🔊 Ballin In The Metaverse 🏀

GM. Welcome to The Hype Report where we break down the latest news, stories & happenings around sports & web3.

Here's What You Need To Know This Week 📝 

• NBA & Meta Reach Multiyear Partnership Extension

• Niantic, Creators Of ‘Pokemon Go,’ Launch ‘NBA All-World’ Mobile Game

• IBA Announces Metaverse For Over 540+ Million Fans

• Quick Hits & More Hype

Let's Dive Into It 🤿

NBA & Meta Reach Multiyear Partnership Extension To Expand VR Integration 🏀

The NBA is keeping the ball bouncing in Horizon Worlds, Meta’s virtual reality (VR) platform.

This week, both parties announced an extended multi-year partnership, which also involves a partnership with the WNBA.

Meta will have a presence at major events for both leagues to showcase their technology.

The NBA Arena in Meta Horizon Worlds will feature 52 live games from NBA League Pass, and five of those games will be presented in immersive 180-degree monoscopic live VR in 2880 resolution.

The Meta Avatars Store will also offer licensed NBA and WNBA team apparel for avatars across Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, and Meta Quest.

In the following weeks, NBA League Pass subscribers will be able to access their subscription in YBVR’s Xtadium application within Meta Quest VR, which allows them to sit courtside virtually and host private watch parties with friends.

Fans will appear as legless virtual avatars inside the NBA Arena and will be free to socialize with one another.

Live games from the NBA 2K League, NBA G League, and WNBA will also be available via Meta Quest headsets.

Meta's Director of Sports Media and League Partnerships Rob Shaw said:

“Meta’s immersive VR technology is opening up new opportunities for sports fans to engage and interact with their favorite NBA teams. The NBA is always pushing us to innovate and leverage the latest technology to open the door to new fan experiences, and this chapter of our partnership achieves exactly that.”

NBA Executive Vice President and Head of Content Partnerships Jennifer Chun added:

“Our extended partnership with Meta will provide more immersive and innovative ways to experience the NBA. Meta’s digital world opens up exciting possibilities for NBA fans to virtually attend our games and to interact with other fans around the world.”

The idea behind this collaboration is to help immerse basketball fans in the experience of watching real-life games.

Think of it like watching professional basketball on TV with the added VR-facilitated illusion of standing courtside.

And this isn't the league's first rodeo into the web3 space.

Both the NBA and the WNBA have a sponsorship deal with Coinbase.

The NBA is also partnered with web3 brand Sorare as well which we highlighted in last week's newsletter.

Niantic, Creators Of ‘Pokemon Go,’ Launch ‘NBA All-World’ Mobile Game 🕹️

Pokémon Go developer Niantic recently launched NBA All-World, a mobile game that lets players build their own NBA teams and collect gear.

The game allows players to explore their surrounding area and recruit current NBA stars or challenge them to one-on-one matches.

Just like in Pokémon Go, players’ movement is tracked on a Google Maps-style map of their surroundings, and AR locations like shoe shops will let players collect in-game trainers, jerseys, and other gear.

NBA All-World also features minigames such as Three-Point Shootout, Around The World, and Beat The Clock.

While players can't directly battle other players in the game’s 3D modes, local basketball courts will have a leaderboard system that allows them to take on other people by challenging an AI-controlled member of their team.

Each character’s stats – offense, defense, fitness, energy, and overall level - influence their performance in the challenges.

As for the hoopers that players will be able to recruit, Niantic has confirmed that only players who are currently on an NBA roster will appear.

However, the studio has confirmed that any players who do not have a local court will be able to use many of the locations marked as points of interest in Pokémon Go.

They've also charted over 100,000 basketball courts to feature in NBA All-World.

The game includes start players such as:

• Stephen Curry

• Jalen Green

• Jordan Poole

• Karl-Anthony Towns

• Andrew Wiggins

It also includes licensed tracks from the following artists:

• T-Pain

• Tyga

• Freddie Gibbs

• IDK

• Saweetie

• Lil Uzi Vert

• NBA YoungBoy

• Cordae

Android players can download NBA All-World through Google Play, and it’s available via the App Store on iPhone platforms.

IBA Announces Metaverse For Over 540+ Million Fans 🥊

The International Boxing Association (IBA) is taking its talents to the metaverse which seems to be a recurring theme in today's newsletter 👀

Except this is the first time an official sports association has taken on the development of its own metaverse.

The development of this boxing metaverse will include:

• VR boxing

• VR training

• NFTs

• Fantokens

• A native platform cryptocurrency (which will serve as the primary means of payment for all aspects of the platform)

It will also include subscriptions to online broadcasts of fights and championships in both real-life and IBA metaverse VR Fight arenas.

With an audience of 540 million fans, the IBA's metaverse project has the potential to become a game-changer for the entire sports community and create a new multi-billion dollar market that other associations might follow.

The platform of the international house of boxing will include state-of-the-art technology for live-streaming fights and championships, ticket sales, news, and subscriptions, as well as an advanced VR training system that will revolutionize how coaches train young athletes.

It will also allow virtual fights and championships, both globally and by national federations that are members of the IBA.

The platform is scheduled to launch at the end of 2023.

Quick Hits 🎯

Porsche NFT collection floor price collapses post-launch. The company is facing backlash from the crypto community, severely criticizing the expensive mint price and 'cash-grab' sales strategy.

Jessica Willams, Coinbase’s head of brand partnerships with Boardroom about the future of web3 in sports, gaming, & beyond.

Meta is also hoping to score big by pushing the metaverse towards sports ahead of the 2023 Rugby tournament in France.

Portland Trail Blazers offered In-Arena Digital Collectibles to all fans that attended Jan. 25 game against the Utah Jazz.

Ownic — the platform redefining the sports trading card market — is revamping the sports collectibles field by introducing interactive collecting, allowing users to benefit from the success of their preferred athlete.

More Hype 🎥

I thought this was interesting because horse racing isn't the first sport you think of when it comes to web3 use cases.

Kevin Winston, the founder of Los Angeles-based entertainment network Digital LA, moderated a conversation with the co-founders (Romero Ramsay and Al Augustine) of the Jockey Experience, an NFT collection and immersive, gamified, community-based platform that highlights the sport of horse racing.

Check it out below ⬇️

That's all I got for you.

Would love to hear your thoughts about this week's newsletter.

Talk again soon.

Malcolm

This newsletter is for informational purposes only and is not financial or business advice in any capacity. The information shared is my thoughts & opinions and does not represent the opinions of any other person, business, entity, or sponsor.

The contents of this newsletter also should not be used in any public or private domain without the author's express permission. The contents of this newsletter should not be used for any commercial activity, for example, research report, consultancy activity, or paywalled article, without the author's express permission.