HIKKY has announced that VIRTUAL MARKET 5 is set to run from December 19, 2020 to January 10, 2021. VIRTUAL MARKET 4 began on April 29, 2020 and ran for 12 days. It was the biggest event to date and ended in huge success. VIRTUAL MARKET 5 will begin accepting general applications for the exhibition from June 9.

What is VIRTUAL MARKET?

VIRTUAL MARKET is the largest virtual marketplace in the world where visitors are free to choose their own 3D avatar and buy a bounty of 3D items. They can ride vehicles, watch movies, interact with other players in the market, and much more. Open 24 hours a day, anyone and everyone is free to join by using a PC and even a VR headset if they have one. The event was initially held for Japan but now sees visitors from across the globe.

The VIRTUAL MARKET 5 teaser website is now open and will be updated in the coming months: https://www.v-market.work/v5/lp

VIRTUAL MARKET 4 tried out many new things

VIRTUAL MARKET 4 ended on May 10 and was the biggest showcase to date, with many real-life companies and businesses taking part. Car company Audi Japan had their own booth where they showed off the currently unreleased electric bicycle known as “e-tron” (see ① above). In the fashion department, Isetan Mitsukoshi Holdings had employees serve customers virtually from their own homes (see ②). Seven & I Holdings fully recreated one of their their Tokyo-based stores located in Nibancho, Chiyoda (see ③), while Square Enix made the NieR: Automata character 2B available as a 3D avatar (see ③).

VIRTUAL MARKET 4 Parareal Tokyo Tour 

Panasonic Connected Solutions had their own observation deck (see ④), while the official Ultraman shop Ultraman World M78 (see ⑤) and Gundam (see ⑥) made an appearance.

43 companies and 1,400 circles participated in VIRTUAL MARKET 4. We look forward to seeing what the next market will have in store.