Walmart made its debut in the Metaverse, launching two new games on Roblox aimed at its youngest customers. The big-box retail company announced the launch of Walmart Land and Walmart’s Universe of Play on Monday, introducing kids of Gen Z to the shopping world while offering them interactive content and entertainment in different islands, or “isles.”
Walmart’s Universe of Play takes on the form of a giant toy box where Roblox players will interact with the most popular toys, earning coins that can be redeemed for virtual merchandise (or “verch”), and complete challenges to build a trophy case full of toys.
Walmart Land will consist of three experiences for kids to partake in. Electric Island is inspired by the world’s greatest music festivals, offering an interactive piano walkway à la the movie Big, a dance challenge, Netflix trivia, and a DJ booth to learn how to mix different beats. Starting in October, players can visit the same island for Electric Fest, a motion-capture concert featuring popular artists like Yungblud and Madison Beer. House of Style is a fashion-themed experience complete with a virtual dressing room, a strike-a-pose challenge, a cosmetics obstacle course, and a roller skating rink featuring products from nearly every beauty brand.
“We’re showing up in a big way — creating community, content, entertainment and games through the launch of Walmart Land and Walmart’s Universe of Play,” Walmart’s Chief Marketing Officer William White said. “Roblox is one of the fastest-growing and largest platforms in the metaverse, and we know our customers are spending loads of time there. So, we’re focusing on creating new and innovative experiences that excite them, something we’re already doing in the communities where they live, and now, the virtual worlds where they play.”
According to CNBC, Walmart filed for metaverse-related trademarks, which indicated that it would be selling virtual goods and use virtual currency, even NFTs. For now, White said the company won’t be profiting from its Roblox games.
Acer’s Predator Atlas 8 finally has a US release date and price, several months after the company first showed off the handheld in May. The highlight is the Intel Arc G3 Extreme chip inside, which has been adopted by only a couple of other consoles besides the Atlas 8. This version will go on sale exclusively at Best Buy on November 1 for $1,299.99.
Acer originally said the Atlas 8 would arrive in North America in October, but left pricing open at the time. The launch came amid the ongoing DRAM crunch, which has made memory more expensive across the PC industry and complicated pricing for hardware makers.
Gaming laptops and I have a complicated relationship. One of my first gaming rigs was an Acer Predator that was already outdated when I bought it. I was a broke college kid, and that was the best I could afford. So trying out high-end gaming laptops is always fun. But ASUS' ROG Zephyrus G14 is a lot more than a laptop that can run AAA games. It is portable, so you're not lugging around a 2.5kg machine everywhere you go. It is built well, none of that plastic chassis, and can even function as a normal laptop outside of just gaming.
Google Play is borrowing one of the Nintendo Switch’s most useful little tricks. A new Sidekick tool called Playbacks captures a short clip after something interesting has already happened, sparing players from running a screen recorder throughout an entire game.
Playbacks is part of Google Play Store v53.8 and keeps saved clips on the phone. Google first announced it earlier this month, but the new Play Store update marks its arrival for players. Anyone who has watched a perfect win vanish because the record button came too late already understands the appeal.