The owners of the TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood have announced that they will be opening an ‘immersive esports theatre’ in the adjacent Chinese 6 Theatre complex. This will open in late summer. 
This was revealed earlier this week at CinemaCon. Exactly what is meant by an immersive experience is anyone’s guess but we’re of the opinion that VR will be involved.
The facility will show both movies and esports experiences such as competitive tournaments. This will include MX4D which is said to offer a ‘total immersive experience’ in which attendees prodded, poked, experience scents, blasts of air, water, fog and more. It’s produced by a company called MediaMotionX which provides these experiences at over 200 venues globally.
Robert K. Laity, CEO of the TCL Chinese Theatre said of the plans: “What we are launching is just the tip of the iceberg. We see cinema operators working together as a global network of immersive MX4D esports theaters and becoming part of the fabric of competitive gaming.
“We are in discussions with sponsors, esports organisations and other cinema operators to join forces with the TCL Chinese Theatre as we bring this exciting capability to the world of online and live tournament play.”
The TCL Chinese Theatre itself played host to the Vainglory World Championship in December of last year, and other cinema companies such as Cineplex have involved themselves in esports via the acquisition of WorldGaming back in 2015.
As cinemas find it harder and harder to get bums on seats, they’re looking to esports and offering more than what is available at home to bring back the allure of the big screen back to the mainstream. This forthcoming new esports theatre sounds exciting and if they do indeed strike some deals with some of the bigger organisations then the tournaments and ‘immersive experience’ factor should draw in esports fans from all over too.
Esports Insider says: The Vainglory Championship at the Chinese Theatre impressed and with this same company now involved in going all out on an esports theatre, we’re excited to see the result in the summer.