ESC Game Theater Launches First Ever Multi-Player Competitive Gaming Experience
The first ever high-tech gaming theater, ESC Game Theater, opens in Paramus, New Jersey allowing up to 30 players compete on 30′ wide screens!
Entertainment is rapidly changing. We consume our television, movies, and games on the go, yet always kind yearn for the an extravagent experience of the traditional. IMAX Theaters, Viewing Parties, LAN parties, all ways we can go extreme on what used to be every day things. ESC Game Theater recognizes this and is delivering. Multiplayer gaming is all the rage,but online gaming will never beat a LAN party. I don’t know why but ask a gamer and they’re favorite gaming memories often include LAN parties. Now picture a LAN party on 30-foot wide screens with up to 29 of your friends duking it out in a colosseum designed for the ultimate gaming experience! It’s as close as being a gladiator or professional gamer as most are going to get. Watch the video feature above and get all the info in their PR below:
New York, NY (December 1, 2016) – Video games, long a largely solitary experience, are about to be taken to an entirely new social level with the launch this week of ESC Game Theater, a first-of-its-kind, high-tech experience where up to 30 people play wildly fun, casual games on a massive screen in a room pulsing with lights, special effects, music and energy.
A 750-square-foot, custom-designed, free standing structure, The ESC Game Theater makes its debut during the busy holiday shopping season in the Westfield Garden State Plaza in Paramus, New Jersey, one of the largest malls in the United States.
Creating a completely new type of immersive entertainment and gaming experience, the ESC Game Theater features a movie theater size screen (11′ H x 30′ W), concert-quality surround sound, and more than 50 multi-color LED and strobe lights, including synchronized lighting effects driven by game play. A live emcee adds to the excitement and quickens the learning curve by offering tips and advice, providing play-by-play commentary and encouraging teamwork. Built for tournament play, the theater will host competitions where teams and individuals will compete for special prizes.
Using wireless, touchscreen, motion-sensitive devices, players can compete in more than a dozen five-to-seven minute games custom-built for the 30-player platform. Highlights include Robot Basketball, where teams must score baskets while moving along a roller coaster track, and Pixel Prison Blues, a fresh take on the classic cops and robbers game. The game offerings range from collaborative to competitive, and can be played as teams or individuals.
ESC Game Theater is the brainchild of experience design pioneer Edwin Schlossberg, founder of ESI Design, whose work with social gaming began in the 1970s when he published a series of best-selling books that showed people how to turn their pocket calculators into games.
“In an age where most interactions are between a single person and a screen, people are increasingly hungry for group experiences that provide an opportunity to have fun and interact with not only friends but also strangers,” said Schlossberg, founder and chairman of ESC Games. “ESC Games takes the ideas driving current game trends a major step further by harnessing the latest in technology and entertainment to create an unparalleled gaming and social experience.”
Charley Delana, Executive Vice President, Global Brand Ventures at Westfield, added that the ESC Game Theater builds on Westfield’s efforts to reimagine the future of shopping centers and malls.
“Westfield is committed to redefining the shopping experience by leveraging the latest in technology and digital entertainment innovation,” said Delana. “We are thrilled to welcome ESC Games to Westfield Garden State Plaza and we are looking forward to giving shoppers the chance to be among the first in the world to experience the future of gaming and entertainment.”
With the video game industry projected to see 18 percent annual growth, ESC Games CEO Todd Swidler said he sees opportunities for ESC Game Theaters to expand throughout the United States and internationally. A former top executive from Bloomberg Media and the NBA, Swidler recently joined the ESC Games team to help the company capitalize on growth.
“The video game industry is experiencing explosive growth, and we see major opportunities for ESC Games to pioneer a new category that taps into that demand through our unique game experience and competitive tournaments. The possibilities are vast.” said Swidler.
ESI Design incubated the concept for ESC Games in partnership with Production Resource Group (PRG), the leading global supplier of live entertainment and event technology. ESC Games is comprised of an operational product business that designs and builds the ESC Game Theater, the company’s inaugural product, as well as the ESC Game Studio that develops games. The platform is also available to third party game developers, with Warner Games having already built Pixel Prison Blues and Astro Beamsfor the platform.
[via ESC Game Theater]
