Further details on the previously announced original Sword Art Online movie were revealed at Sunday's Dengeki Bunko Spring Festival 2016. Titled Sword Art Online Movie: Ordinal Scale, it will open in theaters in Japan in 2017.

Aniplex will begin selling tickets for the movie at AnimeJapan 2016 at the end of March. Each ticket costs ¥1,500 and comes with a bonus B2 poster of the movie's key visual (pictured). Author Reki Kawahara and the movie's producers are also scheduled to attend Sakura-Con in Seattle on March 26 to provide more information.

Tomohiko Itou returns to direct the movie at animation studio A-1 Pictures. Animator Shingo Adachi is once again adapting the original character designs by abec, while Yuki Kajiura is composing the music. An official website has opened with more information on the setting of the new work.

Story
AR (Augmented Reality) Type Information Terminal "Augma" is a next-generation, wearable multi-device that looks like a pair of small headphones. In terms of size and portability, it is far superior to the existing VR machine Amusphere. Augma doesn't have a full-dive function; however, its AR function is greatly enhanced to compensate for it. It can transmit visual, audio, and tactual sensation data to players while they are awake, thus enabling the users to enjoy fitness and health management like a game.

Ordinal Scale is an ARMMORPG that was designed exclusively for Augma. Following its release, it has become the most discussed game due to its advanced technology. In this game, players can raise their rank by collecting items that appear in various places in the real world and by defeating monsters. This "Ranking System" is the main feature of the game, and in this system, each player's status is determined by their rank which is indicated by an ordinal number instead of a cardinal number. As the result, high ranking players are given overwhelming power, and often rank has become a major factor in deciding the outcome of a PvP battle.

Official site: http://www.sao-movie.net/
Official English site: http://www.sao-movie.net/us/
Official German site: http://www.sao-movie.net/de/

Announcement


Source: Dengeki Online