Meta's Legs Video Was a Bit of Marketing Fakery

By Marc Deschamps

Earlier this week at Meta Connect, Mark Zuckerberg showed off improvements to Horizon Worlds. During the event, Zuckerberg showed how the company's Metaverse avatars will soon have full bodies, including legs and feet. The Meta CEO showcased this during the event, but the feature isn't set to roll out until 2023. However, it seems that the video itself was a bit of marketing fakery, and not an actual indication of the abilities of the company's VR tech. In a statement provided to UploadVR's Ian Hamilton, Meta says that the segment was created using animations and motion capture, and not the VR itself.

The Tweet from Hamilton revealing this can be found embedded below.

Naturally, many viewers feel cheated by the display! Meta is spending billions developing its Metaverse, yet videos like this one are giving a false idea about what's possible with the technology. There are a lot of people skeptical about VR technology and the Metaverse as a concept, yet even VR enthusiasts aren't happy about how Meta handled this situation. At the very least, a disclaimer should have been provided during the presentation, rather than a correction after the fact.

While Zuckerberg is convinced that VR is the future, it's going to be hard to convince the general public. While VR has grown by leaps and bounds over the last few years, the technology remains fairly niche. Many users struggle with motion sickness in VR, and the buy-in cost is pretty high; even more so for premium products like the upcoming Meta Quest Pro. While VR is currently used for gaming and virtual experiences, Zuckerberg sees a future where people use the technology as part of their daily lives, including work and shopping. The general public is understandably skeptical about spending hundreds on a headset for these types of purposes, and it's going to take a lot of convincing. But if companies like Meta aren't being as forthright as possible, it's going to be even more difficult than Meta anticipates.

What do you think of the Metaverse concept? Does VR appeal to you for uses outside of entertainment? Let us know in the comments or share your thoughts directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp to talk all things gaming!

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