The State Of LBVR Revealed At IAAPA 2019
Last year we talked about over sixty attractions, from simple driving simulators to free roam VR arenas that can command over two hundred thousand dollars. This year there was more, seventy-five at one count, and a dozen that use some other form of XR (AR, projection mapping). By way of organizing this massive number of VR experiences, we’re going to divide the pack into three groups, which we will treat in three posts: “The Best” (part one, below), “LBVR Enclosures” (part two), and “Vehicle Simulations, VR Coasters & Other XR Surprises” (part three). This last group includes vehicle and sports simulators that do not use HMDs, which begs the question: if an immersive simulation doesn’t use a headset, is it VR?
Hologate
Hologate is the clear leader in the multiplayer arcade segment, with nearly 300 units sold, and over 5 million games played. This year they showcased the Hologate Tower, a two-story version of Hologate for locations that need more capacity without taking up extra floor space (but will also need to have high enough ceilings). They were also offering the Hologate Blitz, a four player seated attraction on a motion bases that makes the unit look like a four legged mechanical insect, which is irresistible to boys of all ages.
Omni Arena
Virtuix has been making a lot of news with its eye-catching e-sports Omni Arena, which has been supported with over $100,000 in prizes from HTC and HP.
Their unique approach to VR has players wear overshoes and run on a slippery hard plastic disk. Sort of a foot powered mouse. They make it as fun to watch as it is to play.
VR Studios Atom and Arena
About a half-mile away, at Dave & Buster’s, the largest amusement chain in the US with over 135 locations, VRstudios’ eight-player free-roam VR Arena is doing brisk business. This requires a larger footprint, but one of the benefits of VRstudios’ Arena is that it can be flexibly reconfigured to virtually any size.
Koliseum Soccer VR (Kynoa)
Greg Bacorn, a former history teacher from Buffalo, NY, founded Barron Games eleven years ago. His company specializes in coin-op air hockey and foosball tables. At IAAPA Paris last Spring, he met the Swiss developer Kyona, whose Koliseum Soccer VR is a 4-player VR foosball game. Bacorn knew immediately he had found a complimentary product well suited to his clients’ needs.
VRquest Arena offers four to Six player arenas, open sided 6 player wireless no backpack PC. They have six titles that appeal to different demographics, but Attek and Sea Bandits are their premier titles. The simple enclosures are 14.8 ft x 18.8 ft to 14.8 x 14.8.
For a more detailed look at IAAPA VR we recommend Bob Cooney’s free IAAPA 2019 guide, which is full of details and pictures. https://www.bobcooney.com/vr-iaapa-2019/