Virtuix, developer of the Omni virtual reality treadmill and Omni Arena esports attraction, has revealed that the world’s first Omni Arena installation at Pinballz, is on track to earn $300,000 in its first year and achieve an ROI in five months.
The installation at the family entertainment centre in Austin, Texas, US earned $75,000 in its first three months of operation from more than 5,000 plays. More than 1,000 were repeat plays.
Among players with a player account, the repeat play rate was as high as 40 per cent. Pinballz charges $15 per play, per player and operates Omni Arena with one attendant. In a recent survey of 135 players, 42 per cent reported they had come to the venue specifically to play Omni Arena.
“We believe VR esports with Omni Arena can be a new anchor attraction,” said Jan Goetgeluk, founder and CEO of Virtuix. “Our current Omni Arena installations are experiencing a high repeat play rate and are attracting an audience to the venue who visit specifically to play Omni Arena.”
As an anchor attraction, Omni Arena is designed to be affordable and compact and offers a guest experience that lasts 15 to 20 minutes. Guests can play with or against their friends, compete for top spots on leaderboards, win cash from a $50,000 pool and earn other prizes in weekly esports contests sponsored by Virtuix, HP and HTC.
When the game finishes, players receive a video of their experience, embedded with the venue’s logo that they can share on social media.
Readers may have noticed the attraction being referred to as Omni Arena - this is in response to the majority of customers consistently referring to it as such. Virtuix has decided to effect the small change to reflect this and will officially use the short and simple new title going forward.
