Moutai's Metaverse App is popular, but also criticized

Recently, the Metaverse has begun to enter the lives of the general public, and our lives have also begun to change. We are looking forward to the future of the Metaverse. This article will analyze the development of Moutai Metaverse app and the future direction of the Metaverse. Let's discuss it together.

It is not an easy task for the Metaverse to go from concept to public life. Technology, worldview, filling content, carrier form, each link requires layers of logic. But as William Gibson, the founder of cyberpunk, said, "The future has arrived — it's just not evenly distributed yet." We try to see the changes that have begun to take place in this bustling track, and relay the reality that is being implemented, so that more people can feel the near future of the Metaverse.

1. Moutai is taking the lead. Is the metaverse of traditional time-honored brands really that good?

Recently, Moutai has become popular because it has created a so-called "metaverse world".

After several media preheatings, on January 1, 2023, "Xunfeng Digital World" (hereinafter referred to as "Xunfeng") launched by Moutai in cooperation with NetEase was officially launched. It topped the App Store's free list on the same day. As of January 2, the number of registered users exceeded 1 million.

Even though we are used to seeing brands become popular overnight, it is still beyond many people's expectations that a brand on the Metaverse platform can achieve such data. One can't help but wonder, is the Moutai liquor on the Metaverse more fragrant?

So we followed suit and had a sip.

Moutai's metaverse carrier is actually an App, which can be downloaded by searching for "Xunfeng" in major mobile application markets.

Xunfeng's login interface is beautifully designed and looks familiar at first glance, just like several popular mobile games. Therefore, even a novice can easily knock on the door.

The login threshold is not high, and ID registration is usually bound to a mobile phone number. However, because the platform involves the purchase of alcoholic beverages, real-name authentication is also required. In addition, the login reminder also includes "After successfully logging in with the same device, you can only switch accounts to enter Xunfeng once within 24 hours", which makes it a little difficult to maintain a secondary account.

Given the size and logic of Xunfeng World, let’s look at how Moutai performs from the following three aspects:

• Character setting
• Social currency settings
• Incentive task setting

1. Character setting

When entering Xunfeng, users need to create their own digital image, which supports setting gender, face shape and account name. Although this face-shaping is extremely simple, the name-shaping method is quite interesting.

Users can click the dice button to select a name randomly provided by the system, or they can enter it manually. Each name will trigger a "divination" and be presented in the form of a seven-character quatrain. This form is relatively novel and consistent with the national style atmosphere created by Moutai and Xunfeng, which can be regarded as a plus.

Xunfeng maps the real "Moutai Town" into the virtual world, and creates a digital twin of the "Source of Moutai" through interactive engines, 3D modeling, and real-time rendering. All of this comes from Moutai's hundreds of years of history, so in the current Xunfeng space, including the three major distilleries of Chengyi, Ronghe, and Hengxing, which have witnessed the tortuous development of Moutai since the Ming and Qing Dynasties and have integrated the culmination of brewing techniques, the old site of the source square with carved monuments engraved with relevant history, and even the bluestone corridor, have all been projected and restored accordingly.

In such a world view setting, most of the identities of Xunfeng NPCs are "Koji Maker", "Wine Making Apprentice", "Xunfeng Winemaker", "Gao Liang Researcher", etc., and users mostly take on tasks related to the winemaking process such as collecting sorghum, delivering koji, making koji, and making wine.

2. Social Currency Settings

It must be said that after officially entering Xunfeng, the flavor of NetEase games has become stronger.

In Xunfeng's worldview, in addition to RMB used for shopping in the mall, there are also three types of points: Xunzhi, Ruiyu, and Yuanbei, which can be used to redeem digital clothing, event tickets and other benefits.

This setting is necessary for building the metaverse world, and can provide more possibilities for subsequent marketing activities and even traffic monetization. Because only a perfect exchange system can achieve true "circulation". Just like playing games, equipment and skills are clearly marked with prices, and virtual things are given real value.

3. Incentive task setting

Taking Moutai’s “Xun Value List” activity as an example, we can get a glimpse of this.

