Check out Metaverse Roadshow Chanel for interviews and panels with Metaverse builders, projects, experts, researchers.
Metaverse Summitis set to explore and build the future of Metaverse together. The summit will gather builders, entrepreneurs, investors and experts from 3D, VFXGaming, VR, AR, Web3 and beyond.
The two day event will be held 16–17 July 2022, a unique moment for the international community to meet in person, discover new synergies, and develop projects. We believe that sharing and transmitting knowledge is the most sustainable way to develop the decentralized, fertile future of Metaverse.
Walmart appears to be venturing into the metaverse with plans to create its own cryptocurrency and collection of NFTs.
The big-box retailer filed several new trademarks late last month that indicate its intent to make and sell virtual goods.
In a separate filing, the company said it would offer users a virtual currency, as well as non-fungible tokens, or NFTs.
Walmart appears to be venturing into the metaverse with plans to create its own cryptocurrency and collection of non-fungible tokens, or NFTs.
The big-box retailer filed several new trademarks late last month that indicate its intent to make and sell virtual goods, including electronics, home decorations, toys, sporting goods and personal care products. In a separate filing, the company said it would offer users a virtual currency, as well as NFTs.
According to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, Walmart filed the applications on Dec. 30.
Source: Gerben Intellectual Property
In total, seven separate applications have been submitted.
A spokesperson from Walmart didn’t immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment.
Source: Gerben Intellectual Property
“They’re super intense,” said Josh Gerben, a trademark attorney. “There’s a lot of language in these, which shows that there’s a lot of planning going on behind the scenes about how they’re going to address cryptocurrency, how they’re going to address the metaverse and the virtual world that appears to be coming or that’s already here.”
“All of a sudden, everyone is like, ‘This is becoming super real and we need to make sure our IP is protected in the space,’” said Gerben.
Gap has also started selling NFTs of its iconic logo sweatshirts. The apparel maker said its NFTs will be priced in tiers ranging from roughly $8.30 to $415, and come with a physical hoodie.
Meantime, both Under Armour’s and Adidas’ NFT debuts sold out last month. They’re now fetching sky-high prices on the NFT marketplace OpenSea.
Gerben said that apparel retailers Urban Outfitters, Ralph Lauren and Abercrombie & Fitch have also filed trademarks in recent weeks detailing their intent to open some sort of virtual store.
A report from CB Insights outlined some of the reasons why retailers and brands might want to make such ventures, which can potentially offer new revenue streams.
Launching NFTs allows for businesses to tokenize physical products and services to help reduce online transaction costs, it said. And for luxury brands like Gucci and Louis Vuitton, NFTs can serve as a form of authentication for tangible and more expensive goods, CB Insights noted.
Gerben said that as more consumers familiarize themselves with the metaverse and items stored on the blockchain, more retailers will want to create their own ecosystem around it.
According to Frank Chaparro, director at crypto information services firm The Block, many retailers are still reeling from being late to e-commerce, so they don’t want to miss out on any opportunities in the metaverse.
“I think it’s a win-win for any company in retail,” Chaparro said. “And even if it just turns out to be a fad there’s not a lot of reputation damage in just trying something weird out like giving some customers an NFT in a sweepstake, for instance.”
🎙 Check out Metaverse Roadshow Chanel for interviews and panels with Metaverse builders, projects, experts, researchers.
Meta has released the official Meta Avatars SDKallowing all Unity developers on Quest 1 / 2, Rift and all windows-based VR platforms to start development and integration of the Meta avatar systems and mechanics.
What are Meta Avatars?
In April 2021 Meta announced the new avatar style and demonstrated how could be integrated into the metaverse with the release of Meta avatars within Epic Roller Coasters, PokerStars VR, GOLF+, Synth Riders, and ForeVR Bowl. The Meta Avatars SDK adds social presence to your experience with expressive and customizable avatars. The avatars come with hundreds of different outfit and physical features. Since the release of the avatars in April Meta has made a series of updates both in regards to the overall asset quality and user choices. Meta is currently further developing it’s options with the key message of providing full cultural representation within the metaverse.
