Virtuix, developer of the “Omni” virtual reality treadmill and “VR Arena” esports attraction, announced that the world’s first VR Arena installation at Pinballz, a family entertainment centre in Austin, Texas, earned $52,000 in its first two months of operation.
The attraction achieved a repeat play rate of 26% among guests with a player account. Pinballz charges $15 per play and operates VR ARENA with one attendant.
“VR Arena continues to beat all expectations,” said Jan Goetgeluk, Founder and CEO of Virtuix. “Our ongoing esports contests drive strong repeat play and attract gamers who wouldn’t otherwise visit this entertainment venue. We’ve met players who drove over an hour to Pinballz to play VR Arena.”
VR Arena is a four-player esports attraction that lets players walk and run around inside the worlds of first-person shooters and other video games. Guests can play with or against their friends, compete for top spots on leaderboards, win cash from a $50,000 pool, and earn other prizes in weekly esports contests sponsored by Virtuix, HP, and HTC. The whole experience lasts 15 to 20 minutes, and when it finishes, players can share a video of their gameplay on social media.
Virtuix published data from a survey of 33 players who attended an event at Pinballz. All stated that they would play VR Arena again, and 45% said they had come to Pinballz specifically to play VR Arena. Overall they rated the experience 92% positive. These results underscore VR Arena’s potential as a new anchor attraction for family entertainment centres (FECs) that is both affordable and compact.
Virtuix published a blog post here about how VR esports can be a new anchor attraction for FECs, and a white paper here about how VR and esports can increase FEC revenues. Interested FEC operators can contact Virtuix for more information and sign up for a VIP demo of VR Arena here.