Trends from Amusement Expo 2020
The rise of unattended VR games
One of the newest trends at Amusement Expo International was unattended VR games. These require no staffing and have simple instructions for guests to put on the VR headsets and controls and start playing in a matter of seconds. The industry is developing robust headsets to accommodate for all-day use too. LAI Game’s Virtual Rabbids was the first attendant free game to market, with Triotech’s Storm, VRsenal’s Beat Saber, and Rilex all launching shortly after.
These games have a smaller footprint and with no staff, they cost less to run. However, operators do need to consider the cleanliness of the headsets and the wear and tear on the headset cables.
Social and cross-reality trends at Amusement Expo International
Another trend was cross-reality experiences like projection-mapped bowling by Unreal Bowling and projection-mapped go-kart experiences. Another key example is Valo Motion’s augmented climbing wall, which uses new technology to create active entertainment experiences.
eSports
Amusement Expo International showed that content is (still) king
Kevin Bachas, Senior Vice President of Entertainment Games and Strategy at Dave & Busters summed up the importance of content: “The novelty of VR itself is not enough to build a business around. People want experience, build the VR around the content”.
Partnerships with large players drive the industry forward
“We can work with our partners like Google, Apple, Amazon and take their technologies. And we can integrate them into our business and then pilot them with our partners. We tweak them and get them right. ... “Our smallest customers get to benefit from all of the work that we have done from the big players. Those partners get a lot out of it as they can be first in the market too” said Hutson.
Utilising dead space
Looking upwards, Drone Interactive’s Arcadrone utilises the airspace above an FEC, allowing guests to race drones competitively.
Slim-lining operations for operators and suppliers
As well as utilising space, operators should be maximising their assets and processes too. Brandon Willey, CEO at Hownd educated attendees on how operators can slim down. He looked at overproduction of assets, long wait lines, too much inventory, and how “micro-improvements can have a big impact to improve efficiency”.
The way in which suppliers respond to problems is changing. “Statistically, members of Generation Z prefer to do self-help via chat boxes,” said Lopez. “Baby boomers still prefer to pick up the phone and call and the get the answer. But if we can get information into the hands of Gen Z’s they can do that self-help. This really fast tracks the process of learning”.
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