Users can configure their Meta Avatars via an editor included in the Oculus platform so that all apps can represent them in a consistent and authentic way. Stopping users from having to constantly re-create their virtual selves and focusing on a consistent metaverse virtual persona.
What is the Meta Avatar SDK?
The SDK is much more than the Meta avatar style. Meta Avatars are built with developer needs in mind to power all kinds of experiences in VR. Meta Avatars interpret hand tracking, controller tracking, and audio input to drive highly expressive Avatar models. Custom IK algorithms help make sure that the avatar’s body positions and facial expressions are as realistic as possible, and these algorithms will improve over time. Developers also have the ability to override body positioning and facial expression data provided. This allows developers to offer completely unique meta avatar mechanics within their desired application.
The intention of Meta Avatars is to enrich social interaction. Optimizing for multi-user experiences has been a fundamental goal. The system locally estimates the avatar’s pose and allows it to be streamed to other participants using your choice of networking stack. This approach reduces the amount of computation effort required, and accommodates the need to override the system’s default avatar facial expression and body position in a manner that is authoritative in the experience. Allowing developers to create natural multi-user experiences whilst simultaneously maintaining performance.
What’s Included in the SDK?
The Meta Avatars Unity plugin includes prefabs, scripts, and assets that allows convenient access to all available functionality, along with several samples including:
Single avatar mirror scene
Custom hand poses
Loading custom avatars via Meta’s web API
Network loopback
Gaze tracking
The SDK contains 32 sample avatars that are available for use during development and are freely available for use in shipping products. These sample avatars are representative of the quality of the custom avatars users can create, and can also be used as presets for NPCs. Users who don’t want to customize their own, or to represent users on platforms without a Meta login like SteamVR.
[Metaverse Summit] Blockchain Gaming Guilds, decentralized community beyond Play-to-earn
With the emergence of the Play-to-Earn business model, comes a new type of gaming guilds. By playing various crypto games, a guild is able to obtain as many NFTs as possible from various sources, and most of them aim to create their own NFT market if they did not do so already. With the launch of tokens, Crypto guilds have the potential to solve the centralization problem that traditional guilds have.
Mirko from Unix Gaming shared with us the creation and community of an emerging gaming guild.
There is a big difference between traditional gaming guilds and crypto game guilds. While the traditional type is limited to the game, and it can rise or fall with it, the crypto variant aims to become a platform to support new gamers.
00:00 intro
00:21 Today we have a miracle from Unix.
01:10 Tell us about what kind of game did you play before crypto gaming?
04:41 What is Unix today?
14:16 What’s Play to earn and do you think there will be more « Axie » this year?
19:17 You mentioned the number of Unix since last year.
26:04 Do you think this can play out?
32:19 How do you think two different kinds of metabolism development can merge?
32:34 What’s your vision of metaverse this year and in five to ten years?
40:25 Telling us all the experiences building Unix
🎙 Check out Metaverse Roadshow Chanel for interviews and panels with Metaverse builders, projects, experts, researchers.
Emerging technologies including AI, virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), 5G, and blockchain (and related digital currencies) have all progressed on their own merits and timeline. Each has found a degree of application, though clearly AI has progressed the furthest. Each technology is maturing while overcoming challenges ranging from blockchain’s energy consumption to VR’s propensity for inducing nausea. They will likely converge in readiness over the next several years, underpinned by the now ubiquitous cloud computing for elasticity and scale. And in that convergence, the sum will be far greater than the parts. The catalyst for this convergence will be the metaverse — a connected network of always-on 3D virtual worlds.
