A new VR experience from Sony Pictures and CreateVR gives users the chance to "become" Spider-Man. Sony is in its final push to promote Spider-Man: Homecoming, starring Tom Holland as Peter Parker/Spider-Man in the web-slinger's solo debut in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The promotion of the movie has gone beyond the standard trailers, TV spots, and toys, venturing into more high-tech territory with products like the new interactive Spider-Man figure and the Homecoming arcade game at Dave & Buster's.
Spider-Man: Homecoming is on track for a huge $100 million opening to continue what's been a strong summer season for comic book movies so far. Much of the promotion surrounding the movie has centered on Spidey's new high-tech suit designed by Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) and his company Stark Industries. The suit shows up again in a unique new product previewed by Sony Pictures that is geared toward Spider-Man fans and owners of virtual reality headsets; a "VR Experience" that gives you the chance to don the Spidey suit yourself.
The official YouTube channel for Sony Pictures released a new trailer on Friday to give fans a sneak peak at the new Spider-Man: Homecoming Virtual Reality Experience. You can watch the preview in the video above. It mostly features Holland teasing "The chance to experience what it's like to be me," spliced with footage from Spider-Man wearing his new high-tech suit. The second half of the video is where the first look at the VR experience itself.
As Spider-Man, you can don the suit, sling webs, fly through the air, and battle the Vulture and other enemies. Promising the chance to "experience virtual reality through the eyes of Spider-Man," the trailer shows quick clips of a user in action as Spidey, throwing objects with webs and scaling tall buildings in search of enemies. The Spider-Man: Homecoming VR Experience is a product of CreateVR, a company that has also worked with Sony Pictures on VR experiences for recent releases like Ghostbusters and The Walk.
The Spider-Man: Homecoming VR Experience will be available June 30 on major VR platforms like Playstation VR, Oculus, and HTC Vive. It will also be available to try out at certain Cinemark theater locations starting Saturday and leading up to the movie's July 7 release. The preview looks like quite an entertaining piece of VR gaming and could provide hours of fun for Spider-Man fans who happen to own a VR headset.
Sony Pictures is really getting creative with its final marketing push for Spider-Man: Homecoming, easily one of the most highly anticipated releases of the year. The new VR Experience is the latest example of a new movie taking advantage of emerging technology. There's no guarantee that the app would make VR headset owners change their minds either way over whether they wanted to see Spider-Man: Homecoming - but for Spidey's built-in fanbase it's a piece of high-tech entertainment that's certainly worth trying.
Source: Sony Pictures, Cinemark
