More than eleven million people attended Eminem's last concert on December 2. Although there were attendees who were trapped in long lines and did not get to see the rapper's performance, the venue proved capable of hosting a massive crowd. In fact, it is conceivable that in the near future it could house all the people in the world. This space, built in pixels instead of bricks, is the video game Fortnite.
Concerts on this platform, which has almost three million active players, began in 2019. The pioneer in transforming his body into a hologram was DJ Marshmello, who performed in Pleasant Park, one of the most popular stages in the video game. The event attracted about 10 million spectators, triple that of Rod Stewart's concert in Copacabana, considered the largest to date. Then stars like J Balvin and Ariana Grande followed. In 2020, in full confinement, with tours canceled and venues in the process of reinvention, Travis Scott managed to attract 12.3 million viewers. Fortnitewhich today is the second most played video game in the world, became the great alternative for a music industry in suspense.
All performances are designed and pre-recorded. The singers do not perform live. Interaction is limited to players, who log in and participate in the game. These concerts are usually scheduled for special occasions. Eminem's concert was part of the event big Bang, in which Epic Games revealed the updates for the new season. The entire experience, which lasted 11 minutes, can be relived through YouTube, where not only the event is available, but also hundreds of reactions and broadcasts from streamers. Among them, TheGrefg, one of the most popular gamers in Spain, who lived the entire development of the game in tension. Show. “Where are we going?”… I don't know, reality is going to break,” he said to himself at the beginning of the session.
The action begins on an island. The user sees everything in first person, although he has no influence on the development of events. The first notable event is the takeoff of a rocket. The player then ascends into the sky, from where he watches as a huge meteorite hits the Earth's crust. The impact triggers a black hole that absorbs the entire universe. There is a moment of silence, before everything restarts. A small, dense dot appears in the center of the screen. In a fraction of a second the point expands, triggering an explosion of energy and light. The space is filled with colors and the show begins. AuronPlay, a popular youtuber with 15 million followers, described this first part of the Show in a laconic but effective way: “There is very good cinema here.”
After traveling between subatomic particles, atoms, stars and galaxies, the player arrives in the world of Fortnite and explore the season's new features, including a collaboration with LEGO, races and a musical game in the style Guitar Hero. Eminem's performance is the climax. First interpret Lose Yourself. And then Godzilla appears, that is, Eminem characterized as the Japanese monster. In this landscape, the singer mixes several of his songs, and after two or three minutes he disappears. Many fans complained about the short duration of the event. El Rubius, Spanish gaming legend, was satisfied: “I'm happy to have seen Eminem, even though it was a virtual concert and only two songs. Call me what you want, I have zero complaints.”
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