The metaverse concept has wide-sweeping potential. On one level, it could be a 3D social media channel with messaging targeted perfectly to every user by AI. That’s the Meta (previously Facebook) vision. It also has the potential to be an all-encompassing platform for information, entertainment, and work.UnmuteAdvanced SettingsFullscreenPauseUp NextHow the World’s Largest Staffing Company ‘Randstad’ Generated 1000% ROI by Streamlining Risk and Safety Processes Using a No Code Platform._
There will be multiple metaverses, at least initially, with some tailored to specific interests such as gaming or sports. The key distinction between current technology and the metaverse is the immersive possibilities the metaverse offers, which is why Meta, Microsoft, Nvidia, and others are investing so heavily in it. It may also become the next versionof the Internet.
Instead of watching the news, you could feel as if you are in the news. Instead of learning history by reading about an event in a book – such as Washington crossing the Delaware – you could virtually witness the event from the shore or from a boat. Instead of watching a basketball game on television, you could experience it in 360-surround. People could attend a conference virtually, watch the keynotes, and meet with others. In the metaverse, our digital presence will increasingly supplement our real one. According to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, the metaverse could be the next best thing to a working teleportation device.
As described by Monica White in Digital Trends, “The metaverse is meant to replace, or improve, real-life functionality in a virtual space. Things that users do in their day-to-day life, such as attending classes or going to work, can all be done in the metaverse instead.” For example, the metaverse could offer an entirely new 3D platform for ecommerce. Imagine a virtual reality shopping experience, virtually walking the aisles of a megastore stocked by a multitude of platform partner companies tailored specifically for you, where promotional messages are designed with only you in mind, and the only items displayed are the ones in stock and available to ship. In this store, on sale items are selected based on your tastes and expected needs, and value-based pricing is dynamically updated in real-time, based either on the age of the product (if a perishable item), supply and demand, or both.
First there was Second Life
While the metaverse feels fresh and futuristic, we’ve been here before. In addition to early visionaries Neal Stephenson and William Gibson, who described the metaverse in fiction, a very real metaverse was created in 2003. It was known as Second Life, and millions of people rushed to the platform to experience an alternate digital universe replete with avatars. NBC describedSecond Life as an “online virtual world where avatars do the kind of stuff real people do in real life: Buy stuff. Sell stuff. Gamble. Listen to music. Buy property. Flirt. Play games. Watch movies. Have sex.” Harvard University even taught online classes within Second Life. Second Life was so successful that it was the subject of a 2006 cover story in BusinessWeek.
However, Second Life’s popularity dropped soon after. As described in a 2007 Computerworld article, the experience suffered due to a “poor UI, robust technical requirements, a steep learning curve, an inability to scale, and numerous distractions.” And then Facebook came along and offered a more compelling experience.
In 2007, there was no VR, AR, 5G, blockchain or digital currency. Cloud computing was in its infancy, and the mobile internet was still emerging as the first iPhone had just been introduced. Further, AI still had limited impact, since the deep learning boom was still a few years away. Perhaps that is why Meta is now enamored with the idea of the metaverse as it seeks to combine the most compelling (and consumer-tested) elements of Facebook and Second Life, based on an entirely new platform powered by the latest technology.
Emerging technologies near ready
Several of the technologies that will enable the metaverse, including virtual and augmented reality and blockchain, have been slow to mature but are approaching a level of capability that is critical for success. Each has been missing the killer app that will drive development and widespread adoption forward. The metaverse could be that app.
For VR, most headsets still need to be tethered to a PC or gaming console to achieve the processing power and communication speed required for smooth and immersive experiences. Only Meta’s Oculus Quest 2 has so far broken free of this cable constraint. But even that headset remains bulky, according to one of Meta’s VPs. With ever faster processors and higher speed wireless communications on the near horizon, better visual resolution and untethered experiences should emerge over the next few years.
AR has achieved mostly niche adoption. In part, AR prospects likely suffered due to the high-profile market failure of Google Glass when introduced in 2012. And while Pokemon Go provided a huge lift for the technology in 2016, there has not been a similar phenomenon since. But an important new player is apparently readying to enter the market: Perhaps spurred by the metaverse concept and moves by competitors, Apple is expected to release its first AR/VR headset in late 2022. Apple has a penchant for entering a market well after the first movers have proven viability, then going on to dominate. It is a reasonable conclusion that this is the company’s plan for the metaverse.
