Theaters Getting Game: Stadium-style room is transformed into a gaming center

“The theater has been transformed into a multi-player gaming center in which patrons can challenge one another on some 80 computer games. Unlike a video arcade, players will compete against each other on such popular game systems as Microsoft’s XBox, Sony’s PlayStation 2 and Nintendo’s GameCube. Where there used to be stadium-style theater seating, there are now comfortable executive leather chairs and computer monitors. When the gaming center opens in January, there also will be video screens of varying sizes hanging from the walls so gamers and spectators can view several different contests at once.” Jennifer Davies

—Theaters Getting Game: Stadium-style room is transformed into a gaming centerSignOn San Diego)

The article doesn’t clearly specify that this is about the transformation of a movie theater into a gaming arena — so this article is really about the blending of movies and sports, rather than games and theatre. A few weeks ago I taught the 1990 play PICK UP AX, which features a “mood room” that uses a computer to interpret the physiological readings of the people in it. We also discussed selections from The Diamond Age, which features theatrical events in which paying customers interact with professional ‘ractors (short for “interactors”) in virtual reality.