The Korean Cinemas Now Hiring Out Their Screens To Gamers (bbc.com) 25
An anonymous reader shares a report: Eui Jeong Lee and three of her friends sit in an otherwise empty 200-seat cinema auditorium and play a video game on the giant screen. As Ms Lee blasts her gaming opponents with her wireless controller, the sound whips loudly around the dark room from the numerous cinema speakers. "The sound quality is particularly amazing," says the 25-year-old student. "The sound of the gunshots is just so vivid, and when something flew directly at me from the screen I even screamed." Ms Lee and her mates had hired the screen for two hours at a branch of South Korea's largest cinema chain, CGV. With many cinemas across the country closed due to coronavirus restrictions meaning that they can only open with 50% capacity, and far fewer movies being released to tempt cinemagoers, CGV came up with the idea of renting out its auditoriums to gamers to bring in a new revenue stream.
Before 6pm up to four people can hire a screen for two hours for around $90. This then rises to $135 in the evening. Users have to bring their consoles, games and controllers with them. The auditoriums being hired out have between 100 and 200 seats, and by comparison CGV movie tickets cost around $12 each. So a 100-seat screen half filled for a film would bring in revenues of $600, rising to $1,200 for a 200-seat one at 50% capacity. And that is before the filmgoers buy their drinks and popcorn. Yet while CGV isn't making anywhere as much money from the gamers, it is bringing in some additional income. The scheme is called Azit-X after "azit", the Korean word for hideout. CGV employee Seung Woo Han came up with the idea after he realised that films and video games share many similarities.
Before 6pm up to four people can hire a screen for two hours for around $90. This then rises to $135 in the evening. Users have to bring their consoles, games and controllers with them. The auditoriums being hired out have between 100 and 200 seats, and by comparison CGV movie tickets cost around $12 each. So a 100-seat screen half filled for a film would bring in revenues of $600, rising to $1,200 for a 200-seat one at 50% capacity. And that is before the filmgoers buy their drinks and popcorn. Yet while CGV isn't making anywhere as much money from the gamers, it is bringing in some additional income. The scheme is called Azit-X after "azit", the Korean word for hideout. CGV employee Seung Woo Han came up with the idea after he realised that films and video games share many similarities.
Fight Night (Score:3)
In my youth we worked at a theater with a "full power" digital theater class projector
A couple times a year management would hold a party for the staff, we would plug a 50' s-video cable from the theater into the projection booth, plugin a optical audio cable to the audio system, and we'd play "Fight Night" (a PS2/3 boxing game) on the 80' screen. That was perhaps the best use of a movie theater for purposes other than watching a movie, that I'd seen so far.
Oh great. (Score:1)
I've always wanted to play games on a screen with pixels the size of a house cats head.
NOT!
Nothing new (Score:2)
Where I live in North Texas, Cinemark, Studio Movie Grill, and other theater chains have been renting screens for private viewing parties... it's a small step to connect a game console to the projector.
BTW, that rental fee ($100 avg) includes any currently running movie as I understand it, you simply pay for concessions.
Re: (Score:2)
This is kinda common across the United States...
Most Theaters have digital projectors, most can probably handle a VGA, DVI, and perhaps an HDMI side feed (they often do that for your local advertisements done in a Power Point Presentation)
Also these Theaters outside of the big opening weekend are often massively underutilized. I gone to a move (a big blockbuster) about a month after it was out. And it was just Me and my Wife who got to watch it. If I didn't show up, they would play the movie without any
Re: (Score:2)
Yeah, it's completely common in Canada as well - the theatres will rent out the auditorium for you to do whatever.
You can rent the auditorium for private screenings or video games, you can have gaming events (they even supply the console - you can supply the game or them), etc.
In fact, it's all available on their web page on what can be done - there's no secret to it. If you want to have a party in there, you can get the details before you call and book.
And the rates can be cheap if you're doing it off peak
min food / concessions orders apply for some (Score:2)
min food / concessions orders apply for some
Any good? (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Yeah, light speed is so damn slow, am I right?
Re: (Score:2)
Yeah, light speed is so damn slow, am I right?
Well, according to Captain Kirk, Dark Helmet, Lone Starr, President Skroob**, Elon Musk, and every gamer who physically gags at anything less than 240FPS@0.03ms response, yes. Yes it is.
** I heard he technically likes teleportation, but not sure he's still a fan. Things got rather assed up last time.
Re: (Score:2)
Well, we all know how much President Skroob likes to do things ass-backwards.
Re: (Score:3)
Input lag has little to do with the speed of light. The response time of the LCD (or whatever other light filter) that's in front of the bulb would matter, also lag due to buffering of the digital video signal. I'm not sure the typical specs of theater projectors, but given their intended use, input lag is probably not something they spent time optimizing out of the system.
Recoup More Revenue - Op Op Gamblin' style (Score:1)
Setup their own systems with common competitive games like Smash Bros. and live stream battle. Players rent to play, theater keeps a percentage of the bets. Prize purse for the winning player as a small percentage of the Theater's winnings as an incentive. Engages more people without putting them in physical proximity, and could be considered advertising for the theater.
Re: (Score:2)
Seriously? (Score:4, Funny)
Oh, he realized that both require a display and speakers? He sounds like the South Korean version of Michael Kelso.
We used to do something like this (Score:3)
Back in undergrad one of my friends was an assistant in Bio 101, so he got keys to the building. We'd go in at 2300 or so, fire up the projector and screen, hook up a GameCube to it, and play Super Smash Bros. on a screen easily ten feet by ten feet. It was fantastic. Even though they'd usually turn the heat down to about 50f, we'd bring blankets and keep playing.
Re: (Score:3)
Minneapolis Theater Offers Such (Score:2)
Not new, though still a good idea. (Score:2)
Our local laser tag place would rent out a movie theater in the same complex every couple months and throw MASSIVE midnight-to-dawn sessions with 20-40 people a side, since the theater was legally obligated (due to being in a residential area) to close at midnight, but oddly, the laser tag business was not. This was 20 years ago.
That's not to say there's anything wrong with continuing to use the idea now. It's just not really news.
Damn (Score:2)
And I thot this was about Gamera
Are we seeing the death of cinema ? (Score:2)
I sure hope the Olympics die, no idea why anyone would watch them as a sporting spectacle, so many events are plain bullshit.
Profit (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Oh, you don't understand... Be the ONE PERSON in that movie theater for a show.
It's glorious!
No cell phones on, no chip/candy wrappers, no rude talking and certainly no gasseous or bodily odors that you can't live with.
And besides, you'll find out that the critics were wrong about some of those movies. They turned out to be pretty good.
Great news (Score:1)