While I was going to combine this news with the weekend newsbytes, it turned out that there was enough on this segment that we could a separate post.
Sega To Showcase PlayStation VR At Tokyo Joypolis in Japan In June: Last month, Bandai Namco made headlines when they opened up a new temporary facility in Japan that was dedicated to VR arcade gaming. Now Sega is jumping in on the action with PlayStation VR – for a shorter time. They will showcase the tech at their Tokyo Joypolis theme park location during the month of June; like Namco, I imagine that Sega (and Sony) will take a look at how popular it is before committing any long term attraction to the idea. Joypolis will have will have three different games to enjoy: The PlayRoom VR; The London Heist (which looks a lot like Lucky ‘N Wild) and The Deep (an underwater diving experience). I wonder what hardware will be used to power it, a stock PS4, a PC or the fabled PlayStation NEO 😛
VRStudios/VRCade Looking to Setup Entertainment Centers Worldwide; Debuts Barking Irons As 1st Multiplayer Wireless VR Game – That sub-headline is a mouthful. Since we’re speaking about out-of-home VR, this news fits. We have reported on VRCade before and locations like Dave & Busters have tested out their setups. Now the company is expanding their technology and their reach by teaming up with Smartlaunch (a company that is known among LAN Centers for their software and eSports efforts) to bring VR arcade style gaming to out-of-home locations around the world.
One of the things every VR company is going to need to get anywhere however is content and they are covering that too, by recently showcasing a ‘Wild West’ shooter game called Barking Irons at a recent trade show. This new trailer to promote the concept in general also shows their new Time Zombies horror survival game:
It should be interesting to see how things shake out for all of these different companies that are working to bring VR gaming to the out-of-home entertainment space(in addition to VRcade you have The Void, StarVR, Zero Latency, MediaMation, etc.). While I’ve yet to play a game that I absolutely had to play again, I’m withholding any final judgment on the tech as there are a lot of ideas in development out there. IAAPA 2016 is going to be very interesting as I am expecting a lot more VR to be found there.
