Emperor Entertainment Group (EEG, or the Group) had announced its foray into the metaverse in an online press conference on 4th May (Thursday), making it the first entertainment company in Hong Kong to have constructed a virtual music entertainment space in The Sandbox. The press conference was graced by the presence of the Group’s CEO, Shirley Hughes, and Eric Yeung, who is the Chairman to MetaTimes, a joint venture between VAR LIVE and Times Capital. Hins Cheung, who is the first artist to establish his presence in The Sandbox metaverse with Hinsland, was also present at the event, where his avatar HC made its first appearance.

Shirley Hughes, the CEO of the Group, said at the press conference: ‘Metaverse is the new frontier of the ever-growing digital world. Its evolution will disrupt the entire value chain in the entertainment and cultural industry. EEG has been re-inventing itself with multimedia entertainment innovations, which have accelerated the digitalisation of entertainment content, narrowed down the boundary among artists, fans and audience, and provided users with enhanced entertainment experience. It is our goal to work with more professional partners to expand our presence in the metaverse.’

EEG’s metaverse project is supported by MetaTimes, a joint venture under VAR LIVE and Times Capital. Eric Yeung, the Chairman of MetaTimes, said during the press conference: ‘Metaverse integrates the concepts of virtual reality and a digital second life. It is a fully realised digital world where a new social system is taking shape. We are delighted to be partnering with EEG to work on such a meaningful project, where we can explore the new frontiers and endless possibilities in the metaverse.’

To kick off EEG’s venture into the metaverse, the Group is creating an interactive virtual world, ‘Hinsland’, for its artist Hins Cheung at the decentralised, open-end, and blockchain-enabled metaverse platform of The Sandbox. HC, the avatar of Hins Cheung, also made its first appearance in the press conference, where the two unveiled the various interactive features in Hinsland. Hins Cheung is thrilled by the Group’s investment in metaverse and the NFT project. ‘I am an enthusiast of new technologies and innovative ideas, and I love exchanging my views with my fans and different music practitioners on social media,’ said Hins Cheung. ‘It has been a while since I have learnt about the metaverse before the creation of Hinsland and HC. I really look forward to interacting with my fans in the capacity of HC in Hinsland as I am sure they will be amazed by this very new, unique interactive experience in our own private virtual space.’

The Hinsland features many different scenes and attractions, including the mansion of HC, which houses his Fans Club, Meta-Avon Studio and living room. In the mansion, Fans can receive latest feeds of Hins Cheung’s happenings, peruse his private collections, and interact with HC. The Meta-Avon Studio is an archive for the unpublished songs of Hins Cheung, and at the same time a gaming platform for fans to complete various tasks. Another highlight is the opera house located at the heart of Hinsland, as it is the avenue for future virtual concerts. In addition, EEG has created The Hin Kung Restaurant, the first ‘dark cuisine’ destination in The Sandbox where allows fans to share their own ‘dark cuisine recipes’. There are  many picture points and interactive game zones that are evocative of the significant moments in the Hins Cheung’s stardom including the very special wishing tree ‘Under the Sakura’..

The virtual world Hinland is currently under construction, public may follow Twitter and Instagram {@hertz_city} to stay tuned and participate in various promotional activities including flash games, Fan Art events and singing contest for getting ready before the launch of The Sandbox’s third stage.

To wrap up the press conference, the new song of Hins Cheung about the topic metaverse and love story was first published, featuring HC who made his first presence felt in the music video to cohere with the birth of the project.

Building on its deep insight into intellectual property issues, and its profound experience and masterful skills in creative content production, EEG endeavours to create a virtual community to provide the basis for next boon in the entertainment industry as the metaverse opens up new frontier for exploration and innovation in the Web 3.0 world. Hinsland’s official launch date will be announced by The Sandbox.