After more than three successful decades spent developing theme parks such as Universal Studios, Landmark Entertainment Group has decided to explore how virtual reality can be used to augment traditional theme park or museum experiences. Its plan is to create a virtual reality theme park in China, where the success of the 2010 Shanghai Expo proved that there’s an enormous consumer base waiting to be entertained.
L.I.V.E. Centre, which stands for Landmark Interactive Virtual Experience, will feature an interactive museum, a virtual zoo and aquarium, a digital art gallery, a live entertainment area, an immersive movie theatre and, of course, themed retail experiences. The park’s content draws inspiration from a mix of Chinese and Western history and culture, and about 30 per cent of this will be virtual reality, accessed by wearing a VR headset. (Imagine being able to feed an animal of your choice, even if it’s extinct!)
(RELATED: Razer CEO (who’s 100% Singaporean) is championing the next frontier in virtual reality, among other goals.)
In order to turn the ambitious L.I.V.E. Centre into an, uh, reality, the group has partnered several government-backed Chinese investors, and the project is estimated to cost around US$200 million (S$270 million). As to the location, they are looking at cities like Xi’an, Chengdu and Wuhan. If things proceed according to plan, they expect to break ground within the next 12 months, and the park will be open to the public in the summer of 2017.
Virtual reality just might be the most technologically advanced and sustainable way forward – Peta has already nodded their approval at a presentation of the virtual zoo. We just hope that the amusement stays real.
Singapore-based real estate company KOP Properties has begun developing Winterland Shanghai, the world’s largest indoor winter resort. At 180,000 sq m, the resort will boast the world’s longest ski trail, year-round winter sports and a 4-D entertainment centre, on top of hybrid housing and office spaces. The project will be completed by 2018.
(RELATED: KOP Limited’s executive chairman Ong Chih Ching is driving developments that could redefine consumer expenditure.)
Disney’s first resort in Shanghai, China, opens next year – and cost a whopping US$5.5 billion.
