CASES
Updating the joys of strategy using players' voices
an evolving experiential attraction
THE TOKYO MATRIX
THE TOKYO MATRIX is a mission-driven strategy attraction that has opened in the Tokyu Kabukicho Tower in Shinjuku, Tokyo. Developed by Sony Music Solutions Inc. (SMS), the facility aims to enable players and their friends to enjoy strategies and new experiences by immersing them in the world of anime in real settings. We focused on the user's point of view from the planning stage onwards and continue to pursue the ultimate in strategy experiences through repeated verification and improvement.
Pursuing new experiences for players by immersing them in the game world in realistic settings
Welcome to the dungeon by the station. THE TOKYO MATRIX opened in April 2023 on the 4th floor of Tokyu Kabukicho Tower in Shinjuku, Tokyo.
The facility is operated by SMS under its slogan Always in all ways. With "strategy" as our key word, we aspire to provide experiences that will encourage players try them over and over. It took approximately five years from conception planning to opening the facility. Since SMS was established, we have been working on this project to bring together the entertainment solutions of the Sony Music Entertainment Group.
"So far, we have offered a variety of solutions through planning and operating various events involving music and anime. The development and operation of THE TOKYO MATRIX has been a new challenge for us since it involves us in the venue business, which means leasing space and operating facilities on a long-term basis," said Ms. Tomoko Matsuzaki of the SMS Business Creation Company Entertainment Innovation Office.
The waiting area where players register before stepping into the game world.The attraction enables two or three friends to experience fighting together as a party while immersing themselves in the world of games and anime in a realistic setting. They use their bodies, brains, and teamwork to conquer a dungeon that tries to prevent them from going deeper.
"How do we enable players to enjoy strategizing? And how do we provide and develop other ways of enjoying themselves besides strategizing?" says Ms. Matsuzaki. "Our mission is to keep on enhancing the fun provided by the facility even after its opening.
We have been exploring ways to provide new experiences combining themes based on entertainment plus technology since 2016-2017. The concept of THE TOKYO MATRIX was born out of our pursuit of the best ways to reproduce the worlds depicted in anime realistically. How can we immerse our customers in these worlds in real locations without VR while retaining analog elements? We are pursuing new experiences in which you become a player and experience everything realistically while using technology."
Tomoko Matsuzaki of SMS is in charge of THE TOKYO MATRIX project. She has been responsible for the overall management of the attraction, bringing together members from various departments including planning, design, systems development, RDC technology, and PR, as well as stakeholders from more than a dozen companies.We won't know until it's up and running. Facing the challenges of the venue business
The SMS development team repeatedly tested the facility in all possible situations in preparation for the opening. However, there were limits to the decisions the development team could make on its own.
Will the system work properly even with a large number of customers?
Can we get visitors out of the waiting area and into the dungeon within the expected time frame?
Is the game's difficulty level appropriate?
Are the information and description of the premises adequate?
These issues are unique to the venue business. It is difficult to determine if the system and operational flow are appropriate without actually putting the players in place and trying things out for real. We therefore used the Sony Group's in-house monitoring system to conduct real-life walkthroughs to verify everything from registration and entry to the game experience.
Employees from various departments took part in verification exercises as monitors, allowing them to experience the attraction from the same perspective as the general public. "It would also be possible to gather monitors together from outside the company to help with the verification process, but the use of such an experiential facility in this manner before it opened would inevitably involve the risk of information leaks. From this perspective, limiting the monitoring process to employees and their families enabled us to verify the system without worry. The fact that this was also a new business for a group company meant that everyone offered sharp observations and opinion.
Among other things, we wanted the pre-opening verification process to provide insights into the waiting times at various points in the facility and whether the game's difficulty level was appropriate. With regard to the former, we had assumed that we could get about 90 customers into the game in about 30 minutes, but it actually took more than an hour. Some of the quests (requests and tasks to be completed within the game) were also completed more easily than expected, so we once again ran into the problem of how to set the difficulty level, which had already involved a great deal of trial and error over a long time," says Ms. Matsuzaki.
Systems and operational flow were restructured after the verification process. Pre-admission waiting times halved
Based on the results of the verification process, the development team restructured the system and operational flow. Following repeated fine-tuning right up to the last-minute, we succeeded in cutting the time 90 people had to wait before entering the game to 30 minutes (including smartphone entry time and other user registration procedures). Additionally, to ensure that players do not get bored during the waiting period and enable them to immerse themselves in the game more quickly once they join it, we currently use screens in the waiting area to broadcast information that ties into strategies.
We struggled to adjust the game's difficulty level but continue to search for a perfect balance through trial and error and with the help of player feedback in order to make the game enjoyable for new players yet challenging even for veterans.
"THE TOKYO MATRIX uses a speech synthesis technology, a Group company technology, for the voice of the character who explain the game. Using speech synthesis enables us to add or change explanations to the game quickly ourselves. As a result, we are constantly fine-tuning the content of the explanations when we find issues such as the need to provide more detail in certain places or clarify information that is difficult to understand. The ability to make improvements so easily even just before the opening was truly thanks to Sony's technical capabilities and verification," says Ms. Matsuzaki.
During the verification process, the progress of the team in play was also displayed on these screens. They are now used to provide a variety of information. Linking the knowledge gained from HCD to creating new modes of entertainment
To improve the experience provided by THE TOKYO MATRIX, we continuously use both the results of pre-opening verification process and real feedback from customers who are enjoying the experience right now.
"We are often gratified to learn that our customers are enjoying themselves in ways that we never envisaged as they devise various stratagems for winning the game and actively exchange information through SNS and other means. That's why we want to satisfy their expectations even more. While taking note of real-time feedback, we will continue to update the facility by enhancing the experience so that it can be enjoyed for a long time and people want to try it repeatedly.
Our ultimate vision is to provide entertainment that blends real and online experiences. We have already begun to create the mechanisms and devices that will take us there, and our mission for the future is to realize them as quickly as possible. We will apply the knowledge we have accumulated to future services and continue to create new experiences," says Ms. Matsuzaki.
