Cologne It’s coming soon: “Welcome to the Metaverse!” Football club Manchester City is building a virtual replica of its stadium together with Sony. Fans should be able to watch every game live, regardless of where they are physically located. Both companies recently announced this. The project is still in the initial phase.
First, virtual reality specialists map the stadium. Sony is contributing image analysis expertise and Hawk Eye technology, a computerized ball tracking system.
In two to three years, football fans could be part of what is happening on the virtual grandstand. With the help of virtual reality glasses, they then experience a game “up close” from different perspectives, although they are actually sitting on the sofa at home, for example.
Manchester City can sell as many tickets for a game as there is demand because the virtual stadium is never full. The sale of these tickets alone should flush a lot of money into the club’s coffers. What the metaverse means for television broadcasting rights remains to be seen.
Top jobs of the day
Find the best jobs now and
be notified by email.
The example shows the possibilities that the metaverse opens up – and why investors are increasingly being drawn into it. Neal Stephenson first used the English term metaverse in the 1992 novel Snow Crash. “In the book, the population dives into a virtual world and meets in the form of avatars, i.e. images of themselves,” explains Markus Richert, financial planner at Cologne-based asset manager Portfolio Concept, what he sees as the “next big thing”.
More and more companies presented their plans for mixing the virtual and real worlds. “The fashion group H&M is currently planning a store in the Metaversum in cooperation with the virtual reality platform Ceek,” says Richert. So far, luxury brands in particular have offered virtual designer fashion.
In fact, this succeeds in cooperation with online platforms and games. Gucci works with Roblox, Balenciaga with Fortnite/Epic Games and Louis Vuitton with Riot Games. According to Mark Hawtin, Investment Director at GAM Investments, the Gucci virtual store attracted around 20 million visitors during its two-week opening.
According to the media, a virtual Gucci handbag changed hands for more than 4000 US dollars. “According to US bank Morgan Stanley,” Hawtin continues, “the opportunity in the broader metaverse could see a 25 percent increase in operating profit in US dollars for the entire luxury brand industry by 2030.” Image is everything – especially in the virtual world.
“The metaverse should also play a big role in design and production,” Hawtin believes. The aircraft manufacturer Boeing recently announced the creation of a digital factory based on virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR).
The Boeing boss himself admitted that 70 percent of quality problems are due to deficiencies in the design process. By creating a 3D environment, paired with robots that communicate with each other, and by equipping and connecting mechanics around the world with Microsoft HoloLens headsets, he believes it will be possible to improve the process.
“Opportunities are everywhere,” says Hawtin—in retail through virtual showrooms, industrial design and manufacturing, 3D analytics, product demonstrations, and virtual tours. Other examples are circulating on the web: online dating platforms are opening up virtual worlds for singles, event websites are holding virtual concerts, and pop stars are selling merchandising items to their avatar fans.
The imagination knows no limits. In the metaverse, says Richert, “the money isn’t just made from selling VR and AR glasses. A lot of potential lies in the possibility of having possessions in the virtual worlds. This is made possible by the blockchain. Cryptocurrencies and non-fungible tokens can become the mainstay.”
So far, investors have hardly been able to invest specifically in the emerging trend. It is not yet possible to classify companies as metaverse companies. But some companies are pouring big bucks into virtual reality. Facebook has renamed itself Meta Platforms and plans to invest tens of billions of dollars in its “Reality Labs” in 2022.
Microsoft justifies the current mega takeover of the game developer Activision Blizzard with the group’s ambitions in the metaverse. Apple and Google, on the other hand, are independently working on VR/AR glasses.
The Roundhill Ball Metaverse ETF (ISIN: US53656F4173), which was launched in mid-2021, provides indications of companies delving into the metaverse. In Germany, the stock market index fund is only traded in Berlin. The turnovers are very thin. Orders should therefore always be provided with a limit.
The product is only suitable for investors willing to take risks. As per the December 31, 2021 factsheet, the largest holdings are, in descending order: Nvidia, Meta Platforms, Roblox, Microsoft, Unity Software, Snap, Autodesk, Apple, Sea, and Amazon.
The high demand for technology for data centers and graphics cards had recently boosted Nvidia’s business. In the fourth quarter, sales increased by 53 percent compared to the same period last year to more than 7.6 billion dollars.
Nvidia posted record sales in the gaming and data center sectors in particular. The technology group was also able to increase profits.
Analysts consider Nvidia to be well positioned for virtual worlds. The US manufacturer of graphics cards operates an open platform for developers under the name Omniverse. These could work together in a common virtual space and create and sell apps, software extensions and microservices. Something similar is happening on the Roblox platform.
Here users could program games and play the offers of other users. If you release your program to the community to play, you can charge money for it, and Roblox collects a commission. Roblox stock has been listed on the stock exchange since March 2021.
From the high of 134 euros in November, the paper has fallen to currently around 41 euros. That’s the harsh reality – it’s what investors have to return to after a trip to the Metaverse. Corresponding caution with investments is therefore appropriate.
More: Sexism, racism, discrimination – the metaverse has very real problems