Big screens, 3D glasses, video-game controllers and cool graphics aren't reserved for Gameworks.
ASU is getting in on the act with the Decision Theater at ASU.
With this new theater, theme-park-style amenities are available without even leaving University grounds.
The 270-degree movie screen in the theater is very similar to CircleVision 360 theaters, which you may recall from childhood -- and perhaps adulthood -- visits to Disneyland. Put on the funny 3D glasses provided by site administrators, and you can see images appear to pop out from the screen.
The facility has been open for a little more than a week, and we're wondering what will happen after the novelty wears off.
The Decision Theater demonstration showings attended by The State Press have included everything from amorphous cacti to fancy graphs and charts. The latest demonstration even had a video narrator onscreen.
This theater makes a drawn-out afternoon of struggling through "Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith" look far less attractive.
Forget ASU President Michael Crow's ambitious plan to create, "one University in many places." We're beginning to feel like we're just one step closer to becoming Disneyland's Tempe campus.
We have also previously discussed in this space the possibility of adding a splashdown to the planned light-rail line through downtown Phoenix, Tempe and Mesa. Add this flume ride, and the transformation would be complete.
Granted, the theater isn't all fun and games. The site will be used to research and teach about issues such as sinking water tables, pollution and other urban and ecological issues.
Big-time money, including multimillion-dollar donations, is going into the Decision Theater. ASU clearly is banking on the success of this facility, apparently intended to serve as a tool for local officials to visualize problems that are difficult to comprehend with the mind alone.
And ASU is only the latest school to get in on the big-pimpin', big-screen fun. Other universities around the country have similar facilities for visualizing problems.
All around the country, officials and academics alike are letting out a collective, "Cool, dude," after visiting these decision-visualization facilities.
It's all very snazzy, and we hope that this theater is used for more than just showing off.
ASU is doing its best to keep up with the Joneses, and we understand that. While we aren't completely sure how a near-circular big-screen theater will aid in bettering society and the Phoenix metropolitan area, we're interested to see how this theater turns out.
Big money and even bigger talk have surrounded this theater for months.
We just hope it's worth it.