Korea’s largest cinema chain, CGV. Cinemas’ is now renting out their cinema screens to gamers for two hours at $90 (£65) only.
With many Cinemas closed or having heavy restrictions across the world due to Coronavirus precautions, a cinema company in Korea has come up with the nifty little idea of renting out its cinema screens to gamers in an attempt to tempt cinemagoers and like-wise cut down on losses.
CGV Cinemas came up with a scheme called “Azit-X” (or Hideout-X in simple English). In the Azit-X scheme, gamers can rent out a whole auditorium for up to four people for two hours at $90 (£65). This cost then rises to $135 in the evening after 6 pm. Users have to bring their consoles, games, and controllers while the CGV will assist in the setup.
Since the inception of this service, more than 130 times the auditoriums have been booked. The majority of customers are said to be men in their 30s or 40s. While the company isn’t making anywhere as much money from the gamers when compared to the sale of movie tickets that generally cost around $12 each, the Azit-X helps CGV to bring in some additional income.
According to BBC, CGV employee Seung Woo Han came up with the idea after he realized that films and video games share many similarities.
“When thinking about how to make use of empty cinema spaces, I noticed that games nowadays boast excellent graphics and well-structured stories just like movies,” he said. “Both have a storytelling aspect to them, so if someone can enjoy watching a film in the cinema, I thought they would also enjoy playing computer games in one.”
CGV isn’t the only cinema chain renting out its screens to gamers. Malco Theatres, a US-based Cinema chain has been doing the same since November. Malco allows up to 20 people to hire a screen at its 36 cinemas across the country for $100 for two hours or $150 for three.
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