According to Amusement Business, June, 1997 issue, several industry experts, point to one dramatic industry trend with corporations’ increasing use of theming and themed attraction at trade shows, conventions and promotional functions. In this issue, Peter Chernack, Chairman and President of The Themed Entertainment Association, stated: "Themed entertainment is now being included in more and more types of developments – malls and resorts to name a couple. Themed entertainment is being included everywhere. . . . It is the orchestration with all the talents working together that is the foundation of a successful project.". Another trend includes more frequent marriage of these educational and amusement elements. In the case of edu-tainment, some experts, including Landmark Entertainment Group Chief Executive Officer Gary Goddard, argue that
" . . . the amusement world is increasingly moving toward the educational arena -- museums, science centers, etc. rather than the other way around . . . .
A case can be made nonetheless for the current and potential growth of thinking-folks’ games, rides and attractions. When you talk about the truly major draws, you are talking about those things that are pure entertainment – both exciting and emotional". An example of this would be TOPGUN Entertainment’s interactive group simulators and immersive virtual reality motion cockpits, and The Wings of Freedom’s themed, interactive Situation/Control Rooms and Control Tower networked with the simulators. Goddard also states: "Mixed media fits today’s amusement-consuming generation, which grew up on MTV, on-line computers, beepers and cell phones. Kids are living in a multi-media world and mixed-media entertainment is great fun. It makes sense. I think you’ll see more technology-driven attractions and more spectacles . . . .".
Eric Schwartzman, a themed entertainment and film industries consultant, stated in the 1997 issue of Amusement Business:
" . . . from an operator’s standpoint, what is significant about an educational experience are the marketing opportunities. With edu-tainment, operators can market to schools and increase attendance Monday through Friday during school hours if there is, in fact, educational value in the experience. . . . For museums, visceral thrill are just what the doctor ordered. They’ve traditionally had boring, static exhibits – push a button and a light goes on or a tape plays. When you can make that learning fun and entertaining, that’s a big plus.".
Critical to TOPGUN Entertainment’s success, will be the ability to do what the industry leaders have been saying. They say that the pervasiveness of technology in the home means entertainment venues have to provide an experience which cannot easily be duplicated in the home. Our TOPGUN Entertainment interactive experiences, while high-tech, will be popular because they cannot be duplicated at home. Although Microsoft’s "Flight Simulator ‘98" is one of the country’s top selling home PC interactive software packages, it cannot deliver the "reality" experience that TOPGUN Entertainment can deliver. What these PC games will do is prepare an ocean of "couch PC game players" for the next, natural evolution of thematic excitement, and TOPGUN Entertainment will be ready!