Sony Style Store Barcelona

While out on my evening amble among the sprawling islands of Second Life I stumbled upon Sony Style Store Barcelona. The name was too tempting to ignore, so being the inquisitive soul that I am, I requested a teleport, more in hope than expectation, and was rewarded with a trip to a sim that still seems to be waiting for its formal opening.

As with any true Englishman, my facility with foreign languages leaves much to be desired. I do have a broad range of "hellos", "thank yous" and "how much's", complemented by an incomplete but colourful set of swear words. But anything more comprehensive than this is asking too much. I offer this preamble as a warning that my acquisition of the basic facts about this sim is likely to be somewhat flawed.

Sony Style is the direct sales division of Sony Corporation, and was formed in Europe in 1999 as "VAIO Direct", selling notebooks and accessories. In 2000 the name was changed to "Sony Style" to reflect the wider product range. For the UK, at least, Sony Style seems to be the branding for Sony's online sales. However, I would assume that this sim might be indicative of something a bit different - given the reference to "Store Barcelona." A bit of light Googling revealed the existence of a Sony Style Store in the Beverley Center in Los Angeles, where it is described as a "concept store designed to educate consumers about integrating technology into their lifestyle and [which] serves as a showcase for Sony's most innovative electronics and entertainment products and services." Now this definition makes sense when it comes to Barcelona, a city so cool it's amazing it's not actually encased in ice. My Holmesian deduction, then, is that this sim is part of the launch of a new, prestigious store - targeted at just the sort of high income tech-heads who frequent Second Life.

But what does it look like? In truth, it's very basic ("minimalist" may be a better term) at the moment. You arrive at a floating platform that offers you a couple of options: a short trip around the sim and registration for the opening event (whenever that will be). The main feature of the sim is a giant - no, make that GIANT - rabbit, that changes colour every few seconds. This is a clear reference to one of the recent Sony Bravia TV adverts, which featured plasticene rabbits in Manhattan:





And that is about it for now, aside from the brand logo emblazoned across the surface of the sim. I actually managed to get inside the rabbit (not as obscene as it may sound) and found some building tools inside. Here are some pictures for your delectation. Sorry, no Windlight as it kills my PC:


The Rabbit changing colour:


Hopefully I now appear (ummm... possibly multiple times... d'oh!) on a mailing list, and will receive further information about the launch in due course.