Can Virtual Reality Go Mainstream?

It was quiet…

Too quiet, in fact, as the raft I found myself aboard floated down the swampy river. The only sounds detected by my ears were the buzzing of the motor mixed with the rippets of frogs and chirping of cicadas.

I gripped the shotgun tighter and turned to my right where my companion was eagerly awaiting orders and said "It's coming, be prepared."

Within seconds of uttering those words, they appeared - faceless purple monsters with massive mouths filled with rows of white piercing teeth. I gripped my weapon and started shooting. "Die alien scum" I shouted over and over again. This was my swamp and I was going to protect it from this alien infestation.

After fifteen laborious minutes, I put down my weapon and removed my HP Vive headset and backpack that had brought this experience to life. The swamp was safe - at least until the next group was brought in to protect it from a similar alien invasion.

Obviously, I was not physically located in a swamp, I was, in actuality, in a 37,000 square foot industrial warehouse just outside of Downtown Los Angeles. Yet, the space resembled nothing like a warehouse, rather, it was more like an arcade.

And what I had just experienced was one of this arcade's Virtual Reality (VR) attractions - appropriately titled "The Raft." Upon exiting the ride, I was hit with the sounds and smells of an arcade.

You know what I'm talking about - high and low swelling cords, excited and frustrated yells of the attendees. But unlike the arcades of my youth which consisted mostly of Chuck-e-Cheese or Kid Zone establishments with low resolution games (throwback to "Duck Hunt") or bop it games where tokens or tickets were dispensed, Two Bit Circus, the arcade I found myself in, was distinctly different.

Split into eight distinct zones, Two Bit Circus, offers far more than just Virtual Reality (VR) adventures. Nestled inside a massive warehouse, a user will find a traditional arcade with throwback games like PacMan, Hexacade, Whack-a-Mole, story rooms (basically escape rooms), an interactive stage show called Club01, VR games (like "The Raft" detailed earlier), plus a bar/club where alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages are served.

Perhaps there is a future for VR I thought to myself when I visited last November. After all, the tech industry had been buzzing about VR since 2016 (recall I mentioned this in my blog several weeks ago) when headsets had first appeared from manufacturers like Oculus and HP.

Personally, I had never seen the value in wearing a headset 24/7, I barely tolerated 3D movie theatre glasses (and to this day still have a hard time justifying the price difference). So, it came as no surprise (at least to me) that VR hit multiple speedbumps trying to sell these high priced entry point headsets to consumers or when developer programs shuttered. It just seemed that VR could not figure out how to make consumers care.

Conversely, there is a more compelling argument to be made combining VR with entertainment spaces. It's no secret that humans love games and in particular video games. Look no further to the success of the Xbox or Playstation which sold over 100M units in 2017. Not convinced? How about eSports or this statistic published last year -

Nearly 70% of Americans play video games, mostly on smartphones.

…hence Two Bit Circus.

But Two Bit, which opened in the fall of 2018, was late to the game and that may be a good thing. Here's why.

Reports surfaced in 2017 that IMAX, yes, the company that builds theatre screens towering seven stories, planned to go big with "virtual reality arcades." Eventually, they opened three locations in Los Angeles, Bangkok and Toronto.

Curious to see what a VR space and experience look like? In the link provided above, there's a fascinating video that provides just that

Fast forward two years and IMAX has pulled the plug. Perhaps you could blame the waning enthusiasm for VR with companies like Microsoft walking back plans to support VR on Xbox or Jaunt, a known leader in VR, announcing it would pivot to AR in October 2018…but I see it differently.

Note - I did not get the chance to visit IMAX's experience before it closed. My statements above are based upon reviews from customers, bloggers and my personal opinions on the matter.

In regards to Imax, the biggest issues I saw with their prototypes was their belief that VR could not stand on its own. Imax positioned each of their locations in proximity to movie theatres with the belief that as the site Upload shared "you'll head out to the movies and before or after the big show you'll visit the AR arcade for a few minutes." And given the space that Imax plays in, that rationale makes sense but the assumption was incorrect.

Immediately, this limits your audience to theatre attendees and organic foot traffic. The rub is movie attendance has been declining as more American consumers choose to stay in and watch content via a streaming service. In my opinion, it was an invalid assumption to believe that VR had to be associated with movie theatres.

A secondary issue was price. The price point for a single game was $10-$15 which at the onset sounds reasonable until you realize that most games are 10-15 minute long. Boasting over 8 possible VR experiences (including two high profile ones - Justice League and Star Trek) , the price tag becomes a concern for consumers who want to play multiple experiences. Especially when consumers understood they could take that same currency and use it to watch a film that is six to eight times longer.

Third and perhaps most important (to me at least), there were no other alternatives for customers. The space was purely for VR experiences with no cross sell opportunities (besides the movie theatre next door). This meant that audiences came explicitly for the VR experience.

So why do I think this next wave of businesses could fair differently than their predecessors?

It's about the entertainment, not about the headset…

There's been a noticeable difference in how newer companies are messaging their experience to consumers and hint hint - VR is often positioned after the proposed experience or not at all. Look at the headlines below -

Chased by dinosaurs in Acomb - at Play It VR, York's new virtual reality arcade

Future of Storytelling Pop-Up VR Arcade is coming to Manhattan

Shakespeare in VR: Virtual Reality 'Hamlet' puts you in the center of the action

The allure of VR may have worn off or not resonated with consumers but mainstream entertainment still sells.

Going back to Two Bit Circus, read their ad that surfaces from a Google search -

"Everything you love about vintage video games, arcades, and cutting edge future-tech."

This next wave seems to understand that multi-experience (i.e. the ability to provide more than just a VR experience) or accessibility with cheaper headsets (i.e. not shelling out a minimum of $150) must be the focus.

More importantly, companies like Two Bit Circus seem to believe their place is less in VR and more in entertainment. Going back to the Google Search I conducted, their full advertisement claims the following:

"Everything you love about vintage video games, arcades, and cutting edge future-tech. Explore a brand new kind of social playspace at the World's First Micro-Amusement Park."

Amusement park, eh? Funny enough when I visited Two Bit, the thought did cross my mind given the choose your own adventure, catering to multiple age groups and of course, the food and beverage aspect of the space.

However, I find it unlikely that Two Bit Circus and Play It VR will knock out heavyweight competitors like Universal Studios or Walt Disney with their established entertainment (case in point, I shelled out $99 two weeks ago to visit The Wizarding World of Harry Potter located inside Universal Studios), I do find the thought intriguing.

Especially in the arena of VR or 3D entertainment. While at Universal Studios two weeks ago, I played two 3D experiences (Despicable Me: Minion Mayhem and Kung Fu Panda) which I found lackluster compared to the games I played at Two Bit Circus. (Mostly because I was seated for both experiences in large theatres fitting ~100 people making this an incredibly impersonal experience and the "shows" were linear - meaning there were no decision making that could change the course of the experience).

With the popularity of "Black Mirror: Bandersnatch" in which users get to choose their own ending, it will be curious to see if this becomes a momentary fad or a slow moving trend that helps VR go mainstream.