Users can obtain Xun points by completing tasks on Xunfeng, and rank in real time on the platform to form a Xun value list. Users who participate in the event have the opportunity to win event tickets, zodiac wine, digital collections and other prizes. The top 400,000 users on the list can obtain the "Xun Realm Secret Contract" and can subsequently create their own digital space in Xunfeng.

Moutai understands people's hearts. The ranking list open to all users can stimulate the desire to win, the rights and interests of the winners are quite affordable, and the prizes are also of the type that can be re-operated, which is convenient for subsequent user retention and refined operations.

In order to obtain points such as Xun value, users need to complete various main and branch tasks, which is the task incentive mode.

These tasks are not too difficult, such as rescuing stray cats, cleaning up fallen leaves, collecting sorghum, delivering goods to other NPCs, etc. The operation methods are similar - get close to the target and click the corresponding button that pops up.

But I don't know whether it is to allow players to visit Xunfeng World more fully or it is a defect of the product itself, but there is no map in this large space, which greatly reduces the experience. Therefore, in addition to being busy sweeping the floor and picking sorghum, Jam Girl was always lost and running around, wasting a lot of time.

At present, it seems that the gameplay of Xunfeng is still mainly in the form of completing tasks. While lowering the threshold for participation, it also makes many users who come for the Metaverse experience say: That’s it?

2. Moutai’s Metaverse is probably just a gimmick

There is no doubt that the emergence of Xunfeng is indeed a major event in the metaverse.

It supports multiple people online, can realize transactions, has a complete circulation system, reflects the real Moutai town, and emphasizes the subsequent co-creation of players. As some media said, this is "the first truly created and most complete metaverse of a Chinese brand."

But it is precisely because of the huge hype in the early stages that people can feel Moutai’s ambition to create a sandbox game world, so many players feel disappointed after the experience.

The shortcomings of Xunfeng are obvious.

For example, when you first create your own avatar, there are only three face shapes to choose from, and the costumes and makeup are visibly "rough". It is difficult for users to have their own room to play, and when they see the avatar wearing a sweatshirt and trousers running on the quaint streets, they are out of place in a minute.

Coupled with the fact that the overall tone of the Xunfeng world is dark, the careless virtual images sometimes even look a bit creepy.

On the other hand, the tasks are similar in format and have weak interactivity. Users can only communicate with NPCs mechanically, and the task operations are also quite boring. Basically, just click a button and it's done, not to mention the sense of immersion.

In addition, Xunfeng does not do well in the social aspect that the Metaverse emphasizes. The platform does not support private chats between users, and only has a public "world" chat channel and a one-way system notification box. In this way, users seem to have become tools for completing tasks, and cannot even experience the basic social fun in other games.

The most complete place in Xunfeng is probably the "Xunfeng Market". Whether it is a digital collection of liquor or IP-related figures, it has everything, just like a mature e-commerce platform. This also caused Moutai to attract controversy for its eagerness to cash out, and there were doubts that the concept of the metaverse was just a gimmick to sell liquor.

The shortcomings of the settings that Jam Girl felt during the experience are just the tip of the iceberg of many users' negative reviews of Xunfeng App. Its rating on the App Store has dropped to 1.7. If you open the comment area, you can still see countless sincere complaints, most of which are concentrated on:

• Technical aspects: It takes up memory, system failures occur frequently, authentication is troublesome and not interoperable, and customer service is always offline.
• In terms of setting: You just run around in circles on a small map every day, the scenery and tasks are monotonous, and ordinary players can hardly compete with the tycoons who spend money on games.

In fact, there is nothing wrong with Metaverse marketing, and Moutai's marketing campaign is also a pioneering case, with both technical confidence and content accumulation. However, it is still a long way to go to get users to buy into Metaverse.

In the final analysis, the current Xunfeng has more gimmicks than staying power, and its rating in the digital world is probably just barely passing.

3. The consumer metaverse is already in its infancy

Although Xunfeng has many shortcomings, the attention it has attracted once again confirms that the Metaverse has arrived with an unstoppable momentum. It is not only the hottest thing at the moment, but also the next important trend. All participants hope that they can gain the first-mover advantage.

But the metaverse is too large, so here we only look at the implementation of the "consumer metaverse".

The essence of the consumer metaverse is commodity circulation and consumption, which must be achieved through the combination of virtual and real at present. If Xunfeng's activities do not involve the exchange of actual rights and interests such as zodiac wine, I am afraid that people's pursuit will be greatly reduced.

