Being from the Detroit area, hockey is in my blood. The Red Wings are one of the greatest franchises in all of sports, the college teams are always winning everything, and we’re about 3 miles from Canada, which usually starts some kind of territory war. We’ve earned the moniker Hockeytown over the years, bub. The sport is so popular that it’s considered a criminal act not to have an air hockey table in the basement. I think a law was passed on that or something.
Anyhoo, now we’ll have to pony up some more because OH MY GOD AIR HOCKEY WITH ACTUAL PEOPLE. Ann Arbor-based company Airblade just popped up on Kickstarter with their campaign for a fully life-sized version of the popular arcade game. Their take converts a hockey-sized rink into a fully playable arena, complete with air keeping the pucks hovering and roller blades in place of skates. Curved walls behind the goaltenders’ nets allow for speedy transitions and a constant, quick pace. And there are lights. OH THERE ARE LIGHTS! The rink is designed with LEDs built in to the floor to create an even more vibrant arcade experience.
Street hockey and roller hockey are popular in suburbs around the US and Canada. Though roller hockey leagues have come and gone, this is mostly because the concept never translated well from the street to a full court. Pucks would have issues traveling, and stopping and turning on wheels is much more difficult than on skates. Airblade may have some staying power, then, as the sport seems to fix some of those inherent issues. Endorsed by past NHL players, the company’s effort hopes to yield a full product and tournament in May of 2014. That’s this year. That’s in 3 months. That’s probably the quickest turnaround you could ever expect out of a Kickstarter campaign.
The company is asking for $700,000 for the product, with tiers of rewards including the special pucks and skates being used, to VIP access to the rink during the tournament. Having just launched today, they’re already at nearly $14k in just a few hours. The campaign ends on March 27.
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