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- The Immersive Wire - 7 November 2022 (Monday briefing)
The Immersive Wire - 7 November 2022 (Monday briefing)
The Immersive Wire - 7 November 2022 (Monday briefing)
Your weekly briefing on the metaverse // 7 November 2022
BRIEFINGExecutive summary
Snippets so sound smart in meetings this week:
Headline: China wants to export 26 million VR headsets by 2026, and Sony has high prices for its headset (more below);
Stat of the week: DappRadar reported that $1.93bn has been spent on virtual land this year;
Conversation-starter: VC investments into metaverse start-ups have been falling since 2021;
Interesting company: Lumirithmic made a scan of my face, and I like the tech a lot. The UK-based company is making high-fidelity scans of faces while focusing on gaming and skincare. (More company updates below).
I have started a new role at Accenture, shaping its global thought leadership on the metaverse within the Metaverse Continuum Business Group. The Immersive Wire will stay as-is. Happy to answer questions via responses to this email! - Tom Ffiske, Editor of the Immersive WireWant to be fully briefed each week? Sign up to get it directly to your inbox.
TOP ANALYSISWill ~8% of PS5 owners get a PS VR2?
China wants to export 26 million VR headsets by 2026, according to its Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.
The country hopes to sell $48.2bn of hardware and software over a five-year period, and will support 100 ‘metaverse-facing’ companies as well.
This would be integrating with the local plans laid out by Shanghai and Shenzhen over the last year.
Sony announced the PlayStation VR2 (PS VR2) will be $550, sending jitters in the VR gaming space.
I am unsure how quickly Sony will sell two million units in 2023. The con is that the PS VR2 is a $550 tethered headset, hooked to a $400 console which is still a struggle to buy in some places. For context, Sony has sold 25 million PS5s; so the company expects ~8% of PS5 owners to also buy the VR headset.
On the other hand, PlayStation’s IPs are very strong. Horizon: Call of the Mountain (made by Guerrilla and Firesprite) will be a huge draw for many fans of the series, drawing people into the ecosystem. It is also cheaper than the original PS VR; Ben Lang commented that the full kit was originally launched in 2016 at $500, or $618 in today’s money.
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The Metaverse: A Professional Guide is now available as an audiobook on Audible! Listen to the audio version of the book, highly rated by professionals in our space. One review from Amazon: ‘It is definitely a book worth reading and for those who know more there are lots of facts, insights and explanations across the metaverse, AR, VR, and its applications. As Tom Ffiske outlines, this is a never-ending journey so I’m pleased to have started the journey with this book.'
Get it in your region:
OTHER STORIESImportant news from the last week
Got stories? Do let me know at tom (at) immersivewire (dot) com.
Bepensa (who bottles Coca-Cola products in Mexico) worked with ARuVR on training its employees.
CareerCon is a virtual event designed around the future of work and web3, happening from 9 – 10 November.
Disclaimer: I provided PR support for hundo, the organising company, earlier this year.
DIVR LABS is running a VR set-up in Westfields London, where families hunt dinosaurs in a free-roam space.
I liked it a lot. Apart from hiccups with the Wifi streaming, it was an entertaining experience I can see working well with a broader family.
GEENEE AR added generative AI to its body tracking capabilities.
HoloKit X is a $129 AR headset that works with iPhones.
International XR-Metaverse Conference called out for papers for its upcoming event.
ITV Studios will work with Virtual Brand Group to build metaverse experiences with The Voice.
Lumirithmic made a scan of my face, and I like the tech a lot.
Out of stealth recently, the UK-based company is making high-fidelity scans of faces while focusing on gaming and skincare verticals. It makes me think that scanning tech will ramp up in speed and quality in 2023.
M&S launched its first virtual influencer, MIRA.
Mojo Vision added the Alexa Shopping List app to its AR contact lens.
Open Metaverse Alliance opened its first working groups, asking for help.
Orlando Economic Partnership and Unity have unveiled a first-of-its-scale digital twin of the 800-square-mile Orlando region.
Ralf Lauren debuted a clothing collection in Fortnite.
Razorfish found that 70% of web3 adopters treat virtual goods to the same level (or more) as real ones.
Not surprising, but I would like to see a study that asks normal consumers if they feel the same.
Roblox and the Parsons School of Design found that 75% of Gen Z consumers are willing to spend money on digital fashion.
Shores of Loci, a VR narrative puzzle game, launched on Meta Quest 2.
Snap partnered with Amazon to bring the Amazon Fashion glasses range to Snapchat users.
Sony Pictures Virtual Reality revealed the name of their VR game based on the Ghostbusters franchise, Ghostbusters: Rise of the Ghost Lord, coming in 2023.
UN-ESCWA became the first UN agency to adopt the Metaverse Safety Week Global Awareness Campaign.
United Kingdom‘s Online Safety Bill will also impact metaverses, according to Ofcom.
Warner Bros. and HBO announced plans for ‘Game of Thrones’ NFTs.
Zappar announced its second annual virtual conference, AR Pioneers 2022.
Zebra Labs raised $5m in funding to make a metaverse for musical artists.
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That's all for this week! Want to have a chat, let me know about a news story, or talk business? Either reply to this email, or contact tom (at) immersivewire (dot) com. Have an excellent day!