World’s First Metaverse for Oxford Street, London
In a groundbreaking move, PCC’s latest incubation project GameRee will offer NFTs selling virtual 3D properties on Oxford Street mapped to real addresses.
Imagine this. Creating the world’s first Metaverse for Oxford Street, London — Europe’s busiest shopping street and home to over 300 stores including the world-famous department store, Selfridges.
PCC’s latest incubated project, GameRee, is doing just that. It is the first company to offer NFT-based virtual real estate plots to buy, sell and trade on this iconic 1.2-mile-long road in London’s West End.
PCC founder Luke Sullivan says “Our vision is to create a space where people can shop and socialise in Web 3.0. We are creating a bridge for commerce and community and bringing many exciting partners to launch.”
What is the Metaverse Exactly?
Many experts describe the Metaverse and the next iteration of the Internet, Web 3.0, as the biggest and most exciting development since the invention of the Internet itself, but with even more potential.
But what is the Metaverse? Let’s look at this quotation from Bloomberg Intelligence Senior Industry Analyst Matthew Kanterman and Bloomberg Intelligence Industry Analyst Nathan Naidu:
“Social, persistent, shared, virtual 3D worlds, the Metaverse is the convergence of the physical and digital realms in the next evolution of the internet and social networks using real-time 3D software. It presents an opportunity for leading online entertainment and social media companies to capitalize on new revenue streams.”
Many people seem to think, incorrectly, the Metaverse is a new idea, created by Facebook, who recently rebranded as “Meta.” But the concept has been around for many years. The name, which means “beyond the universe” was first used in a 1992 sci fi novel by Neil Stevenson called Snow Crash, but the vision of a man-made, technology-enhanced virtual world is older than that.
The first VR (virtual reality) machine was built in 1956 and simulated a motorcycle ride. In the 1970s MIT created a 3D virtual reality map of Aspen, Colorado, and by the 1990s there were VR arcade games. Second Life, a virtual 3D world where you could create an avatar and live a fantasy life, start a business and even make money, was created in 2003.
Things changed dramatically with the invention of the Oculus headset in 2010 which translates the user’s movements into VR. An 18-year-old entrepreneur Palmer Lucky was responsible for that one.
Market Share
There is another part of the Bloomberg quotation that is of key interest to us.
“The Metaverse is the next big technology platform, attracting online game makers, social networks and other technology leaders to capture a slice of what we calculate to be a nearly $800 billion market opportunity.” (Kanterman and Naidu, 2021)
Yes, experts believe that by 2024 the market size will be $800 billion. Analysts from J.P.Morgan and Goldmann Sachs estimate it could grow to between 1 and 12 trillion dollars, although they don’t state a timeframe.
Whichever way you look at it, that’s a very good thing to be a part of.
About GameRee
With a potential value of £100 million, GameRee is the latest incubation project of PCC, who have a 30 percent share in the company, which is due to launch towards the end of the second quarter or the beginning of the third quarter of 2022 and is set to become part of the largest and most dynamic blockchain-based economy in existence.
GameRee’s co-founder is technology evangelist, innovator and serial entrepreneur Sheikh Fahad. The brilliantly dynamic 39-year-old was born in Rawalpindi, Pakistan. His lawyer father and teacher mother ensured that a love of learning and a strong work ethic were instilled in him from an early age. He has not one but two first-class master’s degrees in computer science from the University of Islamabad and the University of London and moved to the UK capital in 2004.
Fahad has a strong track record in development and technology. He worked as a software development engineer and consultant for NetSupport and Amadeus IT Group at Heathrow, where he specialized in flight management systems. He was then co-founder of Gorillabox LLc, which produced one of the most innovative AAA game technology products in the gaming industry, inventing and building game downloader technology offering low latency and high scaleability, allowing people to play a game in a few seconds instead of waiting hours for downloads.
Fahad gets fired up by that fascinating liminal space that lies between creativity, technology, and innovation and he lives and breathes the Metaverse. His eyes sparkle as he describes his vision for GameRee, the NFT 3D Metaverse that allows users to buy, sell and trade virtual properties mapped to real addresses. He co-founded the company with international banker and Vice President of the French-Lithuanian Chamber of Commerce and the Vilnius Chamber of Commerce, Taurimas Valys.
