Gaming companies will be on the metaverse cutting edge, ex-Nintendo exec says

Gaming companies are poised to be on the metaverse’s cutting edge, former Nintendo executive Reggie Fils-Aimé predicts. In the metaverse and gaming content is still king, he said.

In the last year, the 3D virtual world known as the metaverse has come to the forefront of tech and business discourse. Facebook, for instance, has changed its name to Meta Platforms.

Moreover, Bloomberg Intelligence estimates the metaverse could be an $800 billion market by 2024, up from $500 billion in 2020. Perhaps, the growth of the metaverse is counterintuitive, since it’s something people often struggle to describe.

On the other hand, the features that everyone pretty much agrees the metaverse will have are all things that gamers are deeply familiar with: virtual reality, augmented reality, avatars, and immersive digital spaces.

Reggie Fils-Aimé, former Nintendo of America President and COO, believes that gaming and the metaverse go hand-in-hand.

“I describe it as a space that’s immersive and interactive, a space that has the ability to be modified, but can still be persistent,” Fils-Aimé recently told Yahoo Finance. “Imagine walking on sand, and seeing other footprints — that’s an example of where you’re able to modify an environment but it is persistent. You’ve seen what other people have done.”

Fils-Aimé supposes that in gaming, the metaverse, and beyond, content is still king, especially when it’s authentic to a company’s brand and purpose. Even Tesla CEO and would-be Twitter buyer Elon Musk plays Elden Ring.

“What I see are a number of key developers bringing content to bear in the marketplace that’s capturing the attention of players,” he said. “One I would call out is FromSoftware. They’ve got a game called Elden Ring, which is dominating popular conversation… They’re an example of a company that’s stayed true to what they are — they build incredibly difficult games, and they launched one with a very high-quality metric that’s truly captured popular attention.”

The former Nintendo exec also said that gaming companies are poised to be on the metaverse’s cutting edge.

“I do believe that this vision is something that we’re all marching to,” he explained. “I do believe it’s going to be led by gaming companies, and I do believe that – if delivered in a way that’s fun, that’s compelling – it’s an experience that people will want to have.”

Also, Fils-Aimé – who recently published his book, “Disrupting the Game: From the Bronx to the Top of Nintendo” – talked about the challenges of pursuing a company’s goals as pressures mount in a difficult macroeconomic environment.

“My counsel would to, first, to focus on your vision,” he said. “Focus on the key drivers that you’re looking to push forward in your business and don’t lose sight of that. Despite all the supply chain challenges, despite inflationary pressures, despite all the noise, you need to focus on your North Star and drive the organization there.”

As recently reported, venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) announced the launch of a $600 million fund focused on metaverse games. A16z is looking to expand its reach into the gaming industry, which generated more than $300 billion last year.