VR gaming looks wicked cool from the inside and somewhat dorky from the outside.
VRStudios has installed a full-motion multiplayer virtual reality system in the Muckleshoot Casino in Auburn, Washington. The virtual reality system is the first of its kind in the United States. The studio streams wireless VR video to players, so they have the entertainment of advanced video game play with the excitement of gambling on the results.
VRStudios, a Seattle-based startup company, offers a variety of creative VR video games. Barking Irons is an Old West-style shootout. Time Zombies is a first-person shooter about a zombie apocalypse, which is always popular.
How VR Gaming in Casinos Works
The studio allows one or two players to don VR headsets, so the two-player game has a shared gaming experience. The players walk around the VR studio while holding weapons plugged into the game. As the zombies or gunslingers approach, the players see a 360-degree surround-sound gaming world around them.
While the game happens, other casino guests can watch it transpire on large TV screens. The VR Studio is $5 per session and participants must be 21 years of age.
Muckleshoot Casino on VR Systems
Junior Maldonado, the Entertainment Manager at Muckleshoot Casino, said that the gaming system has been popular with customers and gamblers alike. Maldonado said, “People of all ages are loving this riveting new experience. Some customers are so enthralled they’ve played VRstudios’ games more than 15 times in a single night and then returned the next evening for another round of fun.”
How to Appeal to Millennial Gamblers
Over the past year or so, American casinos have sought to answer the question: how do you appeal to potential millennial gamblers? The under-35 generation is the largest demographic in the United States these days, so any operator who finds a way to appeal to a broad section of that demographic is going to have a leg up on their competition. Those who fail to address the issue are going to see their clientele go away, through death or old age.
One thing that is certain is millennials have no interest in traditional slots row. They see slot machines as boring and unfair, because it lacks any skill or strategy aspect. The common refrain is slots are “gambling for grandma”.
With that in mind, casino operators have sought a variety of answers. Las Vegas and Atlantic City casinos lobbied to have skill slots legalized, so they can offer slot machines that have skill aspects and play more like a video game. Slot machines with skill elements are in their early stages of development, so it is hard to know whether they will be successful. Early prototypes seem to have the illusion of skill, but are not impressive. That being said, prototypes are, by their very nature, usually imperfect versions of what the designers want.
Other casinos are starting to embrace eSports betting. Electronic sports are competitive video game competitions for money prizes. Esports have live in-house crowds to watch the events, and even larger online audiences who view the games on Twitch. Because eSports have all the elements of traditional sporting events, Las Vegas sportsbook operators like William Hill and the Downtown Grand Casino have offered eSports betting at their brick-and-mortar sportsbooks.
Yet other casinos offer virtual sportsbooks, which allow gamblers to bet on simulated video sports. Imagine betting on the outcome of a Madden video game and you can imagine virtual sports machines, which are powered by Inspired Gaming. The Bethlehem Sands has installed 150 electronic blackjack and roulette machines, hoping electronic table games are more appealing to millennials.
Now, VRStudios and Muckleshoot Casino are taking a chance on VR arcade gambling. As with the other attempts to tap an audience, there is a certain amount of speculation. Of the millennial-focused gambling options, VRstudios’ virtual reality appears to be the most entertaining — and has the biggest leap forward in gaming technology.
VRStudios History
VRStudios was launched in 2011 under the name VRcade. Over the next few years, VRcade designers perfected the cutting edge technology, while trying to market to gaming operators and non-gaming arcade chains alike.
The business was revamped and rebranded as VRstudios Inc. in July 2014. Over the past couple of years, the technology and design work has caught up to the imagination of the designers, allowing VRstudios to sign deals with a variety of customers. Their business dealings are now global in scope.
VRStudios’ Other Locations
While VRStudios has not debuted other casino VR studios, the company has signed deals to place their technologies in other establishments, most of which are non-gambling venues.
VRStