Power to Connect X Entertainment

The metaverse is a concept attractive to a large number of people. While the global pandemic has restricted various economic, cultural, and other activities, KDDI is using cutting-edge technology to create platforms that create new urban experiences and connect people and cultures.

The metaverse is a 3D virtual space service on the Internet that is experienced by avatars. Its market size is projected to reach 78,870.5 billion yen by 2030.

KDDI's Urban-Linked Metaverse Functionally and Economically Links Real Cities and Virtual Spaces

KDDI is working with local governments to expand opportunities to disseminate the at- tractions of real cities to the rest of Japan and abroad through the dissemination of the "urban-linked metaverse" to revitalize local communities and economies while also creating a place to transmit, experience, and share entertainment without close contact against the background of COVID-19.
Virtual Shibuya, which launched in May 2020 in collaboration with Shibuya City, To- kyo, hosts live performances, public exhibitions, and other virtual events in collaboration with diverse companies, artists, and users, including start-ups. With a total attendance of approximately 1 million people, the platform provides a place where people can gather and create valuable experiences from their own homes with content that utilizes cut-ting-edge technology. The platform also contributes to the development of Shibuya by selling special goods at events and giving all profits from the sales back to Shibuya City.

Virtual Shibuya is a delivery platform authorized by Shibuya City. It is available for smartphones, PCs, and VR goggles.

A Place Where Everyone Can Play an Active Role in Society Regardless of Gender, Age, and Disability, Etc.

"Equality" in a Virtual Space, Free From Time, Geographical, and Physical Limitations

At the Virtual Shibuya au 5G Halloween Fest 2021, an event held on Virtual Shibuya in October 2021, Metajob!, provided by Moon Creative Lab Inc., was introduced. This demonstrated a new possibility in the metaverse where it enables people who live far away from the Shibuya area or who for health reasons find it difficult to serve customers in person to work in their avatar form.
KDDI will continue to accelerate the fusion of the real and virtual worlds by combining the latest telecommunications technology with entertainment in collaboration with local governments, companies, users, and society as a whole to realize a society in which everyone can play an active role.

Linking Virtual and Real Life to Enrich Communication

AVATARIUM*

Virtual Karaoke*

What Happens/When We are "Connected"? (Metaverse section)

Why is KDDI Emphasizing "Linkage with Cities" and "UGC (User-Generated Content)" in the Metaverse?

Originally, we did not create Virtual Shibuya to create a metaverse. Initially, we offered experimental AR/MR-based ser- vices and content to visitors in the city, but we had to cancel the program due to the COVID-19 pandemic. During lockdowns, it was no longer possible to visit the city or share the same space with others, something that had previously been taken for granted. Therefore, we changed the concept of Virtual Shibuya to provide a platform for people to gather virtually at the "Shibuya Scramble Crossing," a place known throughout Japan, and "share the same time" through events and other activities. In other words, from the beginning, we have emphasized the im- portance of linking Virtual Shibuya with real cities.
Also, if we assume that a metaverse is like a city created on the Internet where people gather, it is the people that they should play principal roles and there is no different from a real world city. The platform operator must provide an environment in which the people who have gathered can create content and provide it to other users rather than unilaterally providing the content they can experience in the city. UGC is important for the people who gather to exercise their creativity and engage in the development of the metaverse urban community.
We believe that through the creative activities of the residents of the urban-linked metaverse, the "character" of the inter- locking cities will become apparent in the urban-linked metaverse. The content generated here will be fed back to the real city and the shape of the city will change. Our aim is to create a model that evolves the city itself.

What is the Aim and Purpose of the Virtualcity Consortium?

In the urban-linked metaverse (hereafter referred to as the "virtu- al city"), we aim to create a new city where the real city and virtual space are linked and develop together. To this end, in order to develop virtual city and to exercise people's creativity, it was necessary to create a framework for solving issues, such as organizing the rights of stakeholders and establishing compliance guidelines, and rules to facilitate the exercise of creativity, from both perspectives of the virtual city and the real city.
Thus, when we began developing Virtual Shibuya, we also considered legal risks and discussed the project with the local government, related companies, and local stakeholders to identify how to link the project with the city.
In November 2021, we launched the Virtualcity Consortium to create a common understanding of the project among interested parties based on the knowledge gained from our activities and to compile guidelines that other local governments and metaverse-related businesses can use as a reference. The Virtual City Guidelines were published in April 2022 and attracted a great deal of attention.

How does the Metaverse Change Society?

We believe that metaverses will expand the sphere in which people live. If we can exercise our creativity in a metaverse, I think that we will be able to not only communicate and experience entertainment but also make a living in this domain. As activities in a metaverse are fed back to the real city, the eco- nomic zone of the real city can also be expanded. Ultimately, I would be happy if the urban-linked metaverse became a place that people want to visit daily.

Future Prospects of the Metaverse

From the customer's point of view, it is not important who the provider is or where the platform is located. Even if metaverse worlds are created for each company or IP in the future, the ideal situation would not be for any one company to monopolize the entire metaverse market but for everyone to be able to come and go freely between each world and for those who are active there to work together with the platformers to create new worlds.
To realize such a vision, interoperability between different platforms is important. We believe that the functions and experiences of the metaverse will gradually converge, although at this stage it is still a matter of trial and error for each company. Be- yond the convergence, we must realize a world where people can freely and securely move between various worlds while retaining their digital identities, avatars, items, etc. For this pur- pose, we intend not only to develop the au version of the metaverse but also to actively work on the development of the environment, such as connections with other platforms and rules.