Virtuix, developer of both the Omni VR treadmill and VR Arena esports attraction, has installed its first VR Arena attraction, in partnership with turnkey attraction specialist Funovation, at Pinballz, a FEC-based in Austin, Texas.
A four-player e-sports attraction, the VR Arena consists of four Omni motion platforms, which enable players to walk and run inside a simulation, and an automated staging area, which can accomodate 20 players per hour. A social sharing station enables players to share their gameplay videos.
The VR Arena also offers weekly and monthy esports tournaments - organised by Virtuix, Funovation, HP and HTC - offering an annual prize pool of more than US $50k (£39.3k, €44.4k).
The company plans to install three more VR Arena systems by the end of this month (June), with further plans to install a total of 20 systems by the end of 2019.
Darren Spohn, owner of Pinballz, said: "VR Arena is off to a great start. Revenues and player numbers have so far exceeded our expectations and technical issues have been minimal. Virtuix's VR attraction is a big draw for our guests, especially those in the gaming community."
Jan Goetgeluk, founder and CEO of Virtuix, said: "The launch of VR Arena is a big milestone for our company. The initial reactions and orders since our unveiling have been overwhelming. Our main focus now is to fulfill our order backlog and, ultimately, we aim to install a VR Arena at ever FEC, trampoline park, bowling centre and large entertainment venue in the US and elsewhere."
Ryan Borton, CEO of Funovation, said: "Thanks to its active, multiplayer and competitive gameplay, VR Arena have the potential to become an anchor attraction for the family entertainmnet industry. Walking and running around in VR games, combined with esports, is a unique experience that drives players to come again and again."
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