Exposing more consumers to the concept of virtual reality is not all that easy. It is evident something will need to change in this regard. So far, that is not all that easy. VR arcades present an interesting opportunity, although it is still a niche market. Croydon, a city in the United Kingdom, is trying to make this technology more appealing to Europeans. They have opened their first dedicated VR cafe, known as Limitless-VR.
Croydon Welcomes First VR Cafe
It is always interesting to see how consumers respond to the concept of a VR arcade. In the US and Japan, such locations are rather common. Although not frequented by a lot of people every day, they make for interesting tourist attractions or social activities with friends. In Europe, there is very little demand for such services, but that isn’t keeping entrepreneurs from giving it a try. In Croydon, England, there is now a dedicated virtual reality experience cafe. The venue opened in late November and hopes to welcome at least a few thousand people in the next few months.
Customers who visit Limitless-VR can enjoy over a dozen different VR experiences. This includes a wide selection of games in different genres, as well as adventures, content consumption, and even painting. This latter part will certainly get a lot of attention, as it allows people to express their creative side in a virtual environment. It is expected the games themselves will get most of the attention during the initial stages, though.
Opening such a venue in Croydon makes a lot of sense. The city is home to a booming technology hub, which means there will be a stronger focus on different forms of technology in general. Since there was no VR arcade or cafe in the city yet, someone has to be the first. Both entrepreneurs who co-own this venue were taken aback by how much virtual reality had matured over the past few years. It is quite a remarkable industry, which is still evolving on a regular basis.
Rather than just using a VR headset, visitors of Limitless-VR will get their own distinctive gaming area of two meters squared. Given the fact so many VR games are room scale, this choice makes a lot of sense. The business owners aim to offer team building exercises and simulations in the future as well. It is evident virtual reality will open a lot of new doors and create more jobs in the coming years. Whether or not this industry can succeed as a whole, remains a big unknown, for now.
Header image courtesy of Croydon Advertiser
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