PHOTOS: Tried out a new interactive “metaverse” app at a Los Angeles Rams football game. It was cool, but the excitement on the pitch was more entertaining than the virtual world.

• The race to develop a successful “metaverse” has been fiercely competitive over the past few years.

• I experienced a version of the metaverse by attending a live NFL football game.

• It was a fun experience, but there are a few issues to deal with. Find out how it was:

The “metaverse” has been one of the hottest topics in the tech world for a few years.

Big companies like Roblox, Microsoft, Meta, and Apple are all competing to create immersive virtual worlds where people can socialize, play games, and maybe one day go to work.

But these companies aren’t the only ones working on virtual experiences: I got to see an early version of the metaverse during a Los Angeles Rams football game at SoFi Stadium this month.

The experience was created by augmented reality platform ARound, which has partnered with the Los Angeles Rams and SoFi to create a fan-focused version of the Metaverse.

ARound is an “augmented reality fan engagement platform designed to enhance gaming enjoyment with live, real-world AR experiences,” according to the company.

The app includes a shared AR experience where people can view and interact with the stadium through their mobile phones. “If there’s a bad game on the field, you can throw a squid at it. If there’s a celebratory moment, you can throw confetti at it,” said ARound Founder and CEO Josh Beatty.

Beatty said he plans to add a feature that lets app users play catch with strangers across the stadium. Those watching from home can also play, even during commercial breaks.

“The metaverse has been talked about a lot, and I really feel like we found it before anyone else,” Beatty said.

The new Rams experience comes at a time when sports stadiums have expanded their offerings to become large-scale entertainment hubs; AT&T Stadium has a 59-room art gallery, and the NFL recently signed a deal that could one day lead to slot machines being added to stadiums.

“Every second of the game is planned, but who’s to say everyone wants to enjoy it that way, so we want to make sure we offer different ways for people to engage with the game and keep them excited,” Marissa Daly, the Los Angeles Rams’ general manager of media said.

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I got to experience the new ARound Rams experience during a game against the Seahawkes at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles.

Fans were invited to download the app via a QR code that was flashed onto SoFi’s 70,000 square foot “Infinity Screen,” which wraps around the entire field.

It was fun to see how many other fans interacted with the app by throwing donuts, squids and beach balls on the field.

Special graphics appeared on the app when the Rams scored a touchdown. However, sometimes there were issues that needed to be resolved.

Overall the app was cool to use, but I often felt a strong urge to put my phone down and watch the football game in front of me. However, it may be a bigger hit with kids with shorter attention spans for professional sports.

Josh Beatty hopes the experience will appeal to younger fans. “We really came across the idea that it’s really perfect for young kids,” he said. “Right now the biggest challenge with teams is how do you engage that young fan, how do you make sure there’s a level of entertainment that they really want to participate in?”

Melissa Daly said the Rams organization is already planning to expand the app’s offerings.

“So many people ask, ‘what’s your metaverse strategy? What’s your web3 plan? How are you engaging in this?'” Daly said. “We’ve put so much time and effort into wanting this to be as successful as possible. And we’ve already talked about how we can start doing things for next season and what we think it will look like. “

As with all virtual metaverse ventures of recent years, the question remains: is it a fad or is it here to stay? The Rams metaverse offering is untested yet, but it shows another real-world example of how augmented reality can be used.

Read the original article on Business Insider