Digital giant Sony is taking a big step into the metaverse by partnering with Theta Labs. Indeed, the 2 entities will create non-fungible tokens (NFTs) specially designed to be viewed in 3D thanks to Sony’s Spatial Reality Display, which is scheduled to be released very soon
Sony launches 3D NFTs
Theta Labs, the company behind Tetha Network, a decentralised video streaming network that runs on blockchain technology, has been chosen to create a series of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) in collaboration with Sony.
These NFTs will be designed to be viewed and manipulated through Sony’s Spatial Reality Display (SRD), a tablet-like device that offers the ability to view objects in 3D without the need for glasses or a dedicated device.
Spatial Reality Display (SRD) device rendering preview
This revolutionary device has been designed to provide an immersive experience, as it follows the eye movement of the user, rotating the image according to their head and face movements. This gives the impression of a ‘solid’ 3D visualisation.
For the launch of this new category of NFTs, a special series of 10 units called “The Tiki Guy”, representing a Tiki mask, will be made available for sale. Although these NFTs are designed for a three-dimensional experience, they will also be mined in the classic 2D fashion.
In addition, lucky owners of these 10 NFTs who have a US mailing address will receive a free copy of Sony’s Spatial Reality Display, a device worth a whopping $5,000.
The device is scheduled to go on sale to the public on May 10, but it is not yet known when the NFTs will go on sale.
At the junction of reality and metaverse
The NFTs will be available on ThetaDrop, the marketplace dedicated to Theta’s non-fungible tokens, which had already secured the sale of Katy Perry’s collection at the end of 2021.
The launch of this series of NFTs is intended to promote Sony’s Spatial Reality Display, which, although sold at a significant price, offers a very exclusive experience in terms of metaverse, as Nick Colsey, vice-president of business development at the company, explained:
The immersive, three-dimensional NFTs are a great way to introduce the potential of Sony’s spatial reality display to metaverse enthusiasts and collectors. Theta’s NFTs are just the latest way to showcase our rapid adoption of metaverse-friendly technology. “
Launched in late 2020 for designers, artists and engineers, the device will now be able to find its audience through the boom in both NFTs and metaverses.
We should note, however, that as things stand, these NFTs will be compatible exclusively with Sony’s virtual reality device. In other words, in order to own the NFT in 2D, it will also have to be purchased in that form.
Given the absolutely huge and growing adoption of the NFT world, it remains to be seen whether this new technology will be redesigned to be more accessible in terms of price, which can clearly be a barrier to purchase.
Furthermore, in order to view these NFTs, you will need a computer capable of running the Unity engine. In other words, you need a machine with at least an RTX 2070 SUPER graphics card and an Intel Core i7-9700K processor, according to the manufacturer’s specifications.
This means that a considerable amount of money will have to be added to the virtual reality device for those who do not have at least a similar configuration.
