DREAMEAST GROUP LIMITED Whenever a consumer ponders of an amusement park, the names Disney, Universal, Six Flag and so many others come to mind. These destinations are hubs to produce happy childhood memories, allow adults to become a kid again and to participate in live-action scenarios similar to what we see on the silver screen, our television sets and in the motion pictures.
In recent years, theme parks have embraced video games as either rides or entire parks. Indeed, it isn't only games conquering amusement parks but movies and vehicles, too.
From an Angry Birds theme park to a Blizzard entertainment facility, from Ferrari World to a Star Trek grounds, pop culture is dominating the amusement park industry, and it's likely that more will be established in the future.
World Joyland is one of these amusement parks that has incorporated Starcraft and Warcraft. It has been speculated that this type of amusement park would be completely devoted to transforming the world of virtual reality into a physical landscape for all those who are fascinated by this game.
Located in Changzhou, Jiangsu province, Joyland cost $30 million to make and maintains seven sections across over 600,000 square meters. With this vast amount of space, gaming aficionados could very well make their virtual dreams into a reality.
"World Joyland will gather the world's best contents of digital culture, combine the newest digital entertainment and interactive technologies, partially realize anime-and-game virtual sceneries, innovate anime and game communication and display methods, interpret the core value of digital culture, archive education during entertainment," the company said in a statement.
Meanwhile, in China, it is expected that nine Angry Birds "family entertainment facilities" could be established by the year 2018. Rovio, a Finnish developer behind Angry Birds, wants to begin its theme park endeavor in the eastern province of Anhui. The company's announcement comes as it plans to slash up to 130 jobs in Finland and revamp its operations.
With that being said, with China's mobile gaming market reaching $2.9 billion this year and surpass $7.7 billion within four years, Rovio could very well regenerate its short-term finances.
''China is an extremely important market for us and we're constantly looking for ways to provide innovative fan experiences by bridging the digital with the physical. Through this partnership, we not only achieve that, but we set a strong foot in one of the worlds fastest growing theme park markets with a key player in the industry," said Pekka Rantala, chief commercial officer at Rovio Entertainment, in a statement. "We are delighted at the prospect of bringing Angry Birds closer to our fans in China, in spaces where all members of the family can engage.''
In amusement park news, there has been one project that has generated headlines: DreamEast.Owned by Sky Ocean International, this will be an immense amusement park that is vast in size and scope and coalesces the aspects of Asian innovation, the region's technological advancements and Chinese culture.
It remains unclear if this multi-billion-dollar venue will feature video game franchises, but since it is attempting to go all out, become the largest theme park in history and defeat the likes of Disney World and Universal Studios, it's very much possible that visitors could see the likes of Angry Birds and Hello Kitty on these grounds.
No longer do gamers have to sit at home on the sofa playing Warcraft or Angry Birds. Instead, they can leave the confines of their living quarters, get some much needed fresh air and exercise and live out their virtual fantasies in real life with these video games-turned-reality.
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