Blockchain underlies cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin and would enable virtual goods and identities to be purchased and seamlessly transferred between various metaverse platforms. New blockchain applications such as NFTs are leading to greater adoption, potentially pointing to a new economy. The Wall Street Journal reported that the race is now on to extend this technology to all types of assets, adding that blockchain-based payments are superior to our legacy financial infrastructure. Similarly, the New York Times reported that venture capital fundshave invested about $27 billion into crypto and blockchain companies in 2021, more than the previous 10 years combined.
Metaverse prospects
While some brands are already rushing to capitalize on the metaverse fever, the metaverse will likely evolve in fits and starts, with widespread adoption still years away. This is because the needed technologies still have a way to go to optimize their functionality, ease of use, and cost. One semiconductor company has said that a truly immersive metaverse will require a 1,000-times increase in compute efficiency over today’s state-of-the-art processors. While that is a huge increase, the company separately presented at a recent “Architecture Day” that it expects to achieve that goal by 2025.
Whether it takes three years or 10, there is huge momentum behind the metaverse, with seemingly unlimited funding. Even at the current stage of development, Boeing has committed to designing its next-generation aircraft within the metaverse, using digital twins and Microsoft HoloLens headsets.
Kirby Winfield, Founding General Partner of VC firm Ascend, sees the metaverse as “the latest evolution of [an] ongoing shift to an increasingly digital life.” When it arrives in full, that shift will achieve the immersive sci-fi visions of many.
🎙 Check out Metaverse Roadshow Chanel for interviews and panels with Metaverse builders, projects, experts, researchers.
Mojo Vision has raised $45 million to adapt its augmented reality contact lenses to work with sports and fitness applications.
Saratoga, California-based Mojo Vision bills itself as the Invisible Computing Company. It is announcing strategic partnerships with sports and fitness brands to collaborate on next-generation user experiences that combine augmented reality, wearable technology, and personal performance data.https://d-72462247293897998.ampproject.net/2111242025001/nameframe.html
The companies will work together using Mojo’s smart contact lens technology, Mojo Lens, to find unique ways to improve access to data and enhance athletes’ performance during sporting activities.
The additional funding includes investments from Amazon Alexa Fund, PTC, Edge Investments, HiJoJo Partners, and others. Existing investors NEA, Liberty Global Ventures, Advantech Capital, AME Cloud Ventures, Dolby Family Ventures, Motorola Solutions, and Open Field Capital have also participated.
Mojo Vision sees an opportunity in the wearables market to deliver performance data and real-time stats to data-conscious athletes like runners, cyclists, gym users, golfers, and more through Mojo Lens’ intuitive hands-free, eye-controlled user interface.
Strategic partnerships
Above: Mojo Vision is making augmented reality contact lenses.Image Credit: Mojo Vision
Mojo Vision is engaging in several strategic partnerships with fitness brands to address the unmet performance data needs of athletes and sports enthusiasts. The company’s initial partnerships include Adidas Running (running/training), Trailforks (cycling, hiking/outdoors), Wearable X (yoga), Slopes (snow sports), and 18Birdies (golf).
Through these strategic partnerships and the market expertise the companies provide, Mojo Vision will explore additional smart contact lens interfaces and experiences to understand and improve the delivery of data for athletes of varying skill levels and abilities.
“We are making important progress in developing our smart contact lens technology, and we continue to research and identify new market potential for this groundbreaking platform,” said Steve Sinclair, senior vice president of product and marketing of Mojo Vision, in a statement. “Our partnerships with these leading brands will give us valuable insights into user behavior in the sports and fitness market. The goal is for these collaborations to deliver athletes an entirely new form factor with performance data that is more accessible and useful [at] the moment.”
