Source: TrendWatching
Disney and Lenovo have released Star Wars: Jedi Challenge, an augmented reality experience that lets users wield lightsabers in their living rooms. The USD 200 game series connects smartphones to a Lenovo headset, lightsaber device, and tracking beacon. Players can dictate war strategies, engage in battle, and play ‘holochess’ (holographic chess) – just like a Jedi. Star Wars: Jedi Challenge debuted in November, timed with the premiere of the Star Wars: The Last Jedi film.
New technologies and Star Wars go hand-in-hand: this innovation is an AR upgrade to the Lightsaber Unleashed iPhone app (nostalgic older readers can take a moment to remember their first iPhone apps). It’s also a perfect example of the current epic trend for people to turn the world into their Global Sandbox.
Whether honing their Jedi skills or marking up the sky with World Brush, consumers will increasingly expect to play virtual games with and in the real world around them. Okay, so this game might not radically reshape the next decade. But it’s an early signal of what’s possible when the virtual and real worlds combine.
