PW Sept 09 P32-33:PW Sept 09 P32-33.qxd 26/08/2009 13:29 Page 32
FEC Profile
Fun City Interactive
An FEC with a USP
Air Racer
In a market full of family
entertainment centres
(FECs), one Dubai-based Y
oung guests are promised an exciting
experience at Interactive FC 2.0. This prototype
FEC concept opened over the summer on the
shopping mall developer third floor of the Landmark Group’s flagship Oasis
has taken the bold step Centre in Dubai and serves as the launch pad for
of developing a new several all-new interactive game-based attractions.
attraction format. The eight rides and games were delivered as a
Owen Ralph explores “Ready Zone” package from 3DBA/Westech and
the interactive world of developed by up-and-coming European suppliers
Fun City 2.0 Alterface and Skytrack. Supporting media content and footfall
storylines were provided by Falcon’s Treehouse in generated by the mall?”
Orlando. Two things forced the group to look beyond the
“Together with our partners, we are always trying to standard FEC set-up with rides and attractions. First,
develop innovative new concepts,” explains 3DBA’s there wasn’t enough room. This particular Fun City
Roger Houben. “Landmark have been very supportive had to be accommodated within retail store height.
and we now plan to develop a full range of interactive Then came the acknowledgement it would not
attractions that we believe will be well suited to other necessarily be going head to head with other FECs.
malls in the Middle East.” “We believe that a FEC should be for the resident
Boasting parks and FECs in Qatar, Oman, China, community and its offering should ensure the
India, Egypt and throughout the United Arab Emirates, population keeps coming back,” says Chakraborty.
Fun City forms part of the Landmark Group portfolio, “We consider our real competition to be outdoor
and many of its outlets can be found inside the playfields and indoor computer games and therefore
company’s shopping malls. wanted to provide a product that combines physical
Located alongside Dubai’s Sheikh Zayed Road, the elements with virtual game play.” Welcome to
Oasis Centre operates in a fiercely competitive Interactive FC 2.0.
environment, and here Landmark had to consider “Alterface was already doing some interesting work
carefully what would make a commercially viable FEC in this field,” notes Chakraborty. “After searching for
proposition. different options and development partners, we found
“Just down the road towards Jebel Ali is the very that 3DBA and Westech shared our vision and were
successful Mall of the Emirates and on the other side willing to take it forward. The Air Racer was something
of the Oasis Centre is another destination featuring we’d wanted in our centres for sometime, marrying it
two large entertainment concepts,” explains Fun City with some media content made it a great proposition
group general manager Sanjay Chakraborty. “We had for us.”
Fun City general manager to ask what could we do that would be different and Developed by Skytrack in the Netherlands, Air
Sanjay Chakraborty
be a driver itself, instead of relying solely on the Racer is the first ride of its kind and uses the same
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SEPTEMBER 2009
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