IMAX has a VR center featuring Star Wars, John Wick and several other IP and experiences, but that’s clearly not enough for Transformers. It seems the robots in disguise are in need of their very own VR center.
Announced last week, toy maker and IP owner Hasbro is teaming up with DMG to open up new entertainment centers featuring everybody’s favorite autobots using both VR and AR technology. Attendees will be able to meet popular characters like Optimus Prime and Bumblebee up close for the first time.
Specific VR and AR headsets haven’t been mentioned though in a prepared statement Hasbro’s Simon Waters noted that the centers will also feature “other mixed reality experiences” suggesting devices like HoloLens could play a role.
Visitors will also be able to play games, perhaps fighting against the Decepticons or taking the seat in one of your allies. It’s not clear if these centers will be based on Micheal Bay’s blockbuster film series, which is known for its high production values, or the classic Generation One cartoon that introduced us to these characters decades ago. Like most sane humans, we’re kind of hoping for the later.
The first center is set to open in Shanghai though, sadly, there are only plans to expand further into China for the next five years, and not any other region in the world.
We’d love to see more of these types of themed centers popping up around the world, though. We could easily imagine entire VR and AR facilities dedicated to other gigantic franchises that heading our silver screens every summer. What would you like to see?
