See the human joystick

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Everybody wave your arms, go "VOLVO!"

Oct 10, 2007

Not waving, but gaming! The shot below illustrates a 'human joystick' in action at the Cineworld in Shaftesbury Avenue, London. And what, by Christ's soupy beard, is that, you might ask? Well, we're positive it's not a ploy cooked up by rooms of ad men perched on bean bags with the sole aim of making a cinema full of punters act like lobotomised knobs. Well, we're pretty confident.

In fact, in the words of organiser Volvo, this is a "groundbreaking in-cinema campaign which will see film-goers across the country enjoy a unique interactive gaming experience on the big screen". Show goers will become (hoho!) "human joysticks", waggling their limbs in unison to steer a car through an on-screen course.

And why is Volvo going to such lengths? Especially given that, like us, most cinema folk can't be bothered watching through the ads and so always turn up 15 minutes late to a movie in order to catch the start of the trailers. Well, apparently waving our arms around 'activates' Volvo's brand message: Life is Better Lived Together.

Don't worry, we're just bitter as we're not part of the jovial atmosphere shown in the image above. Fear not, as this revolutionary cinema attraction will be coming to Cineworld sites as widely spread as Nottingham, Bolton, Sheffield, Brighton, Cardiff and Edinburgh. Just remember the deodorant before you leave, eh?

Ben_Richardson

Ben Richardson is a former Staff Writer for Official PlayStation 2 magazine and a former Content Editor of GamesRadar+. In the years since Ben left GR, he has worked as a columnist, communications officer, charity coach, and podcast host – but we still look back to his news stories from time to time, they are a window into a different era of video games.