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    Virtual Worlds: Metaverse Opportunities – TVKIDS

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    Two years ago, over half of Roblox users were under the age of 13. Online gaming platforms have profited in his teens and his YA segment, but still reach far too many children. Roblox had about 45 million active users per day in 2021, so if he weren’t watching Roblox, his 20+ million kids around the world would be spending quite a bit of time. I really don’t know what you are doing.

    “More than 50 percent of 9-12 year olds in the US play Roblox at least once a week, and they’re spending money there now. Duvitt.

    Roblox is a great place to start if you want to get an idea of ​​how the metaverse is developing. “One download and you can play any or all games on the platform,” he says. “You can attend special events. We produce concerts in the Metaverse. It’s a place to hang out with friends. “

    Kleeman calls the popular platform the “emerging metaverse.” I have a small piece of it. You may have heard the expression that the future is here. It’s just not evenly distributed. Well, the metaverse is here, but it’s disjointed and needs to be put together.The great thing about it is that we can envision the metaverse we want, rather than just being single-handedly taken over by big corporations and people like that. [create] It’s a great metaverse for kids, built on the brand heritage that we TV execs have built over the years. “

    always on
    In its most basic definition, the Metaverse describes “an immersive, virtual, global, always-connected space.” “The real idea is to lower the barriers of frustration to people doing what they want. You can play games, you can make games. You can tell stories. You can tell other people’s stories.” You can become a part of someone’s story You can learn You can teach Many people now use it for socializing, communicating, playing games and becoming a creator And in that, shopping is born, and brand awareness and affinity are more important than the actual purchase.”

    For Mattel, finding ways to engage kids on the Web3 platform via NFTs and Metaverse experiences was a logical extension of their business. “The Metaverse is another way for our customers to experience our iconic IP,” said Mike Delaeto, Global Head of Digital Games at Toy Giant. “Like our other platforms, we strive to create best-in-class interactive entertainment experiences that delight our fans. It carves out important areas.”

    fandom
    According to Kleeman, it’s all about the fans, “phantomies” as he describes them, giving IP owners a little more control over how their brands appear in the metaverse. A possible strategy. “Give the IP what they want and the fans will come back and say, yeah, but wouldn’t it be cool if we could do that?” Even just showing that you’re listening deepens that fan’s experience and makes them want to go and share it with their friends, and they’re listening to me, so here’s mine. I think it’s a place for For the metaverse, Fanatomy means letting go of brands for a bit. This is the hardest thing for his IP owner to do, but we see some compelling reasons to do it. Young people are chasing their favorite brands on every platform they use. If they love something, they pursue it in toys, products, clothing, games, TV, or anywhere they can find it. They want to be creators. They want to share their thoughts on the content they love, and they crave that authenticity—the idea that brands are speaking to them. “

    For IP owners, this is a balancing act. Anne Loi, her M&A executive at WildBrain, her vice president and chief commercial officer, said:

    Being a treasure trove of beloved IP, WildBrain has made several deals in this space. RemoteTabby in the online metaverse Habbo and Hotel Hideaway games and rollouts Bake with Strawberry Shortcake A Roblox game coinciding with the relaunch of the Strawberry Shortcake brand.

    “It’s not much different than when we were making mobile games and online web games,” says Loi. “When handing control over to the player, there’s always the challenge of how to create a world where the player can tell the story in their own way. We tend to see it as one form of communication rather than the only one.”

    full immersion
    Toonz Media Group launched an NFT design lab last year as part of an effort to establish itself as a leader in the field. “Whether it’s an immersive storytelling experience that provides deeper engagement for viewers, or gamification to increase engagement time, the adoption of the Metaverse is what I believe will bring high-quality content to children and families. It fits our larger strategy,” said Bruno Zarca, President of Distribution and Features. Toons movie division.

    Mattel’s DeLaet said the focus has always been on creating “great experiences for fans” via the Metaverse platform. “Staying true to our brand is very important to us and we maintain rigorous processes to ensure quality standards are met in everything we do. “We do extensive research into what consumers want and how we can extend our mission in this space. To create innovative products and experiences that inspire and entertain through play.”

    The immersive experiences being developed at Roblox “are a good fit for our IP,” adds DeLaet.

    Of course, given the sheer amount of games and experiences users have access to, it’s not easy to find on Roblox. “Discoverability will be an issue,” he says of WildBrain’s Loi. “It’s a very democratized platform. If your game isn’t good, people just won’t come. But it’s challenging for a company that wants to take risks on these things.6-8 months ago our thinking was that individual standalone games were the way to do it.Now we’re evolving We’ve had a lot of success with in-game collaborations with another very famous game if you want the brand itself to get noticed. We do pre- and post-play tests with kids who have played it.Does the brand have a high degree of recognition? has been going back and forth about where you really want to create a standalone experience, and you need a pretty specific reason to do it. [You can] Work with places that already have big eyeballs to try and capitalize on them. “

    Established IP is already making waves on the Metaverse platform, but even those with brand new ideas can’t afford to ignore this space, says Kleeman. “As a TV company, we have to think about how kids will discover you through games and TV? They need to feel that you’re listening to them, and the immersive space in the Metaverse is a really good way to have a two-way interaction with your fans.”

    Zarka said NFTs and other metaverse opportunities could be used to fund new content. “By creating a community, we can build a brand experience.”

    IP owners on tight budgets shouldn’t despair about the level of investment required, Kleeman said. “You don’t have to build a very big, deep, always-on long-term game to exist in the metaverse. You can also.”

    And thinking about the metaverse can start at any point in the IP’s lifecycle, Kleeman said. “If you’re in the creative development stage, you can make a playable concept test that’s a lot cheaper than making a pilot. How fans are playing with your character, playing with your setting Or you can see what the fans like and what they don’t like and use that in development.We have experience with new TV IPs that have launched a very small Roblox experience and we have experience with programming We were able to live in the setting and spent about £1,000 to promote it.With an acquisition cost of about $0.04 per user, we got tens of thousands of views in the first weekend. Let’s compare it to the dollar App Store, some fans made a video because no one had seen this IP before.”Free promotion by fans”

    intangible charm
    Roblox and the rest of the gaming community offer the greatest opportunities for content owners, but several companies are also active in the NFT space. “He’s an NFT with a utility element to any type of gaming experience,” he says DeLaet. “In that sense, the Metaverse is no exception. Players want true ownership of their digital assets. , is determined to shape the future of play by finding the bridges between traditional toys and: Web3 (NFT), the Metaverse, traditional games and more.

    “The whole point of the metaverse is if you can’t find what you need, create it,” says Kleeman. “Young people today are the creators of these platforms. There are millions of Roblox games, practically made by users themselves. We want to create a safe, engaging and fun place where people can do what they want.”

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