I Stepped Into the Future of Hyper-Connected Entertainment. It Made Me Surprisingly Emotional

Passing through a green warp pipe, I see a colorful mushroom kingdom spreading out in front of me. Almost. Headset pressed to my face, volume up, I'm actually watching the Super Mario Bros. movie in Apple's Vision Pro from a room in my house, the screen stretched out in 3D. But I'm feeling a little emotional, sort of a visceral thrill, like a memory. That's because the film's blending with my memories of being at Universal Studios' Epic Universe theme park a few weeks ago, when I was walking around an actual physical Mushroom Kingdom, passing through a real and very large green warp pipe — but in Orlando, Florida. In the park, it's all walls I can touch, blocks I can tap. Coming back to watch the movie again, in 3D, it now feels a little bit like coming home. Imaginary worlds are expanding… both in my brain, and in the virtual and physical realms. It's happening in movies, in games, in VR and in places like Epic Universe, the biggest new theme park in the US in 20 years, which open ... Read full article.