I got a Showscan demo in the 80s, in connection with a project for a client. This was Trumbull's brainchild, and the demo was with 65mm film at 60fps. A liquid experience, to say the least, as if the screen wasn't there, and with body to the colors I have never seen anywhere else.
With digital recording, storage and projection, at today's resolution on digital media, upping the frame rates makes perfect sense. The Hobbit in 3D and at these frame rates is bound to be something completeley new to audiences.