Sony Corp is due to unveil a new game title for its Playstation3 game console at movie theatres next month. Come October 5th and 6th, four theatres in San Fransisco and Thousand Oaks, California, Rosemont and Illinois will feature Sony’s action game ‘UNCHARTER 2: Among Thieves’ on movie screens equipped with Sony digital projection technology.
The four theatres will give viewers with PS3s connected to Sony’s 4K digital cinema technology to play the new video game. Sony’s 4k digital technology is in around five hundred theatres across the United States. This technology, according to Sony, provides better image resolution as opposed to traditional projectors.
Mike Fidler, Senior Vice President, Sony Electronics’ Digital Cinema Solutions and Services Group, said he hoped that events of this nature would eventually drive revenue for Sony and other video game makers as well as theatre operators. This is a first time for Sony. Fidler said they would like to build video gaming at theatres into a standard element in the movie-goers experience. He also stated, “Our goal in converting theatres to digital is to go beyond the traditional movie-going experience and focus on helping exhibitors find ways to fill seats.Gaming will be an important part of that equation.”
The first night of video gaming at these four theatres will be private invitation-only events, while the second will be open to the public. Radio and social networking sites will be used for publicity.
Over the years, theatre chains have struggled to compete with home entertainment, and recession has enticed moviegoers to stay home instead, thus making theatre revenue growths difficult. This endeavour by Sony is just one step in the doorway, hoping for a hit title during the 2009 holiday season to drive platform sales as the gaming industry struggles with revenue drops.
‘UNCHARTED 2′ is due to be released on October 13.
