O2 today announces the world’s first interactive 3D game which will feature at 20 Vue cinemas across the UK this summer, in conjunction with Pearl and Dean. ‘Asteroid Storm’ will take families on a big-screen adventure that they can control from their seats in the cinema. This is the first time that cinema audiences in the UK will be able to play and control an interactive 3D game.

The game is part of O2’s current marketing campaign targeting families with the O2 Joggler and O2 ‘Your Family’ Bolt On. It goes live on 10th July and will sit within Pearl and Dean’s first ever 3D-only movie trailer reel. The game will run ahead of the eagerly awaited family movies, Ice Age 3 3D and G-Force in the summer, followed by Up and Toy Story 3D in the autumn. Over one million families are expected to take part in the 3D game and five million to play the interactive foyer games.

‘Asteroid Storm’ takes place on Starship O2 which is trapped in an asteroid belt. The audience is told by the captain that the ship has been damaged and that their help is needed to steer the ship back on course. By different sides of the theatre putting their hands in the air, the audience is able to control the direction that the spaceship moves and thereby navigate it successfully out of danger as asteroids fly out of the screen towards them in 3D.

O2’s campaign also takes foyer floor entertainment to the next level. To build anticipation for the interactive 3D game experience, cinema-goers in the main foyer will be invited to take part in interactive floor projections including Wac-a-roid, where players stamp out asteroids as they appear.

Richard Murfitt, O2’s Head of Campaigns, commented, “A family trip to the cinema can often be seen as an adventure in itself. We wanted to take this idea one step further and put families into the heart of the action on the big-screen. Our interactive 3D game does just that – taking them on a first-of-its-kind cinema experience that they can control.”

Mike Hope-Milne, Enterprise Director, Pearl & Dean, said: “Cinema is becoming so much more than purely a venue to watch films. Consumers want a complete interactive experience and the new 3D game from O2 offers cinema-goers the chance to become truly immersed in the action. Year-on-year we are seeing an increase in the popularity of 3D cinema with more 3D films than ever being made to meet the demand.”

Alongside the interactive 3D game and foyer floor entertainment, O2 will be conducting further activity around Starship O2 online.

The interactive campaign is possible thanks to a partnership between Pearl & Dean and Tangibal Media which has seen the installation of floor projectors and infrastructure for the 3D game in Vue cinemas. The 3D game itself is powered by technology from iO and was conceived by O2’s media agency, ZenithOptimedia. Creative work was done by VCCP and Agency Republic.

It will be showing at Vue cinemas across the UK, including:

Vue Leicester Square

Vue Bristol Cribbs Causeway

Vue Edinburgh Waterside

Vue Finchley road, London

Vue Kirkstall road, Leeds

Vue West End

AMC Manchester

AMC Birmingham

Truro Plaza

Journalists can contact the Virgin Media O2 press office on:
press@virginmediao2.co.uk 01753 565656
Virgin Media
press enquiries
press@virginmedia.co.uk
O2
press enquiries
pressoffice@o2.com