Spaces Founder Discusses VR Opportunities In Chinese Theme Parks
On the heels of its $3 million seed funding led by Comcast Ventures alongside Boost VC, Canyon Creek Capital, Colopl VR Fund, and GREE—virtual reality (VR) startup company, Spaces, has entered into a $30 million joint venture with China’s Songcheng Performance Development, one of the world’s biggest theme park operators.
Utilizing creative tools and technology, Spaces is developing specifically for theme parks. The joint venture will bring new virtual reality and mixed reality (MxR) attractions to Songcheng’s theme parks, which drew nearly 23 million guests in 2015, according to Themed Entertainment Association data.
In Songcheng’s theme parks, VR and MxR elements will be added to existing attractions, including elaborate stage shows that, on their own, attract more than 7 million people annually. Songcheng-Spaces also plans to build unique, standalone virtual reality attractions and parks throughout China.
Spaces will also work with Songcheng to bring its popular livestreaming video site 6Rooms (6.cn), which has more than 33 million unique users a month, to VR and MxR platforms. Spaces will create VR experiences that further enhance China’s largest online platform for performing arts. With 6Rooms, users create and watch more than 50,000 live broadcast hours each day.
VR and livestreaming are enormously complementary. Our technology will give the 6rooms performers and viewers a more personal and rich experience through VR. There is a tremendous power in one-on-one interactions in VR. We have seen this with scripted digital characters, live avatars, and real-time presence capture.
Chinese parks are similar to US parks in many ways with traditional rides and attractions, but they are also quite different. Chinese park goers love having immersive experiences, they enjoy the experience of just being in a theme park—of being somewhere that is very different than reality. Culturally, Chinese audiences are even more open to the addition of VR and mixed reality than anywhere else in the world. Plus, the importance of live stage shows to Chinese theme parks, especially to Songcheng’s parks, gives us some amazing existing attractions to enhance and re-imagine by using VR and MxR.
...fortunately our history at Spaces, and prior, is about rapid innovation, testing and deployment to learn what works. Having a frequently changing attraction may lead to greater attendance and greater marketability,...
See the full interview here: http://www.alistdaily.com/media/spaces-founder-discusses-vr-opportunities-chinese-theme-parks/