I’ve been going to the IAAPA trade show since 2009, and while manufacturers will often do prize giveaways, I don’t recall hearing about anything quite as elaborate as today’s story. It’s usually something like a tablet or some other kind of relatively inexpensive schwag. Relatively is the key word this time as we take a look at what the the headline to this story is all about.
Who is VR 360 Action?
VR 360 Action is a company based out of Brooklyn, NY and as their name implies, they are focused on VR products. Not of the residential kind that most media outlets focus on, but what we in the industry call “LBE VR.” They’ve been a part of the VR manufacturers exhibiting at IAAPA for several years, but they have also attended other industry shows, like Amusement Expo. You can visit their website here; Their systems range from sit-down motion simulators to TRON-style light-cycles to tethered roaming solutions. Most of their products come in green cabinets or have green accents:
The OMG Simulator Giveaway
Their platforms host a variety of game types but their flagship product is the OMG Simulator. This is a two-seat system with a motion base, DEEPOON E3Pico Neo 3 Pro VR headsets(correction note – I originally wrote the Deepoon E3 sets, but they recently changed to the Pico), and over 20 supported games. Some of those are interactive as players can push buttons on the handle to fire weapons, others are more about the simulation experience. These games have been custom made for the OMG although some games work across several of their platforms. The OMG in question sells for around $30,000; Here is a promo video:
As mentioned per the headline, this system, which does work as a pay-per-play product, will be raffled off at IAAPA Expo 2023. That’s certainly much bigger and more expensive than a tablet…in thinking about it, I want to say that Raw Thrills once gave away a Big Buck Hunter machine, but I can’t find a source for that, so my old man memory might just be playing tricks with me on some other kind of giveaway. Something at this price point though is unheard of for such a thing, at least in our industry.
As this flyer mentions, you have to go to their booth and register or drop your business card off; That can be done at any time at the show, up until Thursday afternoon where they will be doing the raffle drawing (that is being held at 1:30PM on Thursday, if you’re interested). I will be there to film it – hopefully as a livestream but if not(due to data coverage – WiFi in the center tends to be horrible), I’ll be posting it as soon as I possibly can. I will be leaving the show as soon as the raffle is over so I will be in a little bit of a hurry.
What do you think about the idea of raffling off a full-blown arcade machine like this?
Cool idea! The machine looks good, I’ll be there to check it out