given to our speakers were Decentraland, ROBLOX, Sandbox, Spatial, and Upland.

There were certainly regrets for where some got placed, debate on how others should be tiered, and complete consensus on which are great/terrible.

Listen to our call to learn more here.

Explain Like I’m Five:

Imagine five toys are all covered by blankets. You have to uncover them one at a time and rate it from most to least favorite but you don’t know what the next toy is.

One toy might be trading cards and another might be a video game.

Will it be hard for you to decide which is your favorite?