Virtuix, developer of the VR Arena esports attraction, has revealed that its installation at Pinballz, a family entertainment centre in Texas, US, earned US$52,000 in its first two months of operation.
The attraction also achieved a repeat play rate of 26 per cent among guests with a player account. Pinballz charges $15 per play and operates VR Arena with one attendant.
“VR Arena continues to beat all expectations,” said Jan Goetgeluk, founder and CEO of Virtuix. “Our ongoing esports contests drive strong repeat play and attract gamers who wouldn’t otherwise visit this entertainment venue. We’ve met players who drove over an hour to Pinballz to play VR Arena.”
The attraction lets players walk and run around inside the worlds of first-person shooters and other video games. Guests can play with or against their friends, compete for top spots on leaderboards, win cash from a US$50,000 pool and earn other prizes in weekly esports contests sponsored by Virtuix, HP and HTC. The whole experience lasts 15 to 20 minutes and players can share a video of their gameplay on social media afterwards.
Virtuix published data from a survey of 33 players who attended an event at Pinballz. The company reported that all participants said they would play VR Arena again and 45 per cent said they had come to Pinballz specifically to play VR Arena. Overall, they rated the experience 92 per cent positive.
“These results underscore VR Arena’s potential as a new anchor attraction for family entertainment centres that is both affordable and compact,” Goetgeluk added.
