Hong Kong, 8 March 2022 – The South China Morning Post announced today the public launch of its inaugural metaverse experience bringing the Hong Kong Star Ferry’s past and present to life as part of The Sandbox’s Alpha Season 2.
The Post becomes the first media company and organisation in Hong Kong to launch its metaverse offering with The Sandbox. Members of the public can sign up for a unique and compelling interactive digital experience on the metaverse till March 30.
In the metaverse, locations of historical interest can become universally accessible, and SCMP’s partnership with The Sandbox created a distinct virtual world where players can build, own, monetise, and explore. One of the unique metaverse experiences around the Star Ferry is the ability to teleport back in time to learn about the landmark’s colourful history by completing various quests along the way*.
Said SCMP CEO Gary Liu, “The metaverse is a digital world where real-world concepts of value and scarcity can provably exist. SCMP’s 118 years of reporting and extensive library of photographs gave us the opportunity to breathe new life into historical locations in the metaverse. This serves as a bridge to connect with a new generation of readers and digital natives and we look forward to working closely with our partners to continue serving our audience.
“The South China Morning Post team is leading the way as a mainstream media into the Metaverse. Through their collaboration with a local metaverse builder studio – Index Game – they have produced a very compelling and culturally rich experience in The Sandbox Alpha Season 2 that will take players through history & time of Hong Kong Central Pier” said Sebastien Borget, COO & Co-Founder of The Sandbox.
SCMP’s collaboration with The Sandbox, a leading decentralised gaming virtual world owned by Animoca Brands, aims to create a unique experience focused on its home city of Hong Kong.
Through this metaverse experience, participants will be able to relive iconic moments in the city from the 1980s and the present through SCMP’s contemporaneous reporting on the Hong Kong Star Ferry. They can also learn firsthand about the complexities of an international city at the crossroads of East and West.
To visit the Hong Kong Star Ferry Pier experience, go to The Sandbox website and sign up for a user account.
ABOUT SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST
The South China Morning Post is a leading global news company that has reported on China and Asia for more than a century. Founded in 1903, SCMP is headquartered in Hong Kong, where it is the city’s newspaper of record, with a growing correspondent staff across Asia and the United States. SCMP’s vision is to “Elevate Thought” and our mission is to “Lead the global conversation about China”. It is the recipient of hundreds of awards for its journalistic excellence, from such prestigious organisations as the World Association of News Publishers and the Online News Association. A digital-first media organisation, SCMP is also home to Goldthread, a content platform with a focus on food, travel and culture in China, and publishes a portfolio of premium lifestyle and fashion titles in Hong Kong including Cosmopolitan, ELLE, Esquire and Harper’s BAZAAR. In 2020, SCMP became the first news organisation in Asia to join the Trust Project, a consortium of top news companies developing global transparency standards for credible journalism.
ABOUT THE SANDBOX ALPHA SEASON TWO
The Sandbox Alpha Season 2 will run during the month of March with the grand opening on March 3 at 3PM UTC. During this event, users will have the chance to explore a whopping 35+ experiences. This includes 18 upgraded experiences first seen in Season 1 that will showcase cool redesigns and epic quests for Season 2. Sandbox has added 5 new original experiences, 4 new Game Maker Fund-supported experiences, 3 new IP experiences, a new transportation HUB — plus some crazy Game Jam experiences. Furthermore, 100% of the experiences will be open to everyone this time! Users without a S2 Alpha Pass will also be able to play all 35+ experiences included in Alpha Season 2.
For further information, please contact:
Stef Lo
stef.lo@scmp.com
Elgen Kua
elgen.kua@scmp.com
FACTSHEET: About SCMP Hong Kong Star Ferry Pier on The Sandbox
Hong Kong owes its prosperity and status as one of the world’s great cities to its harbour. SCMP will bringing you onto the shores of Victoria Harbour and recreate Hong Kong’s historic Star Ferry Pier.
Star Ferry, one of Hong Kong’s oldest forms of transportation, dates back to 1888, and the Sandbox experience will feature a portal that will teleport players between present day and moments in the past in order to learn about the history of the ferry pier.
Players can run amongst the world’s most imposing skyline and interact with characters to understand the history of the city. Participants will be invited to complete various quests to appreciate the colorful history of this place, such as ‘talking’ to one of the Star Ferry’s longest-serving employees to learn how Victoria Harbour has changed over the years; taking a ride on the ferry, and exploring to take a closer look at its iconic double-ended design.
Please refer to this video for a tour of the Hong Kong Star Ferry Pier in the metaverse: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1CWf8Z3SsXSFmheaMH2-SJw4GikHdPg2q/view?usp=sharing
Highlighted quests featured:
- 00.20: Quest to rescue the cross-harbor swimming champion who was trapped in the middle of the harbour.
- 00.44: Players teleport back to the 1980s to explore the Edinburgh Place Ferry Pier and Queen’s pier.
- 01.00: Quest to help a stranger navigate their car amidst the taxi protest in the 80s
- 01.23: Throughout the experience, players can unlock SCMP photos, articles, and infographics by completing the quests in the Hong Kong Star Ferry Pier experience.
Please click here for other visual assets.