Neal Stephenson, the author who coined “metaverse,” says Meta’s $80 billion VR failure was largely self-inflicted. He argues the real metaverse never needed goggles—Fortnite, Roblox, and Minecraft already are the metaverse, with hundreds of millions of users to prove it. He also says people will never consistently wear things on their faces. His advice to whoever tries this next: pick a different name.