Recent research from the International Data Corporation (IDC) shows global wearables shipments grew 32.3% year-over-year from 2020 to 2021. This significant and sustained growth in the wearable tech market is led by companies that continue to refine and release fitness trackers, smartwatches, smartphone apps, and other wearable devices aimed largely at bettering the user experience for sports and fitness enthusiasts. Yet, new data shows there may be a gap in the type of data and the accessibility of that data that athletes and fitness enthusiasts want.
In a new survey of over 1,300 athletes, Mojo Vision found that athletes very much rely on wearable data and are expressing a need for different ways for data to be delivered. The study showed that almost three out of four (74%) people usually or always use a wearable to track performance data during their workout or activity.
However, even though today’s athletes rely on wearable tech, there is a substantial appetite for devices that can better deliver access to real-time data about their performance — 83% of respondents said they would benefit from data in real-time or in the moment.
Additionally, half of the respondents said that of the three times (before, during, and after their workout) they receive performance data from their devices, in-the-moment or “during data,” was the most valuable type.
Mojo Lens, backed by years of scientific research and numerous technology patents, overlays images, symbols, and text on users’ natural field of vision without obstructing their view, restricting mobility, or hindering social interactions. Mojo calls this experience Invisible Computing.
In addition to the sports and wearable tech market, Mojo is planning an early application of its product to help people struggling with vision impairment by using enhanced image overlays.
Mojo Vision is actively working with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) through its Breakthrough Devices Program, a voluntary program designed to provide safe and timely access to medical devices that can help treat irreversibly debilitating diseases or conditions.
These new investments bring Mojo Vision’s total funding to date to $205 million.
It is my great pleasure to start off 2022 with news on our next generation virtual reality system for the PS5 console, starting with the official name: PlayStation VR2, and our new VR controller, PlayStation VR2 Sense controller.
PlayStation VR2 takes VR gaming to a whole new level, enabling a greater sense of presence and allowing players to escape into game worlds like never before. With the headset on and controllers in hand, players will feel a heightened range of sensations unlike any other – thanks to the creativity of the game worlds being built by our world class developers, and the latest technology incorporated into the hardware.
Building upon our innovations from PS5, PlayStation VR2 adds a true next-gen experience with high-fidelity visuals, new sensory features, and enhanced tracking – along with a simplified single-cord setup.
Visual Fidelity: For a high-fidelity visual experience, PS VR2 offers 4K HDR, 110-degree field of view, and foveated rendering. With an OLED display, players can expect a display resolution of 2000×2040 per eye and smooth frame rates of 90/120Hz.
Headset-based Controller Tracking: With inside-out tracking, PS VR2 tracks you and your controller through integrated cameras embedded in the VR headset. Your movements and the direction you look at are reflected in-game without the need for an external camera.
New Sensory Features: PS VR2 Sense Technology combines eye tracking, headset feedback, 3D Audio, and the innovative PS VR2 Sense controller to create an incredibly deep feeling of immersion. Headset feedback is a new sensory feature that amplifies the sensations of in-game actions from the player. It’s created by a single built-in motor with vibrations that add an intelligent tactile element, bringing players closer to the gameplay experience. For example, gamers can feel a character’s elevated pulse during tense moments, the rush of objects passing close to the character’s head, or the thrust of a vehicle as the character speeds forward. Additionally, PS5’s Tempest 3D AudioTech makes sounds in the player’s surroundings come alive, adding to this new level of immersion.
Eye Tracking: With eye tracking, PS VR2 detects the motion of your eyes, so a simple look in a specific direction can create an additional input for the game character. This allows players to interact more intuitively in new and lifelike ways, allowing for a heightened emotional response and enhanced expression that provide a new level of realism in gaming.
All of these advancements in PlayStation VR2, combined with the haptic feedback and adaptive triggers from the PS VR2 Sense controllers, enable players to feel and interact with games in a much more visceral way. PS VR2 will also have a simple setup process — with a single cable connected directly to PS5, you can immediately jump into the VR experience.
Today we are also pleased to reveal that one of the biggest exclusive franchises on PlayStation will be coming to PS VR2 – Horizon Call of the Mountain from Guerrilla and Firesprite. This original game is being built specifically for PS VR2 and will open the doors for players to go deeper into the world of Horizon.
