More than eleven million people attended Eminem's last concert on December 2nd. Although there were attendees trapped in long lines and unable to see the rapper's performance, the venue proved capable of accommodating a huge audience. In fact, it's conceivable that it could house everyone in the world in the near future. This room, made of pixels instead of bricks, is the video game Fortnite.
Concerts on this platform with almost three million active players began in 2019. The pioneer in transforming his body into a hologram was DJ Marshmello, who performed at Pleasant Park, one of the most popular stages in the video game. The event attracted around 10 million spectators, three times as many as Rod Stewart's concert at Copacabana, which was considered the largest to date. Then followed stars like J Balvin and Ariana Grande. In 2020, Travis Scott managed to attract 12.3 million viewers in total lockdown, canceled tours and venues under renovation. Fornite, now the second most played video game in the world, became a great alternative for a music industry in limbo.
All performances are scheduled and pre-recorded. The singers do not perform live. Interaction is limited to players who log in and participate in the game. These concerts usually take place on special occasions. Eminem's concert was part of the Big Bang event, where Epic Games revealed updates for the new season. The entire experience, which lasted 11 minutes, can be relived on YouTube, where not only the event but also hundreds of reactions and broadcasts from streamers are available. Among them TheGrefg, one of the most popular gamers in Spain, who watched the entire development of the show with excitement. “Where are we going?”…I don’t know, reality is going to shatter,” he said to himself at the start of the session.
The action begins on an island. The user sees everything in the first person perspective, but has no influence on the development of events. The first notable event is the launch of a rocket. The player then climbs into the sky, where he watches a huge meteorite crash into the earth's crust. The impact triggers a black hole that absorbs the entire universe. There is a moment of silence before everything begins again. A small, dense dot appears in the center of the screen. In a split second, the point expands and triggers an explosion of energy and light. The room fills with colors and the show begins. AuronPlay, a popular YouTuber with 15 million followers, described this first part of the show succinctly but effectively: “There is very good cinema here.”
After traveling between subatomic particles, atoms, stars and galaxies, the player enters the world of Fortnite and explores the season's new features, including a LEGO collaboration, racing and a Guitar Hero-style music game. Eminem's performance is the highlight. First, do Lose Yourself. And then Godzilla appears, i.e. Eminem, who is characterized as the Japanese monster. In this landscape the singer mixes several of his songs and disappears after two or three minutes. 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 if it was a virtual concert and only two songs. Call me whatever you want, I have no complaints.”
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