Samsung held a launch event for its new Galaxy smartphones in a metaverse this week. However, many people struggled to gain access because of technical difficulties.
The tech giant hosted the event Wednesday on Decentraland, a cryptocurrency-focused virtual world that users can create, explore and trade in. In metaverse players are using headsets or smart glasses which allow them to live, work and play in a virtual world.
Decentraland can be accessed via a desktop browser and it’s a place where users create an avatar which they can navigate around the blockchain-powered virtual world using a mouse and keyboard.
The Samsung event took place in a virtual building called Samsung 837X that the company has built on Decentraland and is designed to be a replica of its flagship New York experience center.
CNBC and other companies struggled to find the 837X building and when we did, many of us were unable to gain access to it.
Problems in Decentraland
When creating an avatar on Decentraland, it lands in a sort of atrium where clouds appear to be gliding across the floor. There’s a round pool in the middle that has a worrying vortex in the center.
On the opposite side of the pool, there were three large boards. An ad for Samsung 837X hang on the “crowd” board. Once clicked, you’re given the option to “jump in.”
I went in too Sam, same result for me. Pretty awful brand experience let alone for a product launch pic.twitter.com/8PQbIkkBYM
— Drew Benvie (@drewb) February 9, 2022
After jumping in, you’re transported to Samsung’s little world on Decentraland and you can see the 837X building with a pizza store next door.
CNBC state, that they have noticed a large line of people at the main entrance to the building. People were struggling to get in. Some users were getting their avatars to jump on other people’s heads as they clambered to the front of the queue but it didn’t help. The doors wouldn’t open and the chatbox was again full of pleas for help.
According to rumours, a YouTuber had managed to find a way in, while a CNET journalist wrote on Twitter that they had managed to gain access by switching to the “ATHENA” server. It wasn’t immediately obvious how to do this.
After around 30 minutes of trying to access Samsung’s building in the metaverse, CNBC gave up and went back to the real world.