I hope you’ve enjoyed today’s exciting updates. Just remember, this is only a taste of things to come, and I can’t wait to share more details with you about PS VR2. In the meantime, below is the list of official specifications.
🎙 Check out Metaverse Roadshow Chanel for interviews and panels with Metaverse builders, projects, experts, researchers.
Disney’s Virtual World Simulator could mark a step forward for augmented reality.
Disney has filed a patent for a Virtual World Simulator that will allow it to simulate augmented digital worlds without the need for users to wear headsets or glasses.
As reported by SiliconValley.com, the Walt Disney Company was granted a patent by the U.S. Patent and Trademark company on December 28 that will allow the company to create real-world theme park rides where multiple users will be able to simultaneously experience a 3D virtual world without the need for wearable peripherals.
As per the patent, Disney’s virtual spaces would be created using an array of high-speed projectors and a method known as SLAM, short for “Simultaneous Localization and Mapping.” This will allow them to continuously track and determine a user’s moving perspective as they move throughout a ride or attraction within one of the company’s parks.
A similar theme park experience was introduced at Super Nintendo World with the addition of its Mario Kart: Koopa’s Challenge ride. The ride, which allows its visitors to race through a course loosely based upon stages from the Mario Kart series, includes its very own augmented reality feature as guests hop into their very own Mario Kart track.
During the experience, an augmented reality headband displays animated characters and directional arrows in front of your eyes, which players can then ‘drive’ toward using the rides in-built steering wheel to collect items from boxes.
Disney’s move to create similar experiences without the need and use of additional wearable tech will look to mark a step forward for the sector, and is likely to turn the heads of theme park enthusiasts when its plans to introduce the technology come to fruition.
In addition to creating immersive theme park experiences, Disney’s patent also appears to note that the technology could be adapted for home use. The patent states that the virtual world simulator could be used to enable the transformation of a real-world venue, in the form of a personal residence or photography studio, into a movie set without requiring the user to leave their home. While this still feels like it could be some way off, the notion that the company is working on such technologies is still a very exciting prospect.
The first fully decentralised world has announced some important news for creators. Conversations revolving around adequately paying creators within DAO spaces have been rife. Decentralised Autonomous Organisation, Decentraland has always intended to hand over the world to those who create and play in their lands. Decentraland royalties launched with a bang.
The powerhouse that is Decentraland has introduced a royalty payment in its secondary sales system. The update allows creators of wearables to receive additional payment every time an item they created sells.
Wearable creators will get an extra 2.5% in their pockets out of a re-sale. If 2.5% doesn’t sound like a tasty amount there is an option to override this function. It is possible to change the commission percentage if so wanted using the management tool.
The framework which Decentraland worked from before was 2.5% of every sale went straight to DAO directly. The creators of wearables would only receive a one-off royalty payment for their creation. Once the wearable is out of the creator’s hands, they can’t profit from it. Decentraland has decided to turn the tables and allow the creators of the wearable to decide whether or not they would like an ongoing royalties from re-sales.
This highlights a breakthrough for contributors to the metaverse. The update is now live, however, it only applies to new listings. So, any made before the launch are not eligible to receive royalty payments.
This is published on CNBC originally by Evelyn Cheng.
A Shanghai city department released Thursday its five-year development plan, which included encouraging metaverse use in public services, business offices and other areas.
The metaverse has become a buzzword in the last few months as businesses, investors and developers predict it could form the next generation of the internet.
Chinese media reports said the Shanghai city document marked the first time a local government mentioned the metaverse in its plans for implementing Beijing’s five-year plan released in March.
BEIJING — China’s biggest city is getting serious about the metaverse, the technology that’s drawn mass attention this year for its potential to form the next generation of the internet.
