Experts clash on where virtual reality sits in the Metaverse

cointelegraph.com:

Virtual reality (VR) will eventually have a place within the Metaverse, but not for the foreseeable future given its slow adoption rates, according to experts.

There isn’t much that can rival the experience of having one’s senses almost immersed in a virtual world — which is why many believe that the technology will have a natural fit for the Metaverse.

It's a technology that Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta is betting big on by introducing Meta accounts that it says will allow users to access its Meta Horizons platform more easily through Oculus VR headsets.

Founder and CEO of Metaverse platform CEEK Mary Spio is also one waving the VR metaverse flag. In an interview with Cointelgraph, Spio argues that the true power of a Metaverse cannot be realized unless users are totally immersed through the use of VR devices.

Spio’s metaverse platform CEEK helps digital content creators, including musicians and athletes, connect directly with their fanbase in a virtual world setting.

Spio said that her platform opted for a focus on VR immersion because “the benefits of the Metaverse cannot be fully realized in the non-VR mode.”

However, Spio admits that their metaverse needs to allows for both VR and non-VR accessibility, as content, ease of use, and accessibility are all still required before we see the mass adoption of VR technology.

She believes that a “quantum leap will be in the next two to three years” for Metaverse and VR adoption.

 Janine Yorio, CEO of Metaverse ecosystem developer Everyrealm however disagrees. 

To Yorio, Metaverse platforms and VR technology should develop exclusively of each other without mutual consideration.

By her estimation, a very small portion of Metaverse experiences are being built for VR like CEEK, noting VR