Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Mobile

5G-enabled billboard in Times Square briefly brings interactive game to masses

By

If you’ve ever wanted to play a game with random strangers while standing in the middle of Times Square, well, your prayers were briefly answered on September 8 and 9.

Using the Mega Screen billboard located at 1500 Broadway and West 43 Street in Manhattan, bystanders could scan a QR code with their smartphones to participate as an “interactive spectator” in Streamline Studios’ 2020 co-op game Bake ‘n Switch. Those who did so were able to jump in and play part of the game without having to download or install it.

Recommended Videos

This was part of a public test of “Project Monarch,” a prototype that combines digital billboards with mobile games via 5G to create what its organizers call “mobile crowd gaming.” With Project Monarch’s technology, billboards could turn into interactive events. Imagine an advertisement you could pick up and play on your phone with three-quarters of a million people, and you get an idea of what this is going for. (Between this and that thing with the hoverboard, Times Square is becoming quite the random tech hub lately.)

Related

With Project Monarch’s technology, billboards could turn into interactive events.

Project Monarch is a collaboration between multiple groups including the following: Streamline Media Group, a Metaverse-focused developer that released Bake ‘n Switch last year through its gaming imprint; Genvid, which produces a toolset to create interactive livestreams; Outfront Media, which owns the Times Square billboard; Intel, which contributed its Smart Edge technology to the project; and Sky Packets, which provided a 5G-connected hot spot that allowed users to connect to Project Monarch.

“Interactivity is dominating virtually every kind of media, and this experiment proves that even the most modern digital billboards can be reimagined,” said Jacob Navok, co-founder and CEO of Genvid Technologies, in a press release. “With our interactive livestream technology and Intel’s advanced 5G network platforms, advertisers and brand sponsors can easily and dynamically provide more engaging, entertaining content that consumers not only remember but even enjoy directly.”

During the test of Project Monarch, up to six randomly chosen participants could be tagged in to help one of the two people playing Bake ‘n Switch, with three interactive spectators on each player’s side. Each round of the minigame being played lasted five minutes, and ended with both players and spectators being able to tap their screens to help drive up a score multiplier.

In theory, as argued by Genvid, Monarch’s technology could be used to turn just about any type of digital broadcast into an interactive event, with viewers being able to jump into the onscreen action and participate.

Genvid claims that a larger-scale deployment of Monarch could have 750,000 concurrent users. By way of comparison, that’s more people theoretically playing an interactive ad than are playing Counter-Strike: Global Offensive on Steam at time of writing.

Genvid claims that a larger-scale deployment of Monarch could have 750,000 concurrent users.

“Streamline is continuously working toward projects and partnerships that will advance the gaming industry,” said Alexander Fernandez, CEO of Streamline Media Group, in Genvid’s press release. “We believe the digital transformation of business and industry is accelerated best by leveraging video game technology and competencies. Streamline is always ready and able to innovate global consumer experiences with forward-thinking partners.”

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Thomas Hindmarch
Thomas Hindmarch
Contributing writer
Thomas Hindmarch is a freelance writer with 20 years' experience in the gaming and technology fields. He also writes for…
What is 5G? Speeds, coverage, comparisons, and more
The 5G UW icon on the Samsung Galaxy S23.

It's been years in the making, but 5G — the next big chapter in wireless technology — is finally approaching the mainstream. While we haven't yet reached the point where it's available everywhere, nearly all of the best smartphones are 5G-capable these days, and you're far more likely to see a 5G icon lit up on your phone than not.

There's more to 5G than just a fancy new number, though. The technology has been considerably more complicated for carriers to roll out since it covers a much wider range of frequencies than older 4G/LTE technology, with different trade-offs for each. It's also a much farther-reaching wireless technology, promising the kind of global connectivity that was once merely a dream found in futuristic sci-fi novels.

Read more
What is 5G UC? Here’s what that icon on your phone really means
5G logo on the Motorola Edge (2022).

If you own a 5G-capable smartphone — which are all of the best phones today — there’s a good chance you’ve seen different 5G network icons showing up in your status bar. It’s a stark contrast to the pre-5G days when your phone showed “4G” or “LTE” no matter where you went.

It can get a bit confusing to see a 5G indicator one moment and then “5G UC” or “5G UW” the next. It’s not something you need to worry too much about, as you don’t usually have much control over it, but it’s still helpful to understand what these different symbols mean — and why they matter.
The humble beginnings of 5G

Read more
Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X75 ushers in the next era of 5G connectivity
Qualcomm Snapdragon X75.

Qualcomm has just announced the Snapdragon X75, the company's sixth-generation 5G modem that promises to push smartphones and other connected devices into the next phase of 5G technology.

The Snapdragon X75 is the successor to last year's X70, which is the modem found in the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 that powers this year's most powerful 5G smartphones — including Samsung's recently unveiled Galaxy S23 Ultra and the OnePlus 11. However, it's more than just an evolution of that earlier modem system, as Qualcomm has packed in support for next-generation 5G Advanced technology along with an entirely new architecture and powerful AI features that will allow mobile devices to access better coverage and achieve even faster speeds.
5G grows up big-time

Read more