This Thursday, global sports clothing brand Nike announced a partnership with the massively popular multiplayer online (MMO) gaming platform Roblox to host ‘NIKELAND,’ a selection of product showrooms and play-areas.
The Beaverton-based brand is using the popular gaming platform to host its own Metaverse experience and has invited Roblox players to join NIKELAND for free.
Users can enter the Metaverse platform to play minigames with their friends such as tag, dodgeball, and the ‘floor is lava.’
Nike is letting developers use its toolkit to create minigames to foster “competition and creativity,” meaning digital visitors can soon enjoy an array of independently produced NIKELAND games.
NIKELAND is a cross-platform experience, meaning that users can join in with a smartphone and enjoy platform-specific interactions.
The Roblox engine uses a smartphone’s accelerometers and augmented reality (AR) hardware to interpret a user’s movement during online play such as long jumps or running.
Welcome to NIKELAND on @roblox, where sport has no rules.
Sound on 🔊
Follow the link below to start exploring: https://t.co/5uqh15gZwL pic.twitter.com/MKwoGVZyVV
— Nike (@Nike) November 18, 2021
The news comes after a CNBC report revealed that Nike plans to continue support for its immersive experience with updates to integrate up-to-date digital athletes and products.
Inspiring Movement Among Kids
The Beaverton-based firm is actively promoting healthy lifestyles for children, and the Roblox partnership suits this goal by encouraging young users to participate in immersive fitness experiences.
Also, the partnership allows Nike to democratise access to sports and decrease accessibility barriers, by using AR solutions to allow users to easily take part at home.
In a press release, Cal Dowers, Global Vice President and General Manager for Nike Kids explained:
“During the [Covid-19] pandemic, we heard from parents that they wanted to know how to motivate their kids to get moving, to be more active. We wanted to be a partner in making that happen”
Digital Showrooms
In addition to Nike-sponsored minigames, Roblox is digitally spreading brand awareness with product showrooms and unique avatar customisation items.
Players can customise their in-game avatars with Nike clothing, such as classic shoes like the Air Force 1 or Nike Blazer. Alternatively, Nike is keeping players up-to-date with new products, most recently dropping the Air Force 1 Fontanka and Air Max 2021 shoes.
Also, Nike is bringing its unique brand of fitness motivation into the real world this December in an event at Nike’s House of Innovation (HOI).
The New York-based HOI will host an AR rendition of NIKELAND, where groups visiting the kids’ floor can use an official Snapchat filter to teleport themselves into the Roblox environment.
The AR version of NIKELAND retains all noted features, although the firm plans to add unique interactable assets and NIKELAND Easter eggs for the December event.
The news comes after Verizon hosted ‘Hidd3n,’ an AR treasure hunt for Apple iOS devices, where iPhone users navigated an interactive Metaverse puzzle.
In a round of series A funding, Tokyo-based virtual reality (VR) startup HIKKY also secured $57 million to globally deploy Metaverse products using virtual events and eCommcerce opportunities.
