The billionaire battle for the metaverse 

Precisely what these plutocrats mean by the metaverse is as yet unclear. will it be an all-consuming futuristic world of virtual reality, avatars, oceanside mansions and other online razzmatazz that will make the real world a dull place by comparison? Or will it simply be a richer, more immersive version of what already exists today: a way to socialize, work,shop and play online even as life in the everyday world carries on as normal? It is even less clear whether tomorrow's internet users will be seduced by the dreams of entitled tech billionaires.

plutocrat n. /ˈplutəkræt/ 有钱有势的人；财阀

Razzmatazz n./ˌræzməˈtæz/令人眼花缭乱的活动

immersive adj. /ɪˈmɜːsɪv/（计算机系统或图像）沉浸式虚拟现实的 ( technical 术语 )

entitle  v.   /ɪnˈtaɪtl/  1.~ sb to sth 使享有权利；使符合资格•You will be entitled to your pension when you reach 65. 你到65岁就有资格享受养老金。 2. 给…命名（或题名）•He read a poem entitled ‘Salt’. 他朗诵一首题为《盐》的诗。

A look at the ambitions of Meta, Nvidia, Epic and Tencent give a sense of the scope of the undertaking. Each has their niches. Mr Zuckerberg has earmarked $10bn this year mostly to develop the virtual-and augmented-reality headsets and glasses that he hopes will provide a dominant access point to the metaverse, much as Apple's iPhone does with the mobile internet. Nvidia is focused on what it calls the omniverse, a technology based on its chips that brings engineers, designers and other creative types together virtually to make things-mostly, for now, in industrial settings. Epic has been creating virtual worlds for years, including "Fortnite". In the metaverse, its killer App may be Unreal Engine, a platform that gives its own and other developers the ability to make lifelike 3D experiences, including games, films, architectural models and industrial designs. Tencent has China to crack. Mr Ma is probably wise to play it carefully, given the Communist Party's techlash. But his firm's popular WeChat super-App, including WeChat Pay, is already a 2D version of what the metaverse could become in 3D.

Earmark /ˈɪəmɑːk/  [ VN ] [ usually passive ] ~ sb/sth (for/as sb/sth)  指定…的用途；预先安排，确定（未来发生的事情）

•The money had been earmarked for spending on new school buildings. 这笔款项已指定用于新校舍建设。

Augment  v. /ɔːɡˈment/ [ VN ] 增加；提高；扩大

Omniverse：宇宙，万有，天地万物，森罗万象，全世界，全人类（包含了所有可能的宇宙，所有的可能的物理法则）

Chip-technology：芯片科技            Lifelike：栩栩如生的；逼真的

Techlash：科技抵制潮（《经济学人》中出现的合成词，指对科技巨头如“谷歌”，“脸书”的抵制）

Behind their futuristic ambitions lie some common experiences. First, the mobile internet is reaching the end of an era.  In America and Europe, politicians are threatening tighter rules against monopolies and privacy abuses, especially with respect to Facebook and Google. In China, the tech industry is reeling from the government onslaught. Not for nothing are some first-generation tech entrepreneurs in America and China calling it quits. Those who remain standing need a compelling new story to tell.

Reel /riːl/1.踉跄；摇摇晃晃地挪动；蹒跚 •I punched him on the chin, sending him reeling backwards. 我一拳击中他的下巴，打得他向后打了个趔趄。2.~ (at/from/with sth) 感到震惊；感觉心烦意乱 •I was still reeling from the shock. 我吓得依然昏头转向。 3.似乎在不停旋转；仿佛天旋地转•When he opened his eyes, the room was reeling. 他睁开眼睛时，房间似乎在不停地旋转。

Onslaught：~ (against/on sb/sth)~ (of sth) 攻击；猛攻

译文

Precisely what these plutocrats mean by the metaverse is as yet unclear. will it be an all-consuming futuristic world of virtual reality, avatars, oceanside mansions and other online razzmatazz that will make the real world a dull place by comparison? Or will it simply be a richer, more immersive version of what already exists today: a way to socialize, work,shop and play online even as life in the everyday world carries on as normal? It is even less clear whether tomorrow's internet users will be seduced by the dreams of entitled tech billionaires.

确切地说这些财阀们说的“元宇宙”还只是模糊概念，并不明确。会是一个充满虚拟现实、虚拟人物、海滨豪宅和其他在线狂欢的未来世界，让现实世界相形见绌? 或者，它只是目前已经存在的世界的一个更丰富、更具有沉浸感的版本：一种社交、工作、购物和在线娱乐的方式都在线上，但日常生活照常进行? 更不清楚的是，未来的互联网用户是否会被有权势的科技亿万富翁的梦想所诱惑。

A look at the ambitions of Meta, Nvidia, Epic and Tencent give a sense of the scope of the undertaking. Each has their niches. Mr Zuckerberg has earmarked $10bn this year mostly to develop the virtual-and augmented-reality headsets and glasses that he hopes will provide a dominant access point to the metaverse, much as Apple's iPhone does with the mobile internet. Nvidia is focused on what it calls the omniverse, a technology based on its chips that brings engineers, designers and other creative types together virtually to make things-mostly, for now, in industrial settings. Epic has been creating virtual worlds for years, including "Fortnite". In the metaverse, its killer App may be Unreal Engine, a platform that gives its own and other developers the ability to make lifelike 3D experiences, including games, films, architectural models and industrial designs. Tencent has China to crack. Mr Ma is probably wise to play it carefully, given the Communist Party's techlash. But his firm's popular WeChat super-App, including WeChat Pay, is already a 2D version of what the metaverse could become in 3D.

看看Meta，英伟达，Epic和腾讯的勃勃野心也能感受到元宇宙未来之广阔。他们都有自己的专业领域。扎克伯格划出100亿美元专项资金用于开发虚拟现实以及增强现实头显和眼镜，他希望这些工具能够成为元宇宙的主导接入设备，如图苹果手机对移动互联网的作用一样。英伟达专注于其称为“omniverse”的科技，该科技基于其芯片，可以让工程师、设计师和其他富有创造力人士一起在虚拟空间协作制造东西。目前而言，大部分应用在工业领域。Epic多年以来一直打造虚拟世界，包括《堡垒之夜》。在元宇宙，Epic杀手级应用应该是“虚拟引擎”，它为自身及其他开发者提供可以打造游戏、电影、建筑模型及工业设计逼真3D体验的平台。腾讯有中国市场去攻克。鉴于国内的“科技抵制潮”（反垄断），马化腾应该足够聪明去妥善处理。但其公司的超级应用微信，包括微信支付，已经是未来3D元宇宙的2D版。

Behind their futuristic ambitions lie some common experiences. First, the mobile internet is reaching the end of an era.  In America and Europe, politicians are threatening tighter rules against monopolies and privacy abuses, especially with respect to Facebook and Google. In China, the tech industry is reeling from the government onslaught. Not for nothing are some first-generation tech entrepreneurs in America and China calling it quits. Those who remain standing need a compelling new story to tell.

这些科技巨头未来性的雄性壮志源于一些共同的经历。首先，移动互联网已经到了一个时代的终点。在美国和欧总，政治家威胁将制定更加紧缩的政策反对垄断和隐私侵犯，特别是脸书和谷歌。在中国，科技领域也在政府的管制下受到冲击。美国和中国的一些第一代科技企业家退出并不是没有原因的。那些依然屹立不倒的则需要讲述有吸引力的新故事。

英文原文《经济学人商论》21年12月刊，译文仅供参考，欢迎大家讨论。