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Video Games Hit The Big Screen

Posted by timothy on from the why-waste-the-real-estate dept.

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?"

29 of 220 comments (clear)

  1. hold up. by crtfdgk · · Score: 5, Funny

    waitaminute. who actually has time to leave the house to go game somewhere else? why on earth would you leave the safety and security of your 100% sunlight free cave of an apartment or bedroom to game somewhere else, and pay extra, and possibly *shudder* socialize and the real world? isn't the point of gaming just to ensure that geeks everywhere never see the outside world? or did i just miss something?

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    1. Re:hold up. by PetoskeyGuy · · Score: 5, Funny

      Don't worry, they thought of that. The games don't start until midnight. Plenty of time to leave the house to play for hours and come back without any chance of a tan.

    2. Re:hold up. by jackbird · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Um, once upon a time there were these things called "arcades." They were very very sunlight free, often filled with smoke, and, while crowded, had very little socializing going on. They were pretty cool.

    3. Re:hold up. by Tongo · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Anyone else think that all these hardcore gamers are vampires gaming among us?

    4. Re:hold up. by paulcammish · · Score: 4, Funny
      Oh, just because we...

      have pale skin,

      are sensative to sunlight,

      have hightened reflexes,

      wear black,

      are rarely seen in public,

      have elongated canine teeth and

      drink blood

      ...we're Vampires now?

      Typical!!!

  2. The possibilities! by miscellaneous_havoc · · Score: 5, Funny

    If they let me play Dead or Alive Beach Volleyball on the big screen... I'd live there!

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  3. Uhhh... by agraupe · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I'm not sure if it's ever been something you can pay for, but the local Famous Players (big Canadian theatre chain) was advertising a Halo 2 fest with ten friends if you entered and won some sort of contest. That being said, I'd be more likely to pay 8.00 for a massive two-hour Halo deathmatch than a boring movie.

    1. Re:Uhhh... by Pxtl · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Well, one unfortunate fact about Halo that other games do better (such as the aforementioned DoA games) is the splitscreen. Its more fun watching a single game than multiple small screen games split up out of one big screen. A multiplayer single-screen brawl game such as Bomberman, Super Smash Bros, or PowerStone II would be best, imho. Fast enough to run a tournament that way too, and let the whole audience play.

  4. IMAX by wackysootroom · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Put Doom3 or Halo in an IMAX and you won't have any trouble getting $50 out of my wallet.

    1. Re:IMAX by NeoSkandranon · · Score: 4, Funny

      All playing Doom3 on Imax is going to do is shorten your lifespan by about 10 years. And soil a couple pairs of your trousers ;)

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    2. Re:IMAX by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Informative

      The Tech Museum of Innovation in San Jose, CA. hosts the annual MaxGames Video Game Tournament. The finals are played in the IMAX dome: 40'x60' image and a 13,000 watt, 44-speaker sound system.

      http://www.thetech.org/events/maxgames/2004/

  5. But... by bburton · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Is the theater really going to make more money doing this than showing a movie?

    It says that "There is a $3 charge for spectators to watch the games.", but that's a far cry from the $7+ they would charge for a movie.

    Who here would actually participate, either player or spectator?

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    1. Re:But... by Jeff+DeMaagd · · Score: 4, Insightful

      With your numbers, if it costs the theater $5 per person in royalties to play a movie, they come out ahead assuming the same number of people would show up either way.

    2. Re:But... by csimicah · · Score: 5, Insightful

      It's during a time when the theatre would otherwise be idle... assuming the licensing fees weren't too high, it's found money.

    3. Re:But... by DeepRedux · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I think the key is that "tournaments are scheduled for Friday nights at midnight". If this were at 8pm, I would not see how it would pay the theater better than a showing a movie. But by midnight they need a special event to get any kind of a crowd.

    4. Re:But... by ticklemeozmo · · Score: 4, Interesting

      assuming the licensing fees weren't too high

      I just tried calling the theatre listed in the article (area code 435), they gave me Calvin Timothy's home phone (I pretended to be a manager of the local AMC theatre) and he said he's not at liberty to discuss the licensing, who they go through our how they got it.

      They want to market the idea before anyone steals it. Whatever happened to letting kids have fun?

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  6. If I get my hands on this... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    ... Moviegoers will be wondering why they always see a Pac-Man maze burnt into the background of every movie they watch! Mwahahaha!

