Reggie Fils-Aimé unconvinced by Facebook's "current definition" of the metaverse
It's "not an innovative company."
Former Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aimé has spoken out about Facebook's "current definition" of the metaverse.
"Facebook itself is not an innovative company," Fils-Aimé stated. "They have either acquired interesting things like Oculus and Instagram, or they've been a fast follower of people's ideas.
"I don't think their current definition will be successful," Fils-Aimé concluded.
On the other hand, Fils-Aimé believes smaller companies "that are really innovating" are pathing the way into the digital future. The former COO additionally applauded companies such as Epic Games, that are doing "really compelling" things with their work (via Bloomberg).
These statements are not particularly surprising. While Fils-Aimé is not part of Nintendo anymore, the company that he has had such a huge impact on has expressed its thoughts on the metaverse. In short, Nintendo is just not interested.
"As a company that provides entertainment, our main emphasis is on ways to deliver fresh surprises and fun to our consumers", Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa said.
"We might consider something if we can find a way to convey a 'Nintendo approach' to the metaverse that many people can readily understand, but we do not think that is the situation at the present time".
Following on from his thoughts about Facebook's metaverse, Fils-Aimé went on to talk about the recent spate of acquisitions seen across the gaming industry.
He believes the "rise of innovative, smaller firms that are currently in seed or funding rounds also suggests that more consolidation is in store for the industry". When the subject of Microsoft's historic acquisition of Activision Blizzard came up, Fils-Aimé said it was "a fantastic purchase".
But while the industry is changing, Fils-Aimé feels there still needs to be more done to address diversity in gaming.
"This is a global industry touching three billion people across the world; it's a $200bn business," Fils-Aimé said. "The representation in the game and in leadership is not at all where it needs to be".
Representation is something the gaming industry is still struggling with, clearly.
Most recently, Amazon faced criticism for its portrayal of women in the Western release of Lost Ark. Following the MMORPG's release in February, many players expressed disappointment in both the gender locked classes and the prevalence of revealing female outfits.
However, the company is planning on addressing these concerns. In a statement to Eurogamer, Amazon Games' franchise lead Soomin Park noted that changes on both issues are on the way.