Disney brings AR to the ‘Star Wars’ franchise

AN AUGMENTED-reality experience as real-world physical hunt is scheduled to be rolled out next month by another global entertainment franchise, with the next Star Wars film The Last Jedi on the near horizon.

Last year, the AR scavenger hunt from Pikachu’s universe exploded – spurring a $7.5 billion market-value surge for maker Nintendo. Now, what’s to keep the Comcasts, Apples, Amazons and Disneys of the world from making our naturally 3D world the exciting new area of augmented exploration on a scale as massive as Pokémon Go?

The short answer from Disney, one year later – apparently nothing. Because the Mouse House is unveiling its promotional stunt of a free “treasure hunt” on a rather massive scale, the company announced on Thursday.

The campaign’s basics, by the numbers – as the first wave of Last Jedi merchandise lands on Friday (aka “Force Friday II”), the Find the Force AR game – involving about 20 000 stores in 30 countries – will let participants hunt down 15 Star Wars characters, two of which are new (is that the Admiral Ackbar you’re looking for?).

To play, fans will have to download the Star Wars smartphone app, head to a participating store and uncover potentially talking virtual characters by pointing the phone at the Find the Force placard.

The app encourages social media sharing of your character experiences, with the big carrot urging that you share being a sweepstakes contest that closes next Sunday.

“We are excited that augmented reality will allow fans to experience the universe in a whole new way,” Kathleen Kennedy, president of Disney-owned Lucasfilm, said on Thursday.

The original Star Wars birthed the entire modern era of movie tie-in merchandise four decades ago, so it’s only apt this franchise is aiming to push the AR promotional game to a new level.