Zoom Parties Are So Five Weeks Ago: Hello Virtual Reality
With coronavirus mitigation making gatherings and travel taboo, his company, Philadelphia-based Virtual Reality for Rent, is staying afloat by filling the growing demand for entertainment beyond Netflix. He’s now mailing out about 60 VR Oculus headsets (made by Facebook Inc.) a week to individuals, a seven-fold jump from before the outbreak. The technology allows kids to visit carnivals, while twenty-somethings can dance at a club with strangers from around the world.
“Kids don’t go to arcades anymore, but they can go to VR arcades,” said Dunning, who is now offering rentals as low as $35 a day.
Alex Gerasimov, owner of the VR Zone DC, is seeing a new wave of interest, too. His company operates virtual-reality play spaces that are temporarily closed because of the virus. That pushed him to pivot to a new rental model. Gear, including wipes and masks, is dropped off via contactless delivery. Setup is done over video chat. Its social distancing party package (“Stay 7 ft. apart and have fun”) starts at $299.
More than 800,000 Americans turn a year older every day.
Camp, a toy retailer with a handful of locations, is now hosting daily free virtual birthday parties. Over videoconference, the company’s “camp counselors” lead sing-alongs, story time and magician shows. More than 350 kids, as well as some adults, have participated.
Even after social distancing measures end, the workarounds may bring permanent change to parties because people will want to keep including out-of-town friends and family, according to Jamil Zaki, associate professor of psychology at Stanford University and author of “The War for Kindness.”
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