The Rise Of The Virtual Reality Arcade
When I was growing up, there were plenty of different arcade venues around town.
But now, they've seemed to have met the same fate as video stores; thanks to the multitude of different entertainment options and gaming consoles that you can use at home.
There are still the few arcade games to play at the movie theater or places like Dave & Buster's, but I don't see arcade venues around like I used to.
Once a number of different gaming consoles and other entertainment devices came onto the market, it became much cheaper and easier for people just to entertain themselves at home.
One game that really used to draw the crowd, is the DDR game.
People have been known to literally spend hours at a time dancing away at the local arcade, both men and women, seeming equally interested in taking to the dance floor. There are even DDR competitions and world championships, thousands of videos online where people of all ages are playing this game in some local arcade shop.
But now you don't need to go to the arcade to play it any longer, you can buy your own DDR game to play at home, with a fold-out pad for only $69.
With all of the options there are for entertainment at home, it's no surprise that the demand for arcades has decreased.
But perhaps we haven't seen the last of the arcade just yet, it looks like arcades might make a comeback, seeing as there are a growing number of arcade venues that are looking to offer virtual reality gaming.
Would you be interested in going to a VR arcade that offered roughly 30 minutes of play time for $19.99?
That's what one new venue in metro Atlanta is looking to do. The new business, iSimu VR, opened just this year in Duluth, Georgia. And they are being credited as the first VR arcade to open in the metro Atlanta area.
Another VR arcade that's located in France, mk2 VR, offers 12 individual virtual reality pods and also has a rooftop bar. There, you can experience VR gaming for about $10 an hour.
There are other arcade venues as well that are looking to provide a VR experience. Not only are they scattered across the U.S., but they are also in other places like South Korea, Canada, Brazil, Spain, and other areas.
There are many people out there who want to experience virtual reality gaming who might not have the funds or the knowledge to get all of the hardware that would be involved in trying to create a high quality experience with the technology at home.
And for those who want to experience it without making that investment first, these arcades are a great option for them.
Is the arcade dead?
Or is there still room for growth in this area? Many of us have fond memories of hanging out at the arcade when we were a kid but that sure isn't the case for the young folks today. They've got smartphones and Xbox, a million other options that can entertain them besides the arcade. But thanks to technology like VR gaming, the arcades might be looking to make a comeback.
Pics:
Pixabay
Giphy
Sources:
http://news.wabe.org/post/metro-atlanta-gets-its-first-virtual-reality-arcades
https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/jack-into-a-parisian-vr-arcade-for-10-an-hour
http://mk2vr.com/en/
http://abcnews.go.com/Lifestyle/death-resurgence-arcades-america/story?id=24970591
Augmented Reality and it's Cousins😂
It kind of makes you wonder if the fake realities we build are just a distraction from creating our own realities. :)
Outstanding post. Thank you for sharing! ☆☆☆☆☆😎
I love the old arcade games.. The older the better,
Most of all pin ball.
You could still socialize while using them too .. No need to isolate yourself to play like todays games.
I miss them. :/
lol
"the older the better"
Well .... Ish. XD
This is a great topic! I even wanted to start my own arcade just a few years ago... actually still want to :D
Not sure if there would be the required culture though, as you say, and in the end the games would likely be getting cheap enough that the only reason for anyone to come to an arcade would be for the social atmosphere. Woudl this be enough? Maybe. I guess it's possibly to to have a business catering to a specific subculture if you want it and others do to. But I think keeping afloat might be hard.
Nevertheless, there are actually some basement billiard halls in Sweden where they, sort of like in an internet cafe, rent out access to the computers so visitors can play LAN and online games. If this can work, then why not a modern virtual reality arcade?
ah... I wish I had the money, but more importantly the energy to do this =)
Sweet. never tried Virtual Reality
Looks like tons of fun. Unfortunately there are no virtual reality arcade in Kuching where i live
The arcade has a social element that can't be reproduced at home. It's the same with deciding to watch movies at home or at the theatre. People like to be out and about. :)
Nice post. Truely exceptional. I believe VR arcades will totally trump having to purchase the needed expensive hardware. Sadly, only core gamers and true VR nerds might be drawn to them. I shudder when I imagine how germy arcade VR sets could get
Proper VR arcades might really be the thing of the future. I would certainly pay a good dollar for something like this, but the games have to be top-notch or the novelty of it all will wear off really quickly.
i'm already willing to pay to see what it's like at one because i haven't experienced it yet lol
Absolutely!