The endurance seen in graphic video games is never actually experienced by players. To launch the latest Tomb Raider, which was darker and grittier than previous versions, Xbox live streamed a “Survival of the Grittiest” competition. Viewers could choose to subject eight contestants standing in front of an interactive billboard to various elements – wind, snow or heat – over a period of time.

Over 3.5 million people watched the live stream and the billboard had eight minutes of average dwell time, compared to the usual eight seconds.