So, why doesn’t Moutai sell liquor directly?

This issue involves another concept - experience economy .

The new generation of consumers has seen everything. Brand marketing has reached its peak, but it will eventually have to return to improving consumer experience, which has led to the prevalence of the experience economy.

It can be said that most of the current marketing focuses on this, and the implementation of the metaverse concept is no exception.

If Moutai sells liquor directly, it will have its market for consumers but will ultimately be mediocre. However, if the concept of the meta-universe is added, the situation will be different.

Although Xunfeng’s game is not sophisticated enough, it is novel in form; although Moutai’s Metaverse is mostly gimmicky, it provides a platform that can accommodate millions of people to participate. After marketing fermentation, the value of Moutai has risen again because it includes the added experience of consumers.

From this perspective, if we regard brand building of the consumer metaverse as the construction of a pyramid, we can simply summarize the logic and structure:

The first layer is technology, such as the combination of virtual and real, augmented reality, etc.

As a foundation, technology is extremely important, and it is related to whether the consumer metaverse can truly break away from the conceptual level and reach the user. However, the R&D cost of technology is high, so most brands and channels will choose to cooperate with technology companies, just like Moutai cooperates with NetEase Yaotai, Lynk & Co joins hands with Baidu Xiran, and Meiyajia joins hands with Huawei.

The level of technology determines the degree of implementation of the Metaverse. Xunfeng's finished product is only smooth enough. As for the exquisiteness of the painting style, the experience of combining virtuality and reality, and the design of the gameplay, it is even beaten by many games.

Another example is IKEA, which has developed a virtual reality application - IKEA VR Experience, which is similar to a VR game. As long as you have a VR device, you can create a real home in the virtual world and experience the decoration effect. Although this requires a high level of equipment from the user, it can provide a more immersive metaverse experience.

The second layer is culture, which varies depending on the brand’s marketing objectives.

When a brand builds a consumer metaverse, whether to showcase new products or to promote the company, it determines the appearance of the virtual world it presents, that is, the "worldview". The common point is that the brand's consumer metaverse should be permeated with its own culture, which is the core of the entire space.

Lynk & Co and Baidu Xirang jointly launched the "Lynk & Co Paradise", which is a 1:1 replica of the online exhibition hall, including 6 car series and 12 models, and supports users to change the color of the car, open the car door and trunk, and experience the interior interaction. This digital space is set as a brand auto show, and consumers can more easily immerse themselves in the scene and feel the automotive culture of Lynk & Co.

Let’s look at Moutai again. In Xunfeng’s world, the town of Moutai is reflected in the virtual world. The buildings include three major wine-making distilleries, and even the streets are paved with bluestone slabs. Although the NPCs are mechanical, they start by introducing the Moutai culture as soon as they open their mouths. The brand heritage is everywhere.

This shows that before brands start building a consumer metaverse, they should first explore and sort out their own culture so that they can have a clear idea of ​​how to present the virtual world.

The third layer is the mechanism, which is the interactive gameplay and points system of the consumer metaverse.

In reality, there are transactions and exchange rates, and the consumer metaverse should also have its own circulation and circulation system, such as Naixue Coin and Xunzhi. It is related to monetization and user experience, and is an important link in attracting new users and retaining users.

This point has been explained in the previous article, so I will not repeat it here.

At this point, we have a certain understanding of the consumer metaverse from 0 to 1.

It can be said that although Moutai’s Xunfeng is not perfect, it does provide a reference case for consumers and observers of the metaverse, allowing more people to cross the low threshold and truly feel the arrival of the metaverse.

Because the metaverse is so large and has a long way to go, it needs countless pioneers to lay the foundation and explore, thus accelerating the arrival of a new era. By then, they may be the first beneficiaries to reap the dividends.

As Gaspar Broten, general manager of IKEA Sweden, said, “Virtual reality is developing rapidly and will become part of people’s lives in the next five to ten years.”

Let’s look more boldly into the future of the Metaverse; it’s already on its way.

Author: Chen Chumu

Source public account: Weiguojiang (ID: wjam123456), focusing on the forefront of new media and insights into new consumer fields.