We're a bit wary, but apparently there's a bit of a future yet ahead for Cinegames, the outfitted theater opened last December in Madrid's suburbs that eschews movie showtimes for passes to a large, strange LAN party. Apparently for the low, low price of €3, you can waltz into Cinegames and get the full gamer experience: high def projectors, vibrating seats, controllers hooked into dozens of personal 17-inch monitors, and even fog machines, blacklights, lasers, and buttered popcorn. We're still trying to wrap our heads around how dozens of gamers playing in a room together either lives up to the real expectations of
solo commercial-theater gaming, but we're almost curious enough to throw down €3 and the cost of a face mask thick enough to curb the skunky musk of a hundred gamers duking it out in cushy stadium seats. Seriously though, you think your job sucks? How hard up for summer cash would you have to be to work as a Cinegames usher, wiping the shout-slobber off a few dozen monitors and butter from the controllers nightly, hm?
[Via
TechDirt]
Read - IHT's take on the theater gaming trend
Read - Cinegames
posted Feb 27th 2007 6:15AM
Hey, I live near there! I have got to try this :)
I wonder if they can make money, 3 seems a little low for the kind of service they are providing. It sounds like a good business idea though -- the other concern would be insurance.
Weston, MA
Yeah, I'm with Ryan Block, how hard up for cash would you have to be to want to work at a decked out facility devoted to powerful, luxury gaming that's full gadgetry and snacks?!
...wait a minute...
nevermind.
Yeah I was thinking the same thing. Doesn't sound like a bad summer gig to work at. Unlike a real movie theater, you're most likely amongst peers.
I've found my new home!
For some reason, that reminds me of that infamous Yu-Gi-Oh: The Abridged Series quote;
"Screw the rules, I have money!"
The ultimate LAN experience, it would seem.
Heh reminds me of when I was in school and used to take my n64 and gamecube into the theatre at lunch times for some 4 player goldeneye. Ahh 18 feet of bliss.
I'm glad to hear others did exactly what I did with Goldeneye. We used to stay up all night at our church playing on a hugantic screen. Now I use our projector from work for some wicked awesome Civ4 marathons. My wife thinks it's hilarious.
Whew! They must trust their patrons with all that high-tech gear.
From what I have seen of movie goers I can imagine the vandalism that is possible with this.
Only 3 Euros? How can they afford the electric bill?
is that heaven?
Wicked! I would pay for this! Every other week pay $3euro, pretty good entertainment for the price!
There was a place exactly like this, with the exact same setup in a movie theater in downtown San Diego. It was pretty cool, but they didn't advertise very well and unfortunately went out of business after a few months.
I used to hang out at a smaller-scale gamer LAN place called Dragnzlair in Olympia, WA, where the owner would sell Hot Pockets, let regulars run up tabs, and host all-night alcoholic Counterstrike Beta 0.4 marathons.
A place like this might have worked 8 years ago when PCs were still relatively expensive, but you have to give gamers a really good reason to leave the house nowadays.
Yeah.... I could see them opening one of these near my work and me getting fired shortly there after for taking too many 3 hour lunches.
i would so do that if it where in america!
If you're ever in Shibuya, Tokyo there are arcades (they call them slot clubs i think) with these types of games.
That's old news.
Here in Downtown San Diego we have those theatres for over 3 years already. only $2 an hour...