“Users will feel as if they are actually walking down Oxford Street in London.”
The idea was inspired by Fahad’s passion for investing in real estate, although his love for the potential inherent in property was marred by the lack of transparency he often experienced in transactions. “When you deal with a middleman,” he explains, “there is always a conflict of interest, because they either want to increase the price for the buyer to make more commission or decrease it for the seller so they can make the sale more quickly.”
When buying property in the Metaverse there are no such problems because “technology takes care of the middleman.” Using NFTs for asset ownership is one of the biggest benefits since ownership of virtual property is immutable, not controlled by a central body. It offers ease of transferability in minutes as everything is done with blockchain technology using smart contracts.
Much More Than a Game
“It is not just a game or entertainment, it creates a real-estate eco-system,” says Fahad. “Users will feel as if they are actually walking down Oxford Street in London. The design reflects the real world, and each plot is mapped to actual addresses. People can buy plots and develop them, either doing it themselves or hiring a company of architects and designers to help them. But all designs must be audited and approved by the decentralized ecosystem for them to be added to the Oxford Street Metaverse. They need to be in keeping with the history, architecture, style and feel of the street.”
The idea is that you can invest in a plot, the outside of a building, or the whole property outside and in, by buying an NFT. There will be opportunities to own retail outlets, which will obviously be offered first to the “real” owners (Selfridges springs to mind!) and they can be kitted out with actual items for sale, for example. Property owners can rent their home or hire out their space for events or for advertisers. They can develop and sell on or keep their virtual asset for themselves. They will be able to trade their NFTs on Spectrum, PCC’s NFT marketplace.
“Buying virtual land in the Metaverse is like buying property in Manhattan in the 18th century.”
Fahad envisages three kinds of users: children, who will use it as a learning platform, perhaps to improve their maths or vocabulary, young people who may use it for entertainment, socializing and monetization, and entrepreneurs who will buy plots and property to make money.
A similar offering comes from a company called Upland, who focus on California and other US states, and whose current value is $300 million, for an initial investment capital of $18 million. “But they are only offering virtual NFTs,” explains Fahad. “We are also building a real-world Metaverse.”
GameRee is starting with a few key streets in London, but the plan is to expand by offering a gateway to other eco-systems in the Metaverse. Fahad strongly believes that gateways have a huge role to play by connecting different metaverses in different domains. “We all need to work with each other and build a bigger and better ecosystem instead of considering ourselves as competitors,” he says. “Web 3.0 is still in its early stages and co-operation between other Fintech companies can only be a good thing.Imagine if someone wanted to do the same thing in Birmingham, Manchester, New York or California.We can help them do that or create a complementary relationship with them and our system.”
He is keen to strees how much potential there is in this, and how early we still are. “Buying virtual land in the Metaverse is like buying property in Manhattan in the 18th century,” he says.
What about people who may copy the idea? Create another Oxford Street? It is virtual, after all. Fahad is not concerned. “There are hundreds, no thousands, of imitators of Facebook and Apple,” he says. “People will choose to use the place with the best experience. It is all about how well we execute our idea, how much value we can add to the user experience. We know that we can give people the most amazing time in a secure environment.”
GameRee and PCC
What about benefits for the PCC community? “PCC nest holders will be on the whitelist, of course,” says Fahad. “And once the company’s product is launched, they will be the first to participate in NFT plot booking. NFT offerings will range from $100 — $5000. As our user community builds and the metaverse develops we have high hopes that 2023 will be when things really take off.”
He is excited about the relationship with PCC, having met one of the founders Luke Sullivan, and Europe COO Joe McDonald during the event they held at the University of Surrey earlier in the year. “I was there representing GameRee. There was synergy and a shared vision,” he says. “We met several times and when they talked about their plans for the Metaverse everything fell into place. I believe PCC is part of us and we are part of them,”
Luke Sullivan agrees. “It’s very exciting to be able to bring this world first to market. The founders’ vision and scope for development are groundbreaking,” he said. “This is something that will pave the way for Metaverse integration into daily life.”
GameRee website (work in progress): https://gameree.net
