How Big Is Your Screen? Minecraft Brings Its Game to Movie Theaters in the U.S.
The Minecraft sandbox just got a whole lot bigger.
This summer, one of the most popular games in the world may be coming to a movie theater near you. But you can play only if you’re between the ages of 7 and 17.
With over 100 million registered users, there is nothing virtual about Minecraft’s success. Microsoft paid $2.5 billion to purchase the game and its developer, Mojang, last year. This summer, startup Super League Gaming is giving young fans a chance to play the game in movie theaters. SLG has partnered with four major movie theater chains—Regal Entertainment Group, AMC Theatres, Cinemark Theatres and iPic Theaters—to bring the shared experience of a 100-minute Minecraft game to thousands of kids in 25 cities at more than 80 theaters.
For theater owners, it’s an attractive way to generate more revenue. They can sell more seats and they get to keep a larger percentage of the gross from league ticket sales than from movie ticket sales. With overall box office receipts in decline, theater owners are searching for new ways to fill theater seats. The summer of 2014 was the worst summer for movies since 1997, with a 15 percent decline of $3.9 billion from 2013. With the $204 billion opening of Jurassic World in June, theater owners are cautiously optimistic for 2015.
SLG president and co-founder Brett Morris told Fortune that “theaters want to be a destination for all entertainment, and there’s not a better next-gen entertainment option than gaming.” The summer games series taps into the kids who already spend hours playing Minecraft and watching Minecraft YouTube videos online.
After purchasing tickets online for $20 each, gamers will bring their own fully-charged laptops (which must be already loaded with Minecraft version 1.8 or above) to the movie theater. Once there, they can form teams and play the game in small groups on their laptops. They also can watch the entire playing field on the movie screen as teams play in real time.
For the kids, it’s a way to socialize—and strategize. Kids can be as loud as they want, compare builds, grab snacks, and move around inside the theater.
Plans for a fall league are already under way, with 150 theaters in 18 states signed up to participate. Each six-week league session costs $120, with gamers playing once a week. SLG is also going international, with gaming events in China and Canada.
Everyone else will have to wait for Minecraft, the movie, which is currently in development at Warner Bros.
It’s Official: No Government Shutdown – for Now
President Trump signed a short-term continuing resolution today to fund the federal government through Friday, December 22.
Bloomberg called the maneuver “a monumental piece of can kicking,” which is no doubt the case, but at least you’ll be able to visit your favorite national park over the weekend.
Here's to small victories!
Greenspan Has a Warning About the GOP Tax Plan
The Republican tax cuts won’t do much for economic growth, former Federal Reserve Chair Alan Greenspan told CNBC Wednesday, but they will damage the country’s fiscal situation while creating the threat of stagflation. "This is a terrible fiscal situation we've got ourselves into," Greenspan said. "The administration is doing tax cuts and a spending decrease, but he's doing them in the wrong order. What we need right now is to focus totally on reducing the debt."
The US Economy Hits a Sweet Spot
“The U.S. economy is running at its full potential for the first time in a decade, a new milestone for an expansion now in its ninth year,” The Wall Street Journal reports. But the milestone was reached, in part, because the Congressional Budget Office has, over the last 10 years, downgraded its estimate of the economy’s potential output. “Some economists think more slack remains in the job market than October’s 4.1% unemployment rate would suggest. Also, economic output is still well below its potential level based on estimates produced a decade ago by the CBO.”
The New York Times Drums Up Opposition to the Tax Bill
The New York Times editorial board took to Twitter Wednesday “to urge the Senate to reject a tax bill that hurts the middle class & the nation's fiscal health.”
Using the hashtag #thetaxbillshurts, the NYT Opinion account posted phone numbers for Sens. Susan Collins, Bob Corker, Jeff Flake, James Lankford, John McCain, Lisa Murkowski and Jerry Moran. It urged readers to call the senators and encourage them to oppose the bill.
In an editorial published Tuesday night, the Times wrote that “Republican senators have a choice. They can follow the will of their donors and vote to take money from the middle class and give it to the wealthiest people in the world. Or they can vote no, to protect the public and the financial health of the government.”
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Can Trump Succeed Where Mnuchin and Cohn Have Flopped?
President Trump met with members of the Senate Finance Committee Monday and is scheduled to attend Senate Republicans’ weekly policy lunch and make a personal push for the tax plan on Tuesday. Will he be a more effective salesman than surrogates in his administration?
Politico’s Annie Karni and Eliana Johnson report that both Democrats and Republicans say Mnuchin and chief economic adviser Gary Cohn have repeatedly botched their tax pitches, “in part due to their own backgrounds” as wealthy Goldman Sachs alums. “House Speaker Paul Ryan earlier this month asked the White House not to send Mnuchin to the Hill to talk with Republican lawmakers about the bill, according to two people familiar with the discussions — though Ryan has praised the Treasury secretary’s ability to improve the legislation itself,” Karni and Johnson write.