Slashdot Mirror
Theater Morphing Into Multi-Player Gaming Arena
J3zmund writes "This article highlights the attempt by ESports Arena to bring gaming to the masses. They're building what looks like a command center with gaming equipment, comfy chairs, and big screens to follow the action. For the price of a movie, patrons can frag to their hearts' content for 2 hours (extra time available, of course). This could sprawn some interesting events (once gaming goes beyond 'kill'). With The Sims ready to go online this month, it could open this up to a much larger audience than the "young males" they currently identify. How 'bout some Sim Rocky Horror Online Saturday nights..."
Thousands of nerds...one big room... Glad I won't be there to smell it.
"The whole LAN party scene has been kind of like a geeky cult thing," he said. "These guys are making it more mainstream."
They make the article sound like only total geeks and kids go to lan parties..wtf I originally lived in wa state and found lan parties all over..not everyone was geeks or zit faced teenagers... There are alot of mid 30's-40's adults that attend the lans Ive gone to. I recently moved to arizona this summer and got a job at office max. Turns out they hold a monthly lan with all of the employees and its a blast. Some of these guys barely know how to operate their computer but they enjoy lanning. Welcome to the new age of entertainment...its been around for a while.
.[[erax0r]].
...some people will pay admission, drop a vat of popcorn over the keyboard, idly look at the screen, speak loudly to their neighbor during the whole game, and then leave saying the movie sucked on their cellphones... ^^
The ENIAC Demo Competition
Think of it this way... You're sitting in a comfy leather chair in an air conditioned arena. The replay of you bringing in the winning flag-capture is flashing on one of the giant screens at the front of the arena. A waiter/watress brings you the vat of scotch you ordered, and you slowly nurse it whilst clamoring with your local clanmates as you ready for the next match...
It'd be like going to the clubs, only slightly better in that no obnoxious idiots would look at you funny for just sitting at the bar soaking in the scenes and sounds.
This will only be really successful if they can make the gaming experience people get at home better. They have to offer things like cigars, drinks (free refils on sodas), snacks, and whatnot. Furthermore, if they REALLY want the bucks from the men of that age bracket, have cute women be the waitresses. Think about it. What horny male gamer 21+ wouldn't like to game in a big comfy chair while an attractive woman brings them drinks and their success is trumpeted to all there? I'd be there in a heartbeat.
Without the ammeneties though, say it's just a movie theater converted to an arena for gaming, and all they do for you is give you a terminal and some time. That will fail. There has to be a draw.
----- I want my LART.
I've found that most women have some inate ability to completely rock at fighting games. It's gotta be genetic. I've been at parties where a guy with 100 hours of street fighter under his belt loses to someone's girlfriend who has never played.
"Upon attaching the waterblock to my penis, I began to notice that I know nothing about computers." -- JRockway
Gaming environments such as these will rely on having better and more hardware than home users have. How will this affect their business model when they have to upgrade their hardware every 6 months to be able to play the newest games? Also, will they be buying 20 to 30 licenses of every game that comes out that is heavily played? I am interested in the cost of sustaining such a complex focused at gaming.
I do security
Scary huh? Worse than "has never played", has never touched a PS2. Worse yet, she proceeds to kick the next guy's ass. And the next (who complains it's the controller's fault). And then, after switching controllers and opponents, loses the first match, wins the second, and ties (two swordthrusts both connect at the exact same instant) the third. I didn't think you *could* tie in that game. We don't let her play anymore.
High-speed Road Trip (18.000KPH)
It's a LAN party, they'll all be virgins.
Happy Noodle Boy says "F###ing doughnut! Mock me? You fried cyclops!!"