Experiencing Walmart’s Metaverse and Decentraland Do Metaverses Have to be Decentralized?

Exploring the World of Walmart's Metaverse and Decentraland Examining the Need for Decentralization in the Metaverse

Author: coolhorsegirl

Translator: xunyang

Let’s explore two metaverses: Walmart Land and Decentraland, as I attempt to answer the question: do all metaverses have to be decentralized? In this process, I will unravel the agendas behind each metaverse and weigh the costs and benefits of building a metaverse through DAOs.

During Christmas dinner, my work sparked many discussions (or interrogations). “Web3 empowers the people,” I said, although it’s a bit of a cliché. “It’s decentralized. Imagine if everyone could vote on how their social media platforms operate, instead of someone like Mark Zuckerberg making decisions for Facebook. What would happen?” This example made sense to me, but some of the people there were in their 80s and had limited understanding of the web3 world. I did my best. In any case, my opinion is clear: web3 aims for full democratization.

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Right?

Later, my grandparents asked me for a crash course on the hottest topic in web3: the metaverse. I instinctively hesitated, and my mom kicked my leg under the table. As I tried to explain the metaverse to my puzzled elders (who probably didn’t really care), I found myself living in the clichés of web3 Twitter. In between bites of toast and stuffing, I made them recall scenes from “The Office” where Dwight uses Second Life, or my childhood memories of playing Club Penguin, or even just the image of VR headsets. “I swear, the metaverse has been around for a long time.” They reluctantly nodded as I delved into one of the most difficult concepts of web3.

The metaverse – a part of the immersive virtual world within the new internet world – provides a (usually) decentralized virtual space network where users can interact, trade, and create content. It typically offers a web3-style digital ownership core through gaming, socializing, and online marketplaces. It’s not difficult to find real-world applications that my grandparents might understand, and with the development of pseudo-metaverses like “Second Life” and “Club Penguin,” the real metaverse has recently become mainstream. In late September, Walmart launched a pair of “immersive experiences” on Roblox – Walmart Land and Walmart Universe of Play.

So, did Walmart’s decision-makers create a mess labeled as a metaverse on Roblox, or is this centralized metaverse experience going to be the future standard?

That night, my 8-year-old cousin showed off his experiences on Roblox, and it seemed like they had changed his life beyond what I expected given his vocabulary.

I digressed.

I love Walmart, their parking lots have been like home to me on many road trips. And in this early part of the new year, when nobody is really back in work mode yet, I have time to let my mind wander.

So, based on my experiences in the Walmart metaverse and a quick stint in the decentralized metaverse, Decentraland, I want to explore the question: Do all metaverses need to be decentralized?

Venturing into Walmart’s Metaverse

I downloaded Roblox and got a bit excited. But just like that New Year’s Eve party I attended, I had grandiose visions of Walmart Land being packed. However, Walmart Land turned out to be a dystopian wasteland, and the only thing attracting three players – someone even copied my outfit, damn it!

Not a great start. And these things look a bit like knock-off Lego, with prices that reminded me of my weekend in Zurich. I had trouble finding treasure chests to claim coins and board an airship or buy a new piece of equipment at the store. Let’s just say, user experience was noticeably lacking. So, I decided to seek help in the chatroom, but I was worried that their age might hinder them from providing any meaningful guidance. My concerns were confirmed: “employees” do not exist.

My 2018 MacBook Air was making a lot of noise throughout the game, and I didn’t know how to get off this Ferris wheel. The Walmart Land page on the Roblox game store was filled with negative reviews. User feedback doesn’t seem to be high on Walmart’s priority list of “relevant cultural conversations” (quoting Walmart’s CMO, William White).

In the end, I got off the Ferris wheel (by restarting the game), collected some coins, and went to the store.

And here’s a snapshot of the outfit (before you judge me, take a look at your Roblox gear – this is the only thing I can afford).

The Truth about Walmart Metaverse

Walmart Land is a bit like Second Life, both aimed at children’s marketing.

Officially, Walmart Land allows users to interact with the brand in a whole new way. In reality, it is a way to market toys to children or what Walmart defines as “young shoppers.” Roblox has over 50 million active users every day, two-thirds of which are under 16 years old.

Perhaps this assessment is too surface-level, but we have indeed seen this situation before.

It makes sense for Walmart to get in on the hype of the metaverse – it’s a money-making tool. Second Life was one of the earliest widely popular metaverse experiences, peaking with over one million users. 20 years after its launch in 2003, Second Life’s GDP (over $500 million annually) is higher than that of some countries.

And another metaverse game with a much better user interface – Fortnite – is free, but it does a similar thing as Walmart Land – selling products to kids and making $20 billion. It took me a long time to earn coins to buy clothes in Walmart Land, while in Fortnite, I just need $20 from my mom’s credit card, and it’s done in 30 seconds. I can also buy dance moves and props to help me succeed in the game. And strangely enough, shopping in Fortnite seems less of a hassle than in Walmart. Why is that?

Decentralized Autonomous Organizations and Metaverse

DAOs can help solve problems in centralized organizations, especially in metaverses defined as “decentralized.” DAOs can govern and manage virtual assets in metaverses through various on-chain tools and can be used to fund and manage virtual reality projects in metaverses, such as developing new virtual worlds or creating virtual goods and services – and they are indeed doing it. Let’s take a look at Decentraland, widely considered the best example of a decentralized metaverse in web3.

Decentraland is called “the virtual world in your hands” and is a virtual world built on Ethereum, with its native token $MANA used for voting and governance, which can be obtained through games. $MANA holders, mostly players or at least buyers in the Decentraland space, have complete control over the entire metaverse.

Through DAOs and $MANA, you can control and manage the behavioral strategies of this virtual world. What can you practically control?

· Types of wearable items to build, allow, and prohibit

· Specific information and dates for land (LAND) auctions

· The scale of market fees (calculated in destroyed $MANA)

· Allocation of $MANA grants to development work

· Members of the security committee, Decentraland’s governance team

– Add and replace content servers operated by the community

– General protocol upgrade

I’m ready to enter the (decentralized) metaverse

I quickly created a new character, and its body parts are not made up of blocks. It’s a huge improvement compared to Walmart. Interestingly, every clothing and item option is voted on by DAO. The fashion style of millennials is very popular, and I think this is mainly due to the player community.

Whether it’s to avoid accessories being blocked by items, or the delegation mechanism for MANA holders, everything can be discussed on the Decentraland governance forum.

The biggest benefit: a better user interface and a better user experience. I must say, it’s really cool to see players deciding the details of their game. It brings back some fond memories from before I was 10 years old when players could vote on the color of penguins in the Club Penguin pseudo-metaverse.

On the other hand, decentralization in the metaverse seems to have significant flaws in micro-management. The proposal mentioned earlier for “hands” is very easy to implement, and in theory, the developers of Walmart Land could solve it in minutes. However, in Decentraland, the proposal is 800 words long and has been “discussed for nearly a year” (their words, not mine). It’s concerning that it took a year to split a category.

Criticism of slow (or lack of) decision-making by DAOs is common. That being said, metaverse tokens have been the best-performing sector in the cryptocurrency market so far in 2023, with $MANA rising nearly 38% in the past few weeks. Other metaverse tokens have also seen growth since the new year, such as a 31.3% increase in $SAND from The Sandbox and doubling of the price of $GALA from Gala Games.

Walmart Land vs. Decentraland

The values of the metaverse align with the values of web3, and I explained this to my extended family at the dinner table: users should control and own the content they create.

Walmart Land doesn’t truly embody the essence of the metaverse: the decentralization of the internet. The way Walmart Land operates is reminiscent of authoritarianism, and it’s clear that every aspect of the game is conveying a different message: “Please buy our toys, kids.” It’s evident that these corporations see web3 as an opportunity to exploit a younger, more affluent generation, but the digital native generation will see through this attempt. MBA types still don’t understand the true power of DAOs, not just from a technical standpoint, but from the culturally challenging aspects.

This is why the metaverse operated in DAO mode has no culture of corporate exploitation.

DAO allows users to design the metaverse they choose to a certain extent. The metaverse operated by DAO is designed and served by the users of the metaverse. This system looks pretty perfect: in the metaverse where a person spends the most time, they also make the greatest contribution to its development, although this decentralization also brings some troubles. The argument about Decentraland adding a “hand” category may seem boring, but regardless, it does highlight the differences with Walmart Land, especially in terms of atmosphere. Walmart Land only repeatedly guides users to purchase any goods that Walmart elites believe should be included.

DAO and the metaverse have the potential to completely change the way we interact and transact in the digital world by providing higher transparency, security, and decentralization. The combination of these technologies can create new opportunities for innovation and growth in the digital economy. Compared to Decentraland and Walmart Land, it is easy to see that the metaverse operated by DAO has significant advantages over those created by “centralized entities that focus only on maximizing shareholder value and not user voice”.

The best user experience comes from a decentralized metaverse & activating the voice of its community.

So, when will Walmart become decentralized?

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