Would you pay more for a virtual car than for a real one?

Since Mark Zuckerberg announced in October the change of the name of his company to Meta, in reference to the Metaverse that is being created in the digital world, everything that has to do with this new reality has multiplied exponentially, including the cryptocurrencies and we NFT (Non-Fungible Token) through the blockchain.

Paying for something that does not exist in a material way is already something common among the youngest. We see it every day in video games like Fortnite, or platforms like VRChat The Roblox, where one of the main sources of income comes from the sale of ‘Skins’ or other customization elements. They are purchased within the game and allow you to feel different, special and even unique, in the case of NFTs. So much so that brands like Vans The Balenciaga They already have special sections for the creation of digital products that represent an extraordinary source of additional income.

Cars and the Metaverse

The purpose of a vehicle is to transport its occupants from one place to another, although this does not require a vehicle. million euro supercar, not even a high-end model; instead, there is a large market for this type of vehicle, since the automobile world is especially passionate and aspirational.

In the open worlds of Metaverso You will also have to move, and what better way to do it than in the car of your dreams. In racing or simulation games there are already those who pay to have a exclusive model, or for improvements that make your model run faster than others. Why then are you not going to pay to have in your digital life that car that you have always dreamed of and that also gives you prestige and distinguishes you from the rest of your community?

In virtual worlds it is already common to pay for clothes, for a house or for entertainment, and that we are talking about quite rudimentary environments compared to what is to come. Just like in the movie’Ready player one‘, the user will enter an extraordinarily real digital world and with elements such as 3D glasses or gloves and capacitive clothing, which will make him ‘feel’ as if he were there in a real way. And automobile brands will take advantage of that, developing ultra-realistic cars that faithfully reproduce the real ones and that transmit the same sensations at the wheel. Something that already happens with current simulators like iRacing, Race trim The Grand Touring, among others.

Precisely the latter can be taken as an example of what is to come, since automobile brands have developed extremely complex prototypes within the range for this saga. ‘Vision’ that can only be driven within the platform, although in some cases they have even been brought to real life later. These were accessed through exclusive versions of the game or updates for which the user had to pay a specific amount of money.

The NFT world in the car

The NFT they are unique digital elements, just like a piece of art can be in the real world. There may be imitations, but the technology blockchain is responsible for determining which is the original and authentic. At present, authentic barbarities are already being paid for NFTs, which are mostly digital works in the form of drawings.

But if they are already being disbursedor millions of dollars in cryptocurrencies for pixelated scribbles how are the CryptoPunks, it is hard for us to imagine how much would be paid for a car that a car brand made exclusively for a user. That is, a one-off of the Metaverse. The NFT technology would also determine which would be the first vehicle that a brand has created in a specific digital environment or the units of a certain special series, so that as it happens with the classics, its value would be multiplied.

We may now see all this as a dystopian and meaningless future, but seeing how the world is evolving Metaverso and the digital markets linked to the blockchain, this ‘unreality’ may be much closer than we imagine.