Hm.... To be honest, I have mixed feelings about this.
One of my first reactions is that I'd be really disappointed if COVID was the end of in-person Expo concerts. Despite everything (which I'll get to in a moment), it's still a dream of mine to go one day.
(As sort of an aside, there's also something that occurrs to me regarding being concerned about how many people don't have access to VR equipment. But with something like Google Cardboard, you can basically turn an Android phone into a VR headset with just the purchase of a cheap kit that includes a specially-cut cardboard box and (I think?) some plastic lenses. So that barrier isn't necessarily insurmountable.)
On the other hand, I have to remember one of the things I really liked about Expo 2021 Online: it was universally accessible to everyone who had an internet connection.
My journey to purchasing Expo 2020 tickets was a long one. I spent a long time trying to help my family understand what vocal synths are and why they and the culture around them are awesome. My results were positive, but not nearly as positive as I would've liked. That was to be expected, I guess; it probably isn't possible for them to follow my path closely enough to see this part of the world from my perspective, and more importantly, they have competing circumstances that make them less amenable to it. Getting back to the story, I got my folks interested enough to be willing to go. Expo was miraculously coming to a location that circumstances lined up to make very convenient for us. We arranged that I'd buy us all tickets, although my folks being who they are, they insisted on paying me back for theirs (They knew the price, of course.). I still remember the euphoria of purchasing my first Miku concert tickets. And then, that very night, the first thing they did was complain about the cost. To this day, I don't think they understood how I felt when that concert fell through; they said it was fate and more or less left it at that. Honestly, I think they were relieved to get out of traveling even the feasible amount we would've had to.
Honestly, there's a part of me that finds the idea of trying to go through all that again deeply unappealing...even though I know that, if I had the same opportunity, there's almost no chance that I'd let it pass by.
My situation is only socially difficult. But I'm sure there are many others with more difficult problems. People who live nowhere near the cities where Expo ever comes, or who don't have the money to travel/for tickets, or the ability for whatever other reason.
I'm a big believer in what a powerful and positive experience the vocal synths, this culture, and these concerts can be. I'd like for as many as possible of the people who want to go to an in-person concert to be able to go. But for all those who can't (And the disparity seems to be LARGE; remember how Miku Expo 2021 tipped Twitter that day?), I'd like the virtual option to remain available. And, as I implied in the Miku Expo Rewind thread, I'd like to see the experience get pushed and enhanced and made more awesome even than Expo 2021 was.
To that end, I'd like to know more about what Expo VR is going to be, and I'm cautiously hopeful about what it might imply for the enhancement of the online platform. Although I desperately want the in-person Expo concerts to resume, too.