Newsbytes: ImmersiON-VRelia, GameOn Berlin, Pinball & NTG #13

Happy weekend everyone, here is some news for you to use:

ImmersiON VRelia

Since Oculus Rift came onto the scene and re-ignited interest in Virtual Reality, we have seen demos and heard talk of the technology getting some real use in the arcade/amusement/attraction/out-of-home entertainment industry. So far there have been tests and experiments, the one project to gain the most media attention was Chuck E. Cheeses Virtual Ticket Blaster although that was already canned due to concerns over injuries.

That doesn’t mean that there still aren’t ideas that can work and work well in the amusement industry. Oculus is not the only company that has been looking to enter into the VR hardware game, just the most prominent so far. Today comes news of a competitive idea and company, where their focus is providing VR tech to the professional amusement industry.  Called ImmersiON-VRelia, they have developed a “Full HD 3D HMD|HUD|VR|AR Ready” headset capable of offering 120 degree Field of View as well as a cloud based software delivery platform that they are calling “The AlterSpace”.

Here is the PRO headset, which on the website shows the blue pieces lighting up when it is on although I cannot find a standalone picture of that:

They also have a GO headset designed to work with cell phones, the idea being that their AlterSpace system will allow various uses for gaming, training, education, and so on with that while reaching compatibility with all mobile platforms by next year. The cost on the PRO isn’t huge either, landing around $550 in low volume orders.

Whether we will see this used in any sort of arcade attraction remains to be seen, interest is there but perception on using a device people have to put on their person that a stranger has just used means an attendant to wipe things down and ensure things are fitting properly. Given the increased push for FEC attractions and products, this could be the main focus of where we would find this, given the right concept. Dave & Busters has shown interest in the idea of VR; ultimately companies are going to need a AAA app to get people beyond the initial wow factor that the hardware offers. ImmersiON isn’t just focusing on our sector though, branching out into various other professional sectors will prove beneficial I can imagine.

The press release for this can be read here @ TippNews.com [ImmersiON Website]

GameOn Berlin Seeks Crowdfunding To Open An Arcade Facility

Crowdfunding efforts to launch new amusement/arcade facilities have proven to show mixed results so far, with some making their goals, most falling short but either way I have noticed that when an effort doesn’t reach the goal, they stick with it and still try to raise funding via other means. GameOn Berlin is looking to crowdfunding at this time to raise needed funds so they can launch a center in Berlin, Germany. From their website:

Imagine a place in Germany, where you find everything that lets a gamer’s heart beat faster: Arcade machines, eSports, LAN parties, from simulators and console games to tabletop games and Pen&Paper; where you can be part of a community, participate together with your friends or your clan in gaming nights and events to fight epic battles, to beat new high scores and to defend the world against hordes of monsters and zombies.

Here is a video in German with their proposal, where they show facilities in Japan and the USA to give kind of an idea of what they hope to accomplish. You don’t have to understand German to get the point, especially when they show how Germany is fairly devoid of anything like it (which I have read has a lot to do with laws/rules/regulations regarding amusement in the country making it very difficult and more expensive to get into). We wish them the best of luck in the endeavor but better than luck, you can help them out by going to their website and donating.

Dariusburst Dual Wielding

I shared this video on different Arcade Heroes social media sites (Our Facebook / Our Twitter if you aren’t following already) and if you haven’t watched it yet then you owe yourself the favor. This video is a few years old but I just discovered it and it is worth sharing. It falls into the same lines as Ghost Squad Guy or those crazy Bemani player videos that go viral every now and then. This guy takes on a set of Original mode levels in Dariusburst EX by himself using two ships and one hand per controls to move and fire. I have trouble avoiding some of the enemy firepower focusing on just playing it the normal way.

Pinball – The Hobbit Gets a Few Playfield Models & The Origins of Full Throttle Pinball

In news for pinball, Jersey Jack Pinball has unveiled a few of the model designs for their upcoming The Hobbit Pinball which is due out by the end of this year.

Also in the world of pinball, Heighway Pinball released this video that gets into the origins of their upcoming game Full Throttle Pinball.

Speaking of pinball, we’re all patiently waiting for the new Star Trek code update, it is going to add a lot of speech and it will be interesting to see if there are any other major changes.

Name That Game #13

Last but never least, this week’s Name….That…..GAME! Last week I gave you three very different games to guess on, one commenter nailed them pretty quickly so it must not have been much of a challenge. 😉

#1: Columns ’97 by Sega

#2: Strike Force by Midway

#3: Daraku Tenshi: The Fallen Angels by Psikyo

And for this week:

For your challenge question: