VR's problem isn't friction, it's a lack of meaning: Lessons from $70B in losses

VR's problem isn't friction, it's a lack of meaning: Lessons from $70B in losses(linernotesxr.substack.com)

2 points by unicorn_cowboy 111 days ago | 3 comments

Key Points:

• Meta lost $73B proving that infrastructure without purpose creates ghost towns.

• Hardware friction is a myth: History shows users tolerate massive friction (early smartphones) if the value is clear.

• Beat Saber & VRChat succeeded not because of tech, but because they solved for "embodied meaning" rather than simulation.

• It's time to stop porting 2D concepts to 3D and start building for presence.

OsrsNeedsf2P 111 days ago |

Meta's Reality Labs includes AI spend, so that's not 70B on VR

unicorn_cowboy 111 days ago | |

That’s a fair point. Reality Labs covers AR (Orion), neural interfaces, and the Ray-Ban partnership too.

But the 'Metaverse' was the governing thesis that justified that entire strategy and burn rate. Even if the breakdown is 50/50, we still have tens of billions spent on a VR software ecosystem (Horizon) that's nearly empty.

The specific dollar amount matters less than the ratio of 'capital invested' to 'consumer value created'. And there's a big gap between those.