Staramba Spaces (Remember them? The blockchain-based virtual world where you can be neighbours with Paris Hilton?) has been busy uploading promo videos to Vimeo. Among the celebrities called upon to shill for Staramba Spaces is Hulk Hogan:
“Come train with Hulk Hogan! Come hang out on the beach with Hulk Hogan! Come surf on a tiger shark with Hulk Hogan!”
Uhhh… gimme a sec to think about this… how about…
NO.
How much interaction with real celebrities will you actually get, with all this talk of “lifelike scans” of celebrities and soccer stars? Why would you want to hang out with a 3D scan of a famous person in the first place?
I would dearly love to see the market research that shows people are willing to spend money hanging out with a 3D scanned likeness of Hulk Hogan, for any reason.
As far as I can tell, all that Staramba seems to have at this point, that its competitors do not, is a large and growing collection of 3D celebrity scans that they can (possibly) animate. How exactly does that translate into a virtual world platform that people will want to visit? How will people interact with Paris Hilton and Hulk Hogan? It sounds like Staramba Spaces is creating a version of Madame Tussaud’s wax museum. “Get closer to the stars!”
I just don’t think this idea is going to fly. (Sorry, Hulk!)
Don’t knock it – Although not my cup of tea either, they are part of the big human ecology. AND they are using VR, which of course increases awareness of it. If it weren’t for the billions of dollars spent on ‘useless’ gaming VR (which I don’t do), I wouldn’t have the marvellous prospects of ‘useful’ social VR, business VR, medical VR, etc. I regard myself as a (grateful) parasite of the gaming industry. =)
Good point. I’m still not buying what Staramba is selling, though.
– Maybe imagine ‘being’ the drummer on stage in a Dire Straits concert beside Mark Knoffler or Lorde. Or even ‘being’ them. Feeling the crowd go wild.
– Interactive guitar riffs lesson ‘with’ a favourite musician personal praise from them.
– Joining ten friends and ‘being’ (for ten dollars each) in the front row of a $500-a-seat baseball match that you can’t afford in real world. Even being ‘with’ the players in their changing room in the tense minutes before they run out the corridor onto the field.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jn_kH88jOCM
– I presume it ‘amplifies’ the celebrities by making them more available (extra royalties income), just as recorded music and videos has done.
– It seems like a significant arrival in social VR, interesting to observe.
They are clear and distinct on my browser.
Is it my browser (Chrome), or are both images on this story completely blurry?
Seems a bit odd that even the investors don’t get to see a working demo…