Why does BMW have a metaverse and what even is an eParkourer?!
Meta sure did give the VR pot a proper stirring a while back, didn’t it? All of this Metaverse talk, where people would live in an AR/VR world, where they could buy virtual space and all sorts of NFTs was just… Too much, way too soon.
I mean, most people haven’t even seen a headset like the Apple Vision Pro in real life yet! And that's maybe going to be the iPhone of AR/VR headsets!
Still, as time went by, we saw numerous influencers, Hollywood stars and world-wide companies get aboard through investing in the idea, regardless of public outcry. And even if the implementation didn’t go according to Meta’s plan, BMW’s Motorrad MetaRide might be a ripple in the pot. You know? From all of the stirring.
So, basically BMW — the hopefully so-famous-that-I-don’t-need-to-explain vehicle manufacturer — has its own Metaverse now. Because, at this point, why not honestly? It’s accessible through the Spatial VR social platform, so there is a hoop to jump through (which is connected to the need to own an Quest 2 or Quest Pro headset, but anyway).
But once you make the jump you can grab a ride on the company’s brand new BMW CE 02 eParkourer.
Now that I have your attention, let’s elaborate on what “eParkourer” even means. Well, from what I can tell — and feel free to correct me in the comments — it’s a term that BMW came up with for their latest e-bike. So there. Now let's talk about VR stuff!
As in, about the BMW metaverse. First off, it’s the space to visit if you’d like to try out said e-bike before you buy it. Neat. But the description of the experience sounds a lot like a minigame too, as you can:
And, just in case you are new to the platform — Spatial is the precursor to the metaverse and it’s free, so there is no harm in trying it out… As long as you own either a Meta Quest 2 or Meta Quest Pro VR headset. But the motorbike — excuse me, I meant eParkourer — riding part is completely free.
But the sort of cool thing is that BMW plans to invest further in their little metaverse project and add more experiences to it with time. When? How? At what cost? To what end? We don’t know. But we’ll make sure to tell you when we find out.
So, basically BMW — the hopefully so-famous-that-I-don’t-need-to-explain vehicle manufacturer — has its own Metaverse now. Because, at this point, why not honestly? It’s accessible through the Spatial VR social platform, so there is a hoop to jump through (which is connected to the need to own an Quest 2 or Quest Pro headset, but anyway).
Now that I have your attention, let’s elaborate on what “eParkourer” even means. Well, from what I can tell — and feel free to correct me in the comments — it’s a term that BMW came up with for their latest e-bike. So there. Now let's talk about VR stuff!
As in, about the BMW metaverse. First off, it’s the space to visit if you’d like to try out said e-bike before you buy it. Neat. But the description of the experience sounds a lot like a minigame too, as you can:
- Ride through a “realistic environment”
- Shoot hoops
- Collect virtual tokens
- Unlock a custom jacket for your Spatial avatar
And, just in case you are new to the platform — Spatial is the precursor to the metaverse and it’s free, so there is no harm in trying it out… As long as you own either a Meta Quest 2 or Meta Quest Pro VR headset. But the motorbike — excuse me, I meant eParkourer — riding part is completely free.
But the sort of cool thing is that BMW plans to invest further in their little metaverse project and add more experiences to it with time. When? How? At what cost? To what end? We don’t know. But we’ll make sure to tell you when we find out.
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Things that are NOT allowed: