I posted an article yesterday, Immersive Market Heating Up, about the on-coming impact immersive experiences will make in the world of entertainment. Almost as providence, Forbes posted a similar article, Imax Opens New Virtual Reality Site, not about The Void but about Imax’s contribution to this new industry. In a nutshell it would seem the folks at Forbes would agree with my rants.
Early this year in Los Angeles, with little fanfare but huge implications for the future of entertainment, virtual reality took its first big leap toward finally becoming a permanent part of mainstream gaming, cinema, and media in general as IMAX opened their first public VR Centre.
Not Unlike other VR Arcades that are starting to open around the world, Imax gives the users plenty of options to select their desired experiences and then leads them to staging areas where they are immersed in the gaming/ride experience. While I have not had the opportunity to experience the facility first hand, it definitely seems Imax spared nothing when creating futuristic, space-age like entertainment chambers. One thing I really like about this layout is that it encourages third person participation or rather “observation”. Folks can observe the action either behind barrier half walls or through observation monitors.
All of the experiences available to the facility were produced by third-party production studios. Includes tiles are Star Wars: Trials On Tatooine, John Wick Chronicles, Eagle Flight, Raw Data, The Walk, Rabbids VR Ride, Knockout League, Archangle and Star Trek: Bridge Crew.
The article’s author, Mark Hughes, observes how this will easily catch on to the mass market and be used not only for games but for live sporting events, concerts and other events participants are not able or will to participate in directly. Another interesting application I had not thought about is these VR experiences could compliment cinematic movies. By releasing at the same time as the film, the experience could empower the participant to become part of the action in the film and either re-act the moments of key excite or even re-create their own outcomes.
Rob Lister, Chief Development Officer at IMAX foresees not installing these experiences inside IMAX theaters but in-conjunction with them. They realize there is plenty of available and unused retail space available for the taking. People want external, social experiences. IMAX intends to create a very stylized brand that consumers will learn to recognize.
IMAX has big plans for expanding their VR facilities around the world. They have raised a $50M fund with industry partners to build 25-30 facilities over the next 3 years. The emphasis will be on AAA content, including prominent Hollywood studio content. However, they are not going to focus solely on film content. They anticipate that gaming will be huge in this space and that is another major category they will be pursuing with companies such as Skydance and Ubisoft.
It would definitely appear the race for Immersive Experiences is heating up. Will the front runners grow to be market giants or will they be pioneers who get shot from the back? From now it’s too hard to guess. For now all I can advise is get your VR headset, go off to your favorite VR Arcade center and have a good time.
