Business Meta to open first physical retail shop for virtual reality products - like an apple store for shit nobody wants. nobody

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Social media brand Meta, formerly the Facebook Company, is opening its first permanent Meta Store for customers to purchase its virtual reality products as a "gateway to the metaverse".

The 1,550-square-foot shop will open on 9 May in Burlingame, California, near the company's Reality Labs campus – a research and development hub for virtual reality products.

Meta Store is the social media company's first physical store
Head of Meta Store Martin Gilliard said that the shop will demonstrate how the brand's products are a "gateway" to the metaverse" – a parallel virtual world where people operate as avatars.

"The Meta Store is going to help people make that connection to how our products can be the gateway to the metaverse in the future," he said.

It is located in California close to the company's Reality Labs campus
In the shop, which will be open Monday to Friday, customers will be able to try out and play games on Oculus Quest 2, an updated version of the virtual reality headset Oculus Go, in a dedicated demo area.

A large, floor-to-ceiling LED screen will project what is being seen in the headset.

Meta's video-calling device Portal will be displayed on backlit wooden shelves on the main shop floor. Customers will be able to try out Portal in another demo area, as well as place video calls to retail associates to see the gadget in action.

Customers will be able to try virtual reality products
A separate cubicle with glass walls is reserved for Meta's selection of Ray-Ban Stories, smart glasses that allow wearers to record videos via in-built 5MP cameras. Visitors will be able to try a range of style, colour and lens variations.

Unlike the other products in Meta Store, the glasses will not be available to purchase in-store. Customers will have to order them directly from sunglass retailer Ray Ban's website.

Other accessories such as headphones, earphones and charging cables will also be on show and available to purchase in the store.

"We're not selling the metaverse in our store, but hopefully people will come in and walk out knowing a little bit more about how our products will help connect them to it," explained Gilliard.

"Once people experience the technology, they can gain a better appreciation for it."

The store will house virtual reality headsets, smart glasses and Meta's video calling device
Meta's first physical store represents the company's move further into what it calls a "social metaverse company" and away from its origins as a social media company. Last year the brand changed its name from Facebook to Meta.

Gilliard also said that the Burlingame store marks Meta's expansion further into the retail sphere.

"Having the store here in Burlingame gives us more opportunity to experiment and keep the customer experience core to our development," said Gilliard. "What we learn here will help define our future retail strategy."

The minimalist store displays products on wooden shelving
A number of brands are working on real-life and metaverse cross-over products, such as shoe brand Giuseppe Zanotti, which has released a digital edition of its Cobras trainers in the metaverse.

Design studio Layer recently unveiled a pair of smart glasses for tech company Viture that lets the user play games or stream media via a virtual screen.
Photos are courtesy of Meta.

 

[Milwaukee Macho Man]

That, and also the fact that it's the cheapest VR headset on the market that can also be used for PC VR. That goes a long way.

I bought mine to try out Skyrim VR. It ended up being dogshit but boy do I love RE4 VR.

It's really made up for hte lack of light gun in my life tbqh

 

[Phimosis Jonisis]

The only reason I would get any of these would be to resell it at a larger price after tricking some retarded NFT bro

 

[FILTH Tourist]

I respectfully disagree. This VR shit always felt like a gimmick and it will remain that way. Its not as bad as the 3D TV craze (its nearly impossible to find one of those nowadays) but its still not as big as they antecipated it would be.

People need to accept that VR will always just be that, a gimmick that you play until you get tired and return to the winning strategy of a fucking keyboard and mouse. And that is if you can afford it (cue the "oh its affordable now, bruh"). And even if you can afford it, lets face it, most rooms arent suited to use these things (my bed is located right in front of my gaming rig, I literally have no space even if I wanted to)

Also most games for it arent exactly game changers (the best one was Alyx and that game's whole point with existing was to motivate VR headset sales...at least until the Non VR mod is complete).

Now if you got one and you enjoy it, thats fine but things like the Metaverse are just things to try to justify a purchase and introduce a borderline dystopian nightmare of you "owning" things but not really

I disagree, after owning a VIVE for a few years I think the VR market is going to grow alot. VR has changed and matured a lot over the years and where it is now I think is well worth the price of entry. Issues like cost has become less and less of a problem as budget headsets come out and space is also less of an issue becuase you can play most games now sitting down or standing in one spot. VR games have also developed a lot over the years too. My experience with games like elite dangerous, boneworks, project wingman, beat saber, and into the radius have more than justified my purchase in terms of fun had.

But I agree that the meta's metaverse is going to end up deader than playstation home.

 

[Kuritan Deplorable]

People need to accept that VR will always just be that, a gimmick that you play until you get tired and return to the winning strategy of a fucking keyboard and mouse. And that is if you can afford it (cue the "oh its affordable now, bruh"). And even if you can afford it, lets face it, most rooms arent suited to use these things (my bed is located right in front of my gaming rig, I literally have no space even if I wanted to)

Also most games for it arent exactly game changers (the best one was Alyx and that game's whole point with existing was to motivate VR headset sales...at least until the Non VR mod is complete).

This, particularly the last line, are EXACTLY why I call it Enthusiast and compare it to simulator players - It is expensive, specialized hardware that is of use in a limited set of experiences. Anyone who tries to sell you on VR being the hard future of gaming as it exists today is trying to sell you a pipe dream. It is a novel side experience way to try and drive up immersion and engagement in certain experiences, but that doesn't innately make it some successor. The only thing that makes it more distinct from the otherwise comparable sim enthusiast experiences is that its generally not back-portable to traditional design. You can play an F1 game with a controller or M&KB, but converting VR to a traditional control scheme is at best going to make a very mediocre experience, and in most cases isn't even the same game at the end of the day.

Trying to treat VR like a gimmick is just as stupid as treating it like the holy grail and successor to all preexisting methods. Its just a novel sidegrade for some things.