Side-G will be made of colonies celebrating the many different facets of Gundam fandom.

Mobile Suit Gundam’s whole premise is examining how society would change if mankind began living in the stars. The latest Gundam project from Bandai Namco also wants to take humanity somewhere new: into a Gundam metaverse.

As part of the Gundam Conference festivities this week, Bandai Namco provided details on its vision for a virtual venue for fans of the sprawling giant robot franchise. The virtual space, called Side-G, will be made up of “Colonies” focusing on different aspects of Gundam media, with Colonies for anime, video games, music, and Gunpla (Gundam plastic models), as well as areas where fans, using personalized avatars (like in the concept art above), can interact with one another.

The anime, gaming, and music Colonies all have pretty obvious applications, serving as hubs for things such as video previews, e-sports events, and virtual concerts. Where things get really interesting, though, are with Side-G’s plan to integrate Gunpla building and video games. Bandai Namco says users will be able to use a camera to transfer data from Gunpla kits they’ve built in the real world into Side-G, then send them out to battle with other mobile suits.

▼ Definitely a smarter idea than smashing your actual Gunpla into each other to see which is tougher.

Side-G is expected to have its first trial runs this autumn, and to be fully operational sometime in 2025.

Source: Kyodo via Hachima Kiko, PR Times
Top image: PR Times
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