Follow LA Observed on Twitter here
Now this may not make much sense, but the Six Flags theme park people are teaming up with L.A. videogame publisher Brash Entertainment to create a game called "Six Flags Fun Park" for Nintendo Wii, Xbox 360 and Sony PlayStation 2 consoles. Er, isn't Six Flags worried that it will lose theme park business? Not really. From Ad Age:
Giving families yet another reason to stay home may seem somewhat counterintuitive, but according to the Entertainment Software Association, recent game usage statistics suggest that casual gaming can easily be harnessed to drive folks to theme parks: Thirty-five percent of American parents say they play computer and video games. Further, 80% of gamer parents say they play video games with their children, and of those, 66% say they feel that playing games has brought their families closer together.
[CUT]
In April, Six Flags renewed its marketing partnership with Nintendo Wii. A "Wii Experience" will appear in 10 of its theme parks across the country, with each participating park offering a sideshow of 10 Wii consoles for guests to play between rides. In addition, four-person "street teams" will interact with park guests, allowing them to sample the portable Nintendo DS video-game system while in ride lines and high-traffic areas of the parks.
The game debuts in November, when the company's 21 theme parks enter their slowest season - and video-game sales enter their busiest. Up to now, Brash Entertainment has focused on games based on Hollywood content, such as "Alvin and the Chipmunks." BTW, Six Flaggs reported solid attendance numbers during the first quarter, leading some analysts to speculate that the company’s regional parks – places like Magic Mountain – may draw folks who want to stay closer to home this summer in order to save gas. That sort of thing has happened in recent dowturns.
Mark Lacter created the LA Biz Observed blog in 2006. He posted
until the day before his death on Nov. 13, 2013.