The Scope of VR Arcade
bigmike20vt said: elboffor said: kevinw729 said: Need to be careful how you define Niche. The big problem is many of you use the term "arcade" as if it was still a thing. The arcade industry back in the 80-90 represented "street route" business (operators running a number of amusement pieces in a mall unit). But today the amusement industry represents "Family Entertainment Centers" and Entertainment facilities, combining large numbers of mixed-use entertainment systems. Arcades are not a thing, its the amusement industry and as cane be seen by the profits being made by Dave & Busters, Chuck E. Cheese and Main Event these are multi-million Dollar corporations seeing great expansion. Just as an example of how VR plays into the amusement scene lets just look at the brand new The VOID installation in the new FEC opened in Canada. The Rec Room kind of places in perspective the danger of sweeping assumptions when thinking that the amusement model with technology attractions is "niche"! 'VR Arcade' is just the beginning of the story - wait till you see the new 'Location-Based Entertainment' centers coming to the West! Looks like a normal arcade to me... indeed.. .the thing i dont get (and sorry @kevinw729 if you have already explained yourself) I dont understand why he seems to think the term arcade is a slur? I bloody love arcades, and it kills me that the seaside arcades i grew up with in the 80s and 90s are now rotting filled with gamblers and a few screen burned machines with ropy joysticks and stuck firebuttons. they can rebrand em however they want, if places like the image above make a comeback, i am all over it (tho please include a "retro corner". I am biased tho. I spent £1500 building a twin stick 2 banks of 6 buttons , with trackball arcade for my man cave... and would never be without it. I AM convinced there is a market for such a thing to make a comback, in big cities at least.... esp now with LED screens the power use should be a lot less and hopefully they have a longer life before failure... mixing in the classic stuff with the cutting edge... - which is how it always was even back in the day, with your sega R360 and the like on show at the front with the older stuff buried in the back. edit;... oh and back on topic the vive strap thing is not only a vive issue.. :( the foam around the nose piece of my rift has started to come away and break up :( Okay - have moved the discussion here - what are the elements you need clarity on regarding this offering?Blast from the past - The Vortex
For many, the arcade scene is dead and forgotten - while for others it is still a vibrant and important aspect of the digital entertainment scene. While getting ready for one of the big arcade shows in the US - I was reminded of the company Global VR - one of the few operations that survived the 90's collapse in interest in VR, still retains VR in their company name, and still supports one of the few remaining VR machines in the field (above the Vortex). With all the investment in digital out-of-home entertainment (DOE) regarding VR investment, it will be interesting tio see what machines will be in the venues of the future, and how many of them survive the test of time like the Vortex.
