Bandai Namco’s Gundam ‘metaverse’ dream mixes esports, Web3, and Gunpla

theverge.com:

Bandai Namco is making some big investments into the vaguely-defined idea of the metaverse, and it’s starting first with what it’s calling the “Gundam Metaverse Project.”

Here is the summary of Bandai Namco’s broad metaverse vision, from a March press release. (I will warn you that there is a lot of jargon ahead.)

The new mid-term plan will introduce a new means of connecting fans to entertainment properties by building a metaverse for each IP under Bandai Namco Group’s portfolio, which is also utilized as a key part of the company’s IP based strategies. Development will begin with the creation of the “GUNDAM Metaverse” where it will become a platform of opportunities for GUNDAM fans worldwide to come together to converse and connect in a variety of categories.

This metaverse will steadily grow to build a solid foundation as the project moves forward into the future. First step for the metaverse is to create virtual communities for each category, and to enable connections to the categories through use of the BANDAI NAMCO iD.

As for the Gundam-specific aspects, Bandai Namco is planning to build out virtual communities for aspects of the fandom like video games, anime, music, and Gunpla (aka Gundam model-building). “These virtual communities will meld with the world of GUNDAM as the virtual spaces will be made in the form of space colonies, which will be connected to the ‘GUNDAM Metaverse’ space hub under the name ‘SIDE-G,’” the company said.

The first of these SIDE-G colonies will be one focused around Gunpla, “where various Gunpla related experiences will be made available within the virtual world.” Bandai Namco is also planning an esports-themed colony for 2023. Basically, the communities seem like they’ll be