A real metaverse event involving the entire town of Akihabara
HIKKY( Headquarters: Shibuya-ku, Tokyo, CEO: Yasushi Funakoshi) held a real event "Virtual Market 2023 Real in Akiba" at Bellesalle Akihabara as the main venue for two days on July 29 and 30, 2023, which was the first attempt of "Virtual Market", the world's largest VR event certified by Guinness World Records™.
On the day of the event, many visitors came to the event right from the opening time of the first day, and some areas were so crowded and closed to visitors. Not only fans of the virtual market and VR users, but also people from overseas and people with children came to the event and enjoyed experiencing the world of metaverse. The event was always packed until the closing time of the second day, and the total number of visitors to the event over the two days reached 40,000. In addition, a total of more than 8,000 pieces of official merchandise and real products sold at booths and stores were sold during the event.
This was the first attempt to hold a real event at the 5th anniversary and 10th Virtual Market, and the event was a great success with many visitors and a great buzz on social media.
The main venue, Bellesalle Akihabara, was always packed with visitors
Bellesalle Akihabara was the main venue for this event.
The 1st floor area was lined with many contents and company booths, and many people came throughout the day to experience various forms of metaverse.
Facing the street was the "AVATAR MEETS" booth, which projected a VR space on a large screen monitor. When you stand in front of the monitor with a special marker, you yourself are projected on the monitor as an avatar, and you can communicate with the avatars of others in the VR space. The content was enjoyed by many people who do not usually have the opportunity to experience metaverse, including children and people from overseas.
The VR Shot Bar "Seaside" is a virtual drink and food served by an avatar waiter from the shot bar on a large monitor, which is projected in 3D in front of your eyes using Sony's "spatial reproduction display" that allows you to enjoy 3D viewing with your naked eyes. The "Smell" is also presented in conjunction with the drinks and food. Both those who are familiar or not familiar with VR enjoyed this new metaverse experience that combines Sony Corporation's latest products with the latest technologies of metaverse creators.
A large monitor next to the shot bar allowed participants to play shooting matches with avatars in the VR space, which was well received by both real and virtual participants.
Many visitors also enjoyed "Cross Greeting ROOM", a new metaverse experience in which visitors could experience a game in which real life and metaverse are linked by telling their avatar where watermelons are in the real world and splitting them using the “MetaQuestPro” VR headset and Sony's mobile motion capture "mocopi".
In the company area, Pilot Corporation, Canon Marketing Japan Inc. , Japan Racing Association (JRA) , Kyushu Railway Company , "Sony Corporation, TV Asahi Corporation, Yaizu City, Shizuoka Prefecture, Tokyo Marui Corporation, TCL RayNeo, Toyo Construction Co. exhibited booths.
In addition to the opportunity to actually experience each company's metaverse venue and product technologies at their booths, each company also exhibited their own unique ideas, such as JRA's realistic "horse robot" that you can actually ride, Yaizu City's realistic sales of local products, and Toyo Construction's small wave-making experimental device. Toyo Kensetsu exhibited a small experimental wave generator. The event was a great success throughout the day, with many visitors trying out the equipment.
At the HIKKY booth, "AI Buiket-chan" was exhibited. It is an AI chatbot that enables voice conversation by connecting the popular AI chatbot "ChatGPT," voice synthesized AI, and character summoning device "Gatebox". Many visitors enjoyed voice conversation with the AI character.
Various other contents were also held in the 1F area, including a real goods sales area, a board for writing messages, and a virtual avatar robot that allows visitors to talk directly with VTubers. The message board was filled with handwritten messages from visitors, and many items were sold out in the merchandise section as people lined up throughout the day.
The "Para-real Creator Area" and "Virtual Community Area" on the B1F were so crowded with VR users that admission was partially restricted on both days. The event was also a great opportunity for people from the community who have met in VR but have never met in real life to have fun in an offline meeting.
The "Special Stage" featured a number of events over the two days. The stages, which were held in front of a limited number of visitors who were selected by lottery in advance and on the day of the event, started with the opening ceremony, which was held in front of a full house, followed by Pilot Corporation Stage featuring comedian Choshinjuku and voice actor Yuki Kuwahara, The Yaizu City Stage, which featured a real tuna dismantling show by SKE48's Shiori Aoki, Yaizu Goodwill Ambassador; the dance live by REAL AKIBA BOYZ, The Rohto stage featured cosplayer Moe Iori and comedian Pate-chan, while the JRA stage featured comedian Time Machine #3, voice actors Lynn and Hitomi Ueda, and VTuber Omegame Sisters. Many talents performed on each stage throughout the two days of the event.
In addition, each stage was broadcast live at the Web Metaverse Venue, so that those who could not make it to the venue on the day of the event could enjoy the stages while interacting with each other on metaverse.
