As one of the most rapidly developing main forms of the global metaverse market, the large space immersive LBE (regional entertainment venue) project is a new generation of immersive experience format with enclosed physical space as the core cornerstone, augmented reality experience as the core scene, digital reality integration consumption as the core format, and 3D digital asset production, playback, and operation as the core link. From a global market perspective, its business form, solutions, and business model are all showing a thriving development trend, and are continuously approaching the "singularity" moment of large-scale explosion.
01. Global Development Status of Large Space Immersive LBE
In 2021, Facebook, the mobile internet company with the largest number of users in the world, announced that it would transform into a metauniverse company within five years and change its name to Meta, bringing the "hidden" metauniverse to the world for nearly 30 years, and opening the "first year of the metauniverse" with its own efforts.
Facebook's sudden rise is just the tip of the iceberg of its next generation Internet strategy. Under the accelerating "sea level" of global digital transformation, the metaverse driven by technologies such as blockchain, human-computer interaction, game engines, artificial intelligence, computing power networks, and the Internet of Things is rapidly evolving towards immersive experiences, three-dimensional presentations, ubiquitous terminal access, and a self consistent ecosystem.
In 2022, the "Hufu Pyramid Horizon" project, developed by French VR content brand Excurio over a period of three years, made its debut in Paris, France. The project features a single player version of the HTC Vive Focus 3 VR all-in-one machine with wired streaming from a laptop. Viewers can wear VR headsets and computer backpacks to travel back 4500 years to the Hufu Pyramid under the guidance of NPC digital guide "God Cat", immersing themselves in the magnificent and mysterious sacrificial culture of the pyramid. The adult ticket price for this project is 32 euros, and it attracted over 50000 testers within four months of its premiere.
In 2023, the "Hufu Pyramid Horizon" project landed at Shanghai Xingye Taikoo Hui under the name of "The Vanished Pharaoh". It provides 80 sets of equipment on-site, which can accommodate up to 60 people to experience at the same time, and receives over 600 visitors per day. The average ticket price of the project exceeded 200 yuan, which set off a flow upsurge of immersive LBE topics in large space on the Internet. In ten months, it attracted more than 100000 visitors to the site to experience, and the project income exceeded 20 million yuan, driving the consumption of Nanjing West Road Business District and its surrounding areas to exceed 100 million yuan.
In 2024, the "Hufu Pyramid Horizon" project will continue to explore new markets in six global cities including Atlanta, London, and New York, and the "Vanishing Pharaoh" will further cultivate the Chinese market. In Beijing, the project operator has cancelled the computer computing backpack, reduced the accuracy and real-time interaction of 3D digital assets, and used HTC Vive headset local Wi Fi streaming in a 1000 square meter space, allowing the audience to achieve an acceptable quality immersive experience with a ticket price of over 100 yuan.
Almost at the same time as the "Hufu Pyramid Horizon" project landed in Paris, a brand new music feast originating from veteran world-class bands was staged in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park across the strait in London. In a custom designed and reusable concert hall that can accommodate 3000 spectators, ABBA Voyage has created an unprecedented naked eye 3D immersive concert experience for the audience. Based on a quasi flat system with a 65 megapixel 2D screen, 291 speakers, neon flashing light and shadow effects, and live live bands singing and dancing, ABBA Voyage has even allowed fans to stand on the Dancing Floor in front of the stage and dance along with their idols. In order to strictly protect the intellectual property rights of digital assets and on-site devices, the organizers also strictly stipulate that any audience who takes photos or videos on site will be immediately taken away and cannot return.
ABBA was a Swedish pop music group in the 1970s, whose works such as "Dancing Queen" and "Mama Mia!" enjoyed a high reputation worldwide. Their costumes and dance steps created a global phenomenon of IP pop classics. The project producer used a combination of motion capture and engines to create digital avatars and assets for singers, their costumes, and instruments, allowing Agnetha, Bjorn, Benny, and Anni Frid, four superstars with an average age of 75, to reappear on stage in the most fashionable state. The refreshing styling, lively and novel dance steps, and seamless live interaction are not real people, but 100% ABBA stars, the digital clones of ABBA band.
