At a test site in Hampton, New Hampshire, a company named HoloDek has installed 42 gaming
stations with fast computers and screens ranging in size from 17 inches to much, much larger, according the Associated
Press article linked below. The idea is to provide an immersive, three-dimensional gaming experience akin to the
fictional holodeck aboard the Starship Enterprise.
Besides the typical flat-panel experience, the Hampton site includes a wraparound, spherical screen 20 feet in diameter that encloses the gamer who sits on a mobile seat designed to simulate car or aircraft movement inside the sphere (pictured here). The company would like to charge gamers approximately $.08 to $1.00 per minute to play the games in its as-yet-unlaunched gaming facilities, which will offer gamers the "country club life" according to company CEO Kit McKittrick.
It seems that these HoloDek facilities will be more focused on pleasing the hardcore male gamer who's looking for the ultimate next-gen game experience. Compare and contrast to Bushnell's media bistro (heavy emphasis on drawing women into social gaming), Dave and Busters (mixed crowd, less hardcore video game focus), ESPNZone (nearly all-male crowd, but the games are all sports-related), and Chuck E. Cheese (games and pizza for kids).
If you've been to the HoloDek location in New Hampshire, drop us a line in the comments below. Was it the bomb, or merely a bomb?
[Via Yahoo]
