But why is everyone so obsessed? Well, there are likely many reasons why people love playing GeoGuessr, even just for five minutes. Firstly, guessing at anything kind of fun. That’s why we like the picture rounds in a pub quiz or watching Pointless on the box, after all. The human urge to try and know it all, or at least think we can solve puzzles, is strong.
Plus, exploring is objectively a great thing. It shows us other ways of living and approaches to society, and can inform us on how we choose to live (ever spoken to people who went on a gap year?). But hopping on a plane and doing that for real is getting increasingly pricey. Being able to fractionally replicate the gap yah experience from your own gaff, then, has an obvious appeal. It’s good for your wallet and for people who are less able to explore, like those with disabilities.
But why stop at Google Maps? Might we be able to more accurately replicate going somewhere through technology in the future? It’s possible. VR and AI have boomed in recent years – mainly in gaming, sure, but that technology would be well suited to virtual travel, too. And arguably, the metaverse is a form of virtual travel, as you hop into a digital world and explore a variety of things from shops to games to social spaces. In the same way, a world where we could don some form of VR headset to go and look at Machu Picchu sort of already exists. In October last year, the Boca Raton Museum of Art unveiled an exhibition where you can immersively walk around the historical site. No, you can’t inhale that fresh Peruvian air through a headset, but it’s a start.
And people are keen to give it a go anyway. Research published last year found that from 2017 to 2020 the revenue generated from marketing VR tourism “increased from 50 million to 1 billion”, which is some major growth. But here’s the problem: that revenue doesn’t always end up going to the IRL place, which is, er, a bit murky to say the least – particularly when so many countries’ economies depend on tourism.
But hey, whatever form virtual tourism may or may not take, it’s clear that we’re all pretty into the idea of using the internet to satiate our wanderlust. GeoGuessr having an absolute moment included.
Source: https://theface.com/life/geoguessr-virtual-vr-tourism-google-maps-travel-metaverse-geowizard