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Video Games Hit The Big Screen
Anonymous Coward writes "A movie theatre owner in Logan, Utah is hoping to start a new trend by bringing video games (Halo in this case) to the big screen. The local newspaper in Logan, The Herald Journal has a nice write-up about the success they had. Does anyone else think this could catch on to be successful, especially in college towns?"
Cineplex Odeon did this back in the early 90's. Allowing people to rent out a theater to play nintendo. It tanked, big time
In reference to the previous article and to ward off any potential slashdotting, here's a link using the new Coral P2P cache. Enjoy!
Village Cinemas in Melbourne are already doing this...See here
What prizes can I win?
First Prize: Family trip (2 adults and 2 kids) to the USA to visit Nintendo America. Second Prize: A GameCube Interactive Unit and a year's supply of GameCube games. Third Prize: A private Gold Class screening for 25 people at Village Cinemas Crown.
What dates can I play?
Get in by 8.30am each Sunday to register and prepare yourself for the big screen action!
1 August: Registration and Round 1 - 1080: Avalanche
15 August: Round 2 - Mario Kart Double Dash!!
29 August: Round 3 - Super Smash Bros. Melee
12 September: Round 4 - F-Zero GX
26 September: Round 5 - Super Smash Bros. Melee
10 October: Round 6 - Mario Kart Double Dash!!
24 October: Superfinal The top 300 players will compete in the Superfinal on Sunday 24 October where a winner will be crowned!
How much does it cost?
You can purchase a single session ticket for $12, which entitles you entry into one of the above challenges. A guest can also come and watch you play for just $5 a session.
If at first you don't succeed, destroy all evidence you ever tried.
I have a friend who is a manager at a one of the Famous Players theaters here in town. Occasionally late at night there will be an "xbox night". Everyone brings in a controller and their xbox (well 4 people do). Add a few meters of Cat5 and a $19 SMC 4 port router and you've got a recipe for good times. Last weekend we had 16 player games of Halo running for hours. Crimson Skies wouldn't go more than 4 player (2 theaters * 2 players) which was a shame. The new zelda really comes into it's own on a huge screen though.
Pretty much every theater these days has a digital projector for displaying those powerpoint-esque advertisements so it's just like plugging in at home: at least some good came out of those. It's worth buying the controller extension cables so you can sit 2 or 3 rows up rather than right against the back wall. Walkie-talkies cover the inter-theater communication because cellphones can be hit-and-miss.
They sell beer at the concession now and there is a Pizza Hut right there for the food so I can see how it could make a good night out for the guys. All that said, I'm not sure this is something I'd be willing to pay for. 4 players * 4 theater is great because there is no down time. If I had to sit out every 4th round I think I'd rather just play at home on my puny 130cm TV and xbox live. Splitting $60 4 ways also seams a little pricey (though not much more than a regular movie). Not being able to eat and drink while playing would be a major disappointment too.
"Revolutionary"? I don't think it will be any more revolutionary than when they were showing saturday morning cartoons on them a few years ago. A good novelty, but ultimately to expensive, inconvenient (can't just go-and-play) to compete with the home gathering.