Have you ever dreamed of staying in a videogame-themed venue while on vacation?
Atari will give you that opportunity with Atari Hotels.
Yes, you read that right. The first video-game centered hotel will break ground in Phoenix, AZ later this year, with plans for seven additional locations.
While details on lodging such as room décor or the possibility of retro 8-bit elevator music haven’t been revealed, these hotels will feature virtual and augmented reality experiences for all ages. Select locations will include venues and studios for esports events. Whether the initial hotel in Phoenix will feature the esports accommodations has not been made known. Just as important, the hotel’s atmosphere will supposedly blend gaming history with gaming future.
“When creating this brand-new hotel concept, we knew that Atari would be the perfect way to give guests the ‘nostalgic and retro meets modern’ look and feel we were going for,” said Napoleon Smith III, partner of GSD Group, one of the collaborators on the hotel. Smith III is also the producer of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles remake and executive producer for the upcoming Captain Kangoroo film. Another name you may recognize is Steve Wozniak, whose Woz Innovation is also on board as a collaborator.
Phoenix-based True North Studio is the real-estate developer behind the Phoenix location. The other cities being considered are Las Vegas, Denver, Chicago, Austin, Seattle, San Francisco, and San Jose.
Who knows how fully-featured the hotels will end up being. The press release did include the following disclaimer: "The realization of the plans, and their operational budget and financing plan remain inherently uncertain, and the non-realization of these assumptions may impact their value."
On top of the hotel groundbreaking, Atari also has plans to release their retro-themed, streaming game console Atari VCS this March (assuming there are no further delays or turmoil). You could perhaps be playing one of these within an Atari Hotel before you know it.
Quick Take
The Nintendo Land section at Universal Studios Tokyo has already won my interest, and I think more amusement parks or hotel spaces built around gaming aesthetics is a good thing. Seeing how Atari actually pulls this off will be exciting, especially the esports component. Whether this idea sinks or floats is another question, and my guess is, outside of travelers for esports tournaments, there may not be enough guests to keep these hotels alive.
Do you think videogame-themed hotels sound interesting? Would you stay at one of Atari’s hotels? Let us know in the comments section below!