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I liked the first 2 seasons of “What If…” (the first more than the second), so I’m excited to see the Apple Vision Pro exclusive “What If…” episode (or interactive story, whatever they call it).

Disney/Marvel said it’s gonna be an hour long (as opposed to the 30 minutes long episodes in the first 2 seasons) and you’re gonna be able to influence the story in some way.

What If…? – An Immersive Story is the next evolution in how we tell our stories, where fans across generations can experience them and live out the adventure alongside their favorite heroes,” director and executive producer Dave Bushore said. “This experience kicks the door open to the Marvel Universe, and it’s a glimpse of what I’ve been waiting for my whole life.”

What If…? reimagines events from across the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) in unexpected ways.

Now, fans have been chosen to step into the leading role of an all-new immersive story that transforms the space around them as they traverse across realities. Throughout their journey, they will come face-to-face with Multiversal variants of their favorite characters, learn the mystic arts, and be tasked with harnessing the power of the Infinity Stones.

Read more here.

I feel that multiplayer in VR/MR is more fun. Especially with friends.

It feels a little bit more engaging. Probably because it’s more movement based, I don’t know.

Even when I play poker with friends it’s fun in VR, because we can throw chips at each other, we can move around and act stupid.

I don’t know, it’s more fun!

I’ve just found an interesting article on the Apple Vision Pro.

This is quite a fair, balanced view on the device. And it compares the first year of sales to the first year of iPhone sales:

But when people look back, they never cite the iPhone’s first year of sales, which according to Statista only amounted to around 1.4 million units. Sure, that’s more than 400,000, but that was also for a significantly less expensive device and a drop in the bucket compared to the HUNDREDS of millions Apple has been selling more recently. Those figures were meaningless.

I didn’t know iPhone only sold 1.4 million in the first year, but I’m not surprised. I remember the first iPhone (a friend bought it from the States, since it wasn’t available in Romania). I was shocked when I saw the browser scroll being so fluid and I only had another similar tech experience recently (and it lead to me starting a new company).

But, transcendent experience aside, it was a bad phone. And not a global offered device to begin with. And now? I wouldn’t change my iPhone 15 Pro Max for any other phone (maybe an iPhone 15 Pro Mini, if it existed).

I’m really bullish on the mixed reality/spatial computing devices and this article just confirms my own bias, so take it with a grain of salt. But keep believing anyway.

via X/Twitter (@SkarredGhost)

1492: a monk wrote that the printing press will never last.

1902: NYT said cars will never be cheap enough to be popular.

1943: IBM’s president thinks there might be a market for 5 computers globally

2000: Daily Mail says the internet is just a fad

2007: Engadget tells us why the iPhone will fail

2024: [Almost] Everyone tells you Vision Pro/Meta Quest/spatial computing is not a thing.

And they may be right.

But what if they’re not? 🤩

Yeah, the kids are alright 🤩

1 in 4 teenagers play games on headsets.

Many Quest developers report teens being their fastest-growing demographic, and Meta brings in its highest VR revenue in the holiday season of each year when children typically receive gifts like consoles from their parents.

It’s true, 24% teens playing on headsets is half of those that play on desktops and 1/3 of those that play on consoles.

But we got to start somewhere, right?

I was talking to a friend today and he said he disagrees on luck being necessary to be successful in business.

I disagree with his disagreement :D

Joking aside, I think everybody successful in business was lucky. Context, the right people, there’s a lot of things that you were lucky to get.

Of course, you can be the luckiest person ever, if you don’t take advantage of the opportunities, luck doesn’t matter. But to say it’s not there…

So, if luck matters, why even try starting a business? Because you can put yourself in the best position for the moment luck will hit. You can build a great team, you can optimize costs…

Sometimes, the luck comes too late, of course, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t prepare for that moment.

I think a cheaper Meta Quest 3 would really help the MR space. I mean, the most sold headset right now is the Quest 2, that got there with big discounts, being priced at around $200 at some point.

The device looks like this, according to a leak:

It’s basically a Quest 3 in a Quest 2 body. And I’m all for it. A little less resolution, a little les adjustments, but still good passthrough. That’s all we need for Mixed Reality to move forward.

Oh, and we don’t know the price yet. A $250 is ok, $300 would still be acceptable and $200 would be crazy. If they announce it soon and then they launch it October, Christmas will see millions (if not tens of millions) of these devices activating. What an opportunity!

Create something. A game, a business, something.

Put it out there.

Then hope to be judged. And criticized. And rejected.

Otherwise, be safe and comfortable. Be ignored.

You decide.

Steh Godin said it first.

I’ve found Sort the Court by reading my feeds and I have to say it’s a really fun way to spend an hour or so.

The game was part of a game dev competition (Ludum Dare 34), that had as theme “Two Buttons Control”.

It is basically a kingdom management simulator where you rule by saying Yes or No to suggestions from your advisor and to anything else that happens around the kingdom. You manage population, happiness and money and… you go from there. I didn’t expect to enjoy the game as much as I did, but I spent about 2 hours having fun with it.

Here’s a screenshot of the kind of “important” decisions you need to make:

I was traveling to Greece a few years ago and this happened on the flight:

Flight Attendant: what do you want to drink?

Me: Fanta, please.

FA: I don’t have, but I can make it for you!

Me: 🤔

FA: I have Sprite, I have orange juice. Then I combine them: FANTA!

Me: 😅🤦‍♂️

FA: I’m serious, I made one for someone last flight…

Greek people, especially in hospitality, never say no. Even when they should say it. While this can be frustrating if you’re not used to it, it also means they go out of their way (most of the times) to make whatever they agreed upon happen.

And, yes, sometimes they flake on you. But you get used to it, as well. It’s the cost of doing business.