Chinese government departments and local authorities have issued five-year development plans this year to show how they aim to implement the central government’s five-year plan issued in March.https://35361a3edf6b66da6bf716e556783572.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-38/html/container.html
One released by Shanghai on Thursday contained the first mention of the metaverse, according to Chinese media reports. The technology extends human interactions to a virtual world of three-dimensional avatars.
The metaverse is one of four frontiers for exploration, the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Economy and Information Technology said in its five-year plan for developing the electronic information industry.
The document called for “encouraging the application of the metaverse in areas such as public services, business offices, social entertainment, industrial manufacturing, production safety and electronic games,” according to a CNBC translation of the Chinese text.
The commission said it plans to increase research and development of underlying technologies, including sensors, real-time interaction and blockchain.
The document did not lay out a specific timeline or goals for metaverse research and development.
The metaverse has since become a buzzword, most notably with American social network giant Facebook changing its name to Meta in October. Then earlier this month, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates said he expects most virtual meetings will move to the metaverse within the next two or three years.
This week, Beijing-based Baidu held what it claims to be China’s first conference in the metaverse. The event was meant to mark the opening of Baidu’s metaverse app to developers, and an executive told reporters he expects it will be six years before the full launch of the app.
In addition to general metaverse buzz on Chinese social media, state media has published several articles on the topic, primarily about the risk of scams.
After a year of bans and greater regulation on various kinds of technology, including cryptocurrencies, new rules on metaverse development are likely next, Winston Ma, adjunct professor of law at New York University, said Friday on CNBC’s “Squawk Box Asia.”
He pointed to how some aspects of the metaverse’s global development are related to gaming and cryptocurrency products like non-fungible tokens, all of which have come under greater scrutiny in China. Ma was not speaking in the specific context of the Shanghai commission’s development plans.
Samsung Electronics America has entered the metaverse world in collaboration with Decentraland, an Ethereum-based virtual reality platform.
The electronics giant has opened a virtual version of its flagship 837 physical store in Decentraland. The physical store is located at 837 Washington Street in New York City’s Meatpacking District, Manhattan. The virtual store, dubbed Samsung 837X, will be open in Decentraland for a limited time.
“This is one of the largest brand land takeovers in the history of Decentraland,” Samsung said in a statement shared with The Block on Thursday.
The Samsung 837X store will offer digital adventures through “Connectivity Theater and Sustainability Forest” and a musical celebration at the “Customization Stage,” said Samsung.
The Connectivity Theater will showcase Samsung’s news from the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), which began on January 5 and will run until January 8. The Sustainability Forest will allow guests to have a mythical experience through millions of digital trees.
Samsung has also been planting trees in the real world. It recently partnered with Cardano-based climate restoration platform Veritree to manage the planting of two million trees in Madagascar by the first quarter of this year.
Veritree operates a “Cardano Forest” where users can donate 15 or more cardano (ADA) tokens to receive limited edition tree tokens. Veritree then plants one tree on behalf of users for each ADA exchanged. Tree tokens can be used for limited edition trees and NFT digital art, according to Veritree.
As for the Customization Stage in Samsung’s 837X store, guests will get to experience a mixed reality live dance party hosted by DJ Gamma Vibes from the physical Samsung 837 store.
Guests will also be invited to participate in quests that lead to 837X NFT badges and one of three limited-supply wearables. Winners will be announced at 8:37PM ET on January 7.
“The metaverse empowers us to transcend physical and spatial limits to create unique virtual experiences that could not happen otherwise,” said Michelle Crossan-Matos, senior vice president of corporate marketing and communications at Samsung Electronics America. “Innovation is in our DNA, and we can’t wait for you all to experience this burgeoning virtual world.”
As the Samsung 837X store will be open in Decentraland for a limited time, the company plans to bring more such experiences throughout the year.
Samsung appears to be betting big on NFTs and the metaverse. Earlier this week, the company announced that its new smart TVs will allow users to purchase NFTs. Samsung’s venture unit, Samsung Next, is also an investor in several NFT startups, including Sky Mavis (Axie Infinity creator), Dapper Labs, and Forte.