  7. Actually been done... by sarkeizen · · Score: 5, Informative

    Cineplex Odeon did this back in the early 90's. Allowing people to rent out a theater to play nintendo. It tanked, big time

    1. Re:Actually been done... by josh3736 · · Score: 4, Insightful
      But that was in the days where you could measure the game's pixels on the theater's screen with a ruler. With today's high-res games, it would be more entertaining.

      Not to mention that in 1993, it was mostly only kids with (a) no car and (b) no cash who played Nintendo. Now you have gamers that can drive themselves to the theater and plop down a few bucks.

  8. Coral link by Kinesthe · · Score: 5, Informative

    In reference to the previous article and to ward off any potential slashdotting, here's a link using the new Coral P2P cache. Enjoy!

  9. Being done in Australia already... by Wolfcat · · Score: 5, Informative

    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.

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  10. Why? when you can do it in the conference room by eltoyoboyo · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Those projectors do not get used for slide sales demos ALL of the time you know. The response time is a little slow on the LCD screens, but lower the demo screen, set up the speakers and fire away.

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  11. But what will the RIAA, MPAA, & Jack Valenti s by Proudrooster · · Score: 5, Funny

    Look for a new group ending in AA to form soon called the VGAA (Video Game Asssociation of America). I am sure they can put a stop to this illegal, immoral, and downright scandalous behavior. I bet video game sales are plummeting as you read this due to this activity.

    Playing video games on the big screen must violate some law, act, or at least allegedly infringe on some intellectual property right. I wonder if anyone will sneak in a mini cam corder then record a game and make it available on P2P. I wonder if people take modded X-Boxes to the movie theatre? Imagine playing Halo on a modded X-box using the big screen (public display), while having someone record a video of the game, then posting it to a P2P network with a hacked 802.11 WEP key from the adjacent grocery store. This might be a new record for the amount of laws broken with a single activity!

    Be warned! The black helicopters are probably assembling right now to go round these hoodlums up. I just wish the black helicopters would stop stealing my lawn furniture.

  12. Duping Is Not Flaming by Rie+Beam · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Why are all posts pointing out that this is a dupe getting modded flamebait?

  13. Been doing this for a while by evn · · Score: 5, Informative

    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.

  14. No way by pHatidic · · Score: 5, Funny
    Does anyone else think this could catch on to be successful, especially in college towns?

    No way. College students are way too busy studying to do things such as playing video games and drinking.

  15. So how can I... by ticklemeozmo · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I would like convince my local theatre manager (I happen to know him) to do this, but he wants to know which steps are involved?

    Who do you have to get permission from?
    What if you do not charge (peeps will still want popcorn and soda)?
    What hoops must you go through to have fun?

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  16. Big Screen Gaming in the University by foxalopex · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I've actually done this before. Thanks to my affinity with an Anime club, we had access to University theater projection equipment. Car racing type games were breathtaking since the cars were pretty much life sized! The only games that didn't work too well were side scrolling space shooters where there were lots of objects to track on screen. They're difficult because it takes longer for your eyes to track the whole field of view on a big screen killing your reaction time. Aside from that it was a lot of fun. I think if theaters decide to do this, it will be loads of fun! :)

  17. Well, I have two rules dealing with this issue. by nastro · · Score: 5, Funny

    1. As long as this has nothing to do with Fred Savage, Super Mario Bros. 3, and the word "Wizard" (which, when you think about it, spawned, after several generational mutations, "Hackers")...Well, then I'm game.

    2. As per college kids...C'mon, Timothy...

    Here I quote after drunkedly RTFA...
    "Timothy said tournament entry fees are $60 for a team of four. There is a $3 charge for spectators to watch the games."

    Let it be said, and I feel safe generalising here, that any college kid with $63 will either spend it on: Ramen
    Beer
    Some Girl

    This idea reminds me of the movie theaters that opened up with the pretense of being 'high class', i.e. serving dinner and booze. Nice idea, but the average Joe Consumer can only watch from afar and wish that he/she could afford such niceties. So. Target patron: College kid? Nope. Maybe parents could foot the bill for their kids to do it. Some pay membership fees for their wee ones to join skate parks, why the hell not this, I guess. It's a goofy niche, s'what I'm sayin'.

    In conclusion, I'll get another beer.