Six Lessons About VR Games You Need To Learn Before You Hit 40

Throughout the last few years, we have seen an array of news articles about the way virtual reality was about to conserve the classic arcade. The theory goes that the VR indoor playground equipment is too expensive for home users, so it creates an opportunity for operators to pony up the big dollars to buy it and then 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. From the MIT Technology Review.
"While many high-end cans were released last year which may bring virtual-reality adventures to your living room, adoption of the technology remains in its earliest days for a lot of reasons--it's still bulky, expensive, and there isn't all that far to do once you've got it on your face. Over two million headsets were shipped worldwide in 2016, according to a quote from market researcher Canalys, yet this figure pales in comparison to the prevalence of, say, video game consoles (earnings of the leading one, Sony's PS4, topped six million during the 2016 holiday season ). Consumer virtual reality will probably catch on as costs come down and cans improve. In the meantime, however, a variety of companies are betting that consumers may be pleased to pay a much smaller sum to try out the technology with their friends at, say, an arcade, theme park, or bowling alley"
It is tempting to dive into this trap, but from an operator's perspective VR is a terrible deal. Operators are being requested to pay top dollar for technology that's all but guaranteed to plummet in value within the very short term. Aside from buying a brand-new car and driving it a mile, I can not think of a way that you could lose money faster between what you pay and what you'll be able to get down the road.
Another limitation for operators is that while you may have the ability to provide a space for VR people to wander around in now, as new VR tech is unveiled, we are likely to see the point expanded from 100 square feet to the whole world. Instead of viewing just the games in your headset, you'll realize the true world with sport play overlayed. As the tech allows more real world places to be explored, it's going to make a cramped arcade look pretty lame in comparison.
VR is already heading for mass market acceptance, however it's demand isn't being driven by players who want to pay big buck to play video games, but like the BETAMAX that came before it, by individuals who want to watch pornography in their homes.
Even when an operator can create just a little bit of money to the next few decades, after VR achieves critical mass, it is going to crush whatever revenue flow that operators're dreaming of. Do not believe me? Just check out what is happening in China.
A year later 22,000 of these have closed.
That is an unbelievable failure rate over such a brief time period and one which should function as a sharp warning to anyone considering investing in the VR games. Perhaps Dave and Busters can afford to take losses on the matches more than Chinese startup arcades, but I doubt that most North American operators are going to fare far better using the tech in their match rooms and will only wind up in debt in the end of the day.
The issue basically boils down to customers not being prepared to pay a premium for the experience. Tech In Asia, describes the issue perfectly in their own article, on that the Chinese VR boom and bust.

"Enterprising shop owners jumped into VR are finding it impossible to bill fees comparable to cinemas or bowling alleys for a VR experience. One VR arcade proprietor told iHeima he saw eager queues when charging US$1.50 for a 30-minute session, but everybody disappeared as it climbed to US$5. By that sort of revenue it is impossible to pay the lease."
Even if the match was sold out all day, at $1.50 per half hour they're only earning $30 per day.
The real world information streaming in from China should function as a canary in the quarter plantations of North America. Operators who invest large amounts of money on elaborate VR setups will probably find their small VR rooms being substituted by the entire world as a stage. As the setups get cheaper, smaller and more portable, the digital arcades will seem more expensive, bulky and restricted. I'd like to be proven wrong on this one, but I think the arcade VR trend is more hype than hope.