Stage Content Details: https://event.vket.com/2023Summer/real/stage
Initiatives to Tour the City of Akihabara “Metaverse-linked Riddle Solving Game" and "AR Stamp Rally
In this new riddle-solving game that links the Metaverse with a stroll through the streets of Akihabara, participants solved a variety of riddles as they traveled from the main venue, Bellesalle Akihabara, to real stores such as JR Akihabara Station, GALLERIA esports Lounge, Akihabara Entus, and HUB Akihabara, as well as Akihabara in metaverse. Many people enjoyed the event so much that almost ran out of the special prize for clearing the puzzles on the first day. The collaboration illustration goods created by illustrator Ponmame were also well received, and more than 1,000 people participated in the two-day event.
In the AR Stamp Rally, starting from Bellesalle Akihabara, visitors will tour "Bic Camera AKIBA", "Don Quijote Akihabara", "TSUKUMO eX", and "HUB Akihabara", scanning QR codes using "ARTANA", an AR application developed by HIKKY, at each location to obtain digital You can get digital stamps by scanning the QR code using ARTANA, an AR app developed by HIKKY. Many people participated in the event and received a present when they collected all the stamps.
The event was not only held at the main venue, Bellesalle, but also at stores and facilities in the town, which made the whole town of Akihabara involved and excited.
"Hybrid Customer Service" at Bic Camera AKIBA
A special corner was set up in a corner of the real "Bic Camera AKIBA" and a monitor was set up to show the Bic Camera AKIBA on the Para-real Akihabara, one of the corporate exhibition halls in Virtual Market. A "hybrid customer service" was implemented, with representatives seamlessly moving back and forth between the real and the Metaverse to serve customers simultaneously.
Many customers visited both metaverse stores and real stores, and this was the first step in creating the future shape of customer service.
Always a long line! Collaboration drinks were also a big hit at Akihabara HUB Collaboration
The collaboration with HUB Akihabara, a.k.a. Akihabara, also known as the mecca of offline meetings, was so successful that there was always a huge line of people waiting in the extremely hot weather! The store was packed all day long for the two days, and was filled with customers discussing their impressions of this real event while sipping on Vket collaboration drinks. The Vket collaboration drink sold approximately 1,400 cups over the two days.
Music LIVE at Akihabara Entas with great enthusiasm
On July 30, a real music event "VRave" Vket2023 Summer x MusicVket 5 in Akihabara Entus was held at Akihabara Entus. The event was so successful that additional tickets were issued on the day of the event! Artists representing the Metaverse and VTuber music scenes gathered for a real-time performance and call-and-response with the audience, and the venue was filled with enthusiasm.
A detailed report of this event is available in HIKKY's official notebook "Vket Magazine".
https://note.com/virtualmarket/n/n52a728791f94 Please read it as well.
Virtual Market 2023 Real in Akiba Overview
Name: Virtual Market 2023 Real in Akiba
Period: Saturday, July 29 - Sunday, July 30, 2023
Opening Hours: 10：00〜19:00
Venue: Bellesalle Akihabara (3-12-8 Sotokanda, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo)
Other collaborative contents will also be held at Akihabara station and stores in town
Entrance Fee: Free of charge
Official website: https://event.vket.com/2023Summer/real/
Official Twitter: https://twitter.com/VketReal
The official Twitter feed will provide up-to-date information on the event. Please follow us.
About Virtual Market (also known as Vket)
The world's largest VR event where visitors can buy and sell 3D items such as avatars and real products (clothes, PCs, food and beverages, etc.) at a venue in metaverse. This pioneering event has been held since 2018 and holds the Guinness World Record™* with over 1 million visitors from around the world. In addition to buying and selling products, the event also offers "experiences" unique to metaverse, such as riding rides, receiving customer service, and participating in live music performances at the venue. Visitors can also enjoy voice communication with each other, giving them a realistic feeling as if they were touring the city together in the real world.
The virtual market started as a place to buy and sell 3D data products between individuals, but in recent years, major companies that want to enter the metaverse business have expanded the sale of real products, creating new possibilities for VR commerce.
*Recognized by Guinness World Records™ as having the largest number of booths at a virtual reality market event.
About VR firm HIKKY
-Create a world where the value of creativity is widely recognized-
HIKKY Co., Ltd. is a VR firm that creates an open metaverse where anyone can create and access freely. With notable creators who lead the industry as our members, HIKKY provides VR services such as highly unique Metaverse solutions including Vket Cloud, plan and operate Metaverse events, and provide consulting services that support business entry into the VR/AR field. HIKKY aims to develop the living, economic, and cultural spheres of the virtual world and create a society where all creative people can live more freely and abundantly.
The world’s largest VR event, Virtual Market, hosted by HIKKY has acquired a Guinness World Record™ in 2021. In addition, HIKKY won first place in the marketing category of the “AIXR International VR AWARDS” and the highest award in Japan’s “XR CREATIVE AWARD 2020.”
CEO: Yasushi Funakoshi
Headquarters: 4F, Mitomi Building, 1-20-22 Ebisu, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo 150-0013, Japan
Established: May 1, 2018
For inquiries from corporate clients regarding this event, please contact us from the following link.
