The shared virtual world will feature characters from popular games like Pac-Man, Dark Souls, and Gundam.
Bandia Namco, the Japanese video game and toy company with massive global appeal, recently announced plans to commit a whopping 13 billion yen ($130M USD) towards the development of a new “metaverse” experience dedicated to its most popular gaming and anime franchises.
The “Gundam Metaverse,” as they are calling it, will feature a number of popular IPs, such as Pac-Man, Soul Calibur, Dark Souls, and of course plenty of giant robots from the critically-acclaimed Gundam universe. The primary goal, according to BNE (Bandai Namco Entertainment), is to help fans of the brand connect with each other through virtual concerts, movies, live events, and other social VR experiences.
BNE made the announcement when the company shared its mid-term plans (April 2022 to March 2025) with shareholders detailing the three core goals of its “IP Axis Strategy.”
- Connecting fans through its IP.
- Enhancing Bandai Namco’s IP value.
- Grow their outreach worldwide for improved sales outside of Japan.
The idea is that the Gundam Metaverse will revolve around open frameworks that allow you to connect with other fans and even business partners in a virtual world soaked in Bandai Namco IP. The company also teased new technology that will help translate languages to make global communication easier.
Not only will you be able to socialize and interact with one another in a growing virtual space, but the Gundam Metaverse will also be tied to the real world by allowing you to purchase physical items such as model kits, toys, t-shirts, and other merchandise using crypto or a credit card. These items will then be shipped to your home in the real world.
This is a huge move for the retail industry and it unlocks a lot of potential of what digital twinning could mean for brands and industries moving forward. For example, McDonald’s recently filed a patent for a new system that would allow you to walk into a virtual McDonald’s located inside the metaverse, order real food, and have it delivered from your local McDonald’s to your real-world home.
During the shareholder event, Bandai Namco President, Masaru Kawaguchi said, “The Gundam Metaverse will be a mechanism for us to be more deeply connected with fans,” adding, “It will become possible to connect intellectual property specifically to the metaverses in the future.”
For BNE, it’s about building communities and content that will build deep relationships and broaden connections that will grow between the real and virtual worlds. Thanks to a massive $130 million investment, the company predicts that the Gundam Metaverse will not only connect their fans but will also yield a positive ROI to Bandai Namco’s earnings beginning in 2025.
“Through these communities and content, we will build deep, broad, multifaceted connections that continue for long periods of time, and we will focus on the quality of those connections. In this way, we will work to maximize IP value over the medium to long term,” said Kawaguchi.
You can check out Bandai Namco’s IP Axis Strategy and more details regarding their Gundam Metaverse by visiting here.
Image Credit: Bandai Namco
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