Zero Latency’s and Sandbox release new updates to their latest games. And the art + cultural market continues to explode with a new Meow Wolf NYC location announced. If you thought VR peaked with haunted houses and zombie shooters… think again. This week we have a new VR coaster at Universal, Huey Dustoff rescue missions, and augmented reality making a claim for the LBAR market. And one big thing? It’s time to start a location-based VR association. Read on…

"What’s the difference between a downloadable theme park and a unicorn? Unicorns aren’t real.”

New Developments

NEW DEVELOPMENTS

Theme Parks

Experience the Thrill: Spy x Family’s VR Coaster Ride at Universal Studios Japan
Universal Studios Japan is bringing the world of Spy x Family to life with a VR-enhanced roller coaster experience. Read more

Did the Netflix of China Just Unveil a VR Theme Park?
China's streaming giant iQIYI is stepping into the location-based VR space with the debut of an immersive VR theme park concept. Read more

Brent Bushnell’s Downloadable Theme Park On Shark Tank April 4
The Two Bit Circus CEO introduces an augmented reality theme park experience that was just unveiled in Yerba Buena Gardens in SF during GDC. Will the sharks buy the vision? Tune in Friday, April 4, 2025, at 8:00 PM on ABC and Hulu.

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FECs and Arcades

Future Kid FEC: How They Achieved 7-Month ROI with

Future Kid Family Entertainment Center shares how it achieved an impressive seven-month ROI by integrating Hero Zone’s free-roam VR platform. Read more

Sandbox VR Adds Exciting New Game to Its Popular Squid Games VR Experience
Sandbox VR continues to build on its Squid Games success with a new multiplayer VR game expansion. Read more

Museums and Science Centers

New Medal of Honor Museum Features Heart-Pounding Helicopter Rescue VR Experience
The upcoming Medal of Honor Museum is adding an adrenaline-fueled helicopter rescue VR experience to its lineup of interactive exhibits. Read more

Art, Music, and Culture

Meow Wolf to Stun NYC with a Video Game Culture Destination
Meow Wolf is heading to New York City with a brand-new venue inspired by video game culture and interactive storytelling. Read more

Impressionism Comes to Life: Explore Free-Roam VR Exhibitions in Hong Kong
Hong Kong is hosting a series of free-roam VR exhibitions that bring Impressionist masterpieces to life in a whole new way. Read more

Travel and Tourism

Explore the History of Carcassonne 1304 in Excurio’s Newest VR Experience
Travel back to medieval France with Excurio’s new VR journey through the fortified city of Carcassonne in the year 1304. Read more

Vive Arts Partners with Versailles for Groundbreaking VR Experience
Vive Arts is teaming up with the Palace of Versailles to offer an innovative VR experience that lets visitors step back into French royal history. Read more

Technology

Location-Based AR Gets a Boost from Snap Spectacles’ Latest Innovation
Snap's latest update to its Spectacles platform is enhancing location-based AR experiences, promising more dynamic real-world interactions. Read more

How Markerless Mocap Is Transforming Location-Based VR Experiences
New markerless motion capture technology is streamlining location-based VR, making it easier to deliver high-quality, interactive experiences. Read more

OTHER STUFF

Dreams Program: From Laser Tag to LBE—How Travis Cloyd Is Leading the Charge at FIU
Florida International University is launching the Dreams Program, led by Travis Cloyd, to bridge the gap between traditional entertainment and next-gen immersive experiences. Read more

One Big Thing

It’s Time For the Location-based VR Association

The VR Arcade and Attraction Summit set a record for attendance and engagement. 200 people came from as far as Japan, India, Europe and even East Africa. We will be releasing the audio recordings of the sessions, which averaged a 9.52 on a scale of 10 when attendees where asked if they’d recommend the Summit to a friend.

I wish you could all have been there (though we would have needed a much bigger room!) This was the last year of our contract with Amusement Expo International, so we have some strategizing to do before we figure out where we take the conference in the future.

As the location-based VR market grows beyond arcades and into museums, cultural centers, theme parks, tourist attractions, and shopping centers, it’s time to come together as an industry. It’s time for look into forming an association.

I am not an association person. I’ve worked with several over my 35-years in the industry, and I’ve done the most good on the outside. Forming an association is the last thing I would want to do. But it’s definitely what the market needs. And this was confirmed overwhelmingly by the audience at the Summit.

We held an Unconference on Monday morning of the Summit. There were about 100 people who collaborated to identify the biggest challenges facing the LBVR business. While there was no shortage of challenges, the top six were (in no particular order):

1. Marketing the Value of the Attractions

2. Customer Acquisition via Digital Marketing

3. Building Community and Esports

4. Risk, Liability, Maintenance and Insurance

5. Technology Selection, Obsolescence, and Infrastructure

6. Optimizing Revenue and Throughput

We broke up into workgroups, each group facilitated by a volunteer in the audience. They dove deep into the more granular issues to determine which challenges are likely to have been solved by someone in the market, and which ones we need to tackle as a community via working groups.

The next step is to move this work into the VR Collective Circle community app. In the app we have created a space for each of the topic, and volunteers have offered to help drive the discussion forward.

Joining Circle is free right now (even though it is costing us about $250 a month for the subscription.) Our intention it is that once formed, we will work on moving the VR Collective assets to the association so it is up and running with a community platform, a website, and a media platform.

If you are interested in being part of this movement, please join Circle today. It’s very easy to join, and there will always be some level of free access. As of this writing we have 244 members, mostly operators. Suppliers are welcome, but please refrain from advertising until we have the supplier spaces set up. More on that coming soon.

You can also download the Circle mobile app for Apple and Android

I hope to see you in the community.

Stay immersed,

Bob