Nike has very clear ideas about the Metaverse: you have to be there and as soon as possible, with a space dedicated to services and products
While everyone is still wondering if the Metaverse is serious, or just a move by Mark Zuckerberg to deflect media attention towards the incessant controversy on Facebook, the economic giants already have the answer: the Metaverse will not only be done, but it will also be the place where you must have a massive and consistent presence, to make a lot of money.
Nike Inc. is convinced of this, which is definitely not a company to be underestimated given that it makes an annual turnover of about $37 billion. The shoes and sportswear giant has in fact announced the opening of its own "world" within the Roblox platform. That world is called "Nikeland" and will be a paradise for fans of the brand, who will be able to enter it to play games (Roblox is, first and foremost, a platform for creating 3D games) but also to try out new Nike-branded apparel. The company says access to Nikeland will be free, "breaking down one of the biggest barriers to sports."
How Nikeland Works
Nikeland is already active on the Roblox platform, but it's still not a 100 percent virtual reality experience. Users can use their accelerometer-equipped smartphones to send their three-dimensional avatar the movements it will need to make in the world of Nikeland.
Users will be able to play mini-games, such as Dodgeball or Lava Floor, but more importantly, they will be able to customize and dress their avatar in Nike's signature apparel.
There will be an entire showroom of Nike shoes, sweatshirts and other clothing to choose from, and Nike says some of its upcoming products will be created within Nikeland with users.
Why Nikeland is important
At the moment, then, Nikeland is just a rough draft of what it will be in the future, when virtual reality viewers roll into users' homes and everyone can enter Nikeland with a true and complete virtual reality experience.
When this is all possible, the virtual world will be an immense marketing opportunity for Nike. There are two options: leave everything free on Nikeland, and use this platform as a showroom for the real products, or (and maybe someday it will come to that) monetize Nikeland directly, selling Nike clothes and shoes for the avatars.
In any case, one concept is now clear: the race to the Metaverse has already begun and the big boys of the world economy have already started running.