The Metaverse Handbook

CHAPTER 7Metaverse Assets

As far back as the mid-1990s, people have been caring for digital pets. Tamagotchi envisioned that humans could have a personal connection with an artificial being on a screen. It's a bizarre concept when you say that people will care for a digital file. But when you make that digital file a cute avatar, make that digital file's survival rely on your routine check-ins, and then put them on a handy keychain, you've crafted the perfect storm for people having a connection with a digital asset. Tamagotchis became so popular throughout the late 1990s and early 2000s that schools nationwide had to ban these devices because they were so distracting. Students were sneaking them around school because they couldn't be away from their Tamagotchi for too long. If that's not the ideal reason to justify the current NFT craze, then we don't know what is.

After Tamagotchi, Internet versions like Neopets and Webkinz took their place. The Internet allowed for much more functionality and immersion with one's digital pet. And then with handheld devices came Nintendogs and later Animal Crossing, which showed us just how large the digital pet industry was. Currently, Animal Crossing: New Horizons is 13th on the list of best-selling video games of all time, with a total of more than 37 million copies sold worldwide. And the game was only recently launched in March 2020.

Digital pets laid the groundwork for people caring about digital assets (and thus, Metaverse assets). ...