Four Steps To VR Games Of Your Dreams

Throughout the previous few years, we've seen a plethora of news posts about the way virtual reality was going to save the classic arcade. The theory goes that the VR gear is too expensive for home users, therefore it creates an chance for operators to pony up the big dollars to purchase it and make their money back by charging a game to play it. Even Nolan Bushnell, the inventor of Pong, is attempting to hype the technology since the industry's savior.
"While many high-end cans were released last year which may bring virtual-reality experiences to your living room, adoption of this technology is still in its first days for a lot of reasons--it's still bulky, expensive, and there is not all that much to do as soon as you've got it on your face. Over two million cans were sent globally in 2016, according to a quote from market researcher Canalys, but this figure pales in comparison to the prevalence of, say, video game consoles (earnings of their top one, Sony's PS4, topped six million throughout the 2016 holiday season alone). Consumer virtual reality will probably catch on as prices come down and cans improve. Meanwhile, however, a variety of companies are betting that customers could possibly be pleased to pay a much smaller amount to try out the tech with their buddies at, say, an arcade, theme park, or even bowling alley"
It's tempting to fall into this trap, but in the operator's standpoint VR is a terrible deal. Operators are being asked to pay top dollar for tech that is all but guaranteed to plummet in value over the very short term. Other than buying a brand new car and driving it a time, I can't think of a way you could eliminate money quicker between what you pay and what you will be able to get for it down the road.
Another limit for operators is that while you might have the ability to provide a room for VR people to roam around in today, as fresh VR tech is unveiled, we are likely to see the point expanded from 100 square feet into the entire world. Rather than viewing just the matches from your headset, you will see the real world with game play overlayed. As the technology allows more real world areas to be researched, it is going to earn a cramped arcade seem fairly feeble in comparison.
VR is already heading for mass market acceptance, but it is demand isn't being pushed by gamers who wish to pay big buck to play video games, but such as the BETAMAX that came before it, by people who wish to watch porn in their houses.
Even if an operator can make just a bit of money for https://www.iconsarcade.com/ the upcoming few years, after VR achieves critical mass, it will crush whatever revenue flow that operators're dreaming of. Do not believe me? Just check out what's happening in China.
Last year, an eye popping 35,000 virtual reality arcades opened in China. A year after 22,000 of these have closed.
This is an incredible failure rate over such a brief period of time and one which should serve as a sharp warning to anyone contemplating investing in the VR games. Perhaps Dave and Busters is able to take losses over the games more than Chinese startup arcades, but I doubt most North American operators are going to fare much better using the tech in their match rooms and will just wind up in debt at the close of the day.
The issue basically boils down to consumers not being willing to pay a premium for the encounter. Tech In Asia, describes the problem perfectly in their own article, on that the Chinese VR boom and bust.

"Enterprising shop owners leaping into VR are finding it impossible to charge fees comparable to cinemas or bowling alleys for a VR experience. 1 VR arcade proprietor told iHeima he saw eager queues when charging US$1.50 to get a 30-minute session, but everybody disappeared when it climbed to US$5. From that kind of revenue it is not possible to cover the rent."
Even if the match was sold out daily, at $1.50 a half hour they're only earning $30 a day.
The actual world data flowing in from China should function as a canary in the quarter mines of North America. Operators who spend large amounts of money on fancy VR setups will soon find their small VR rooms being replaced by the entire world for a stage. As the installations get cheaper, smaller and more portable, the virtual arcades will look more costly, bulky and restricted. I'd love to be proven wrong on this one, but I feel the arcade VR trend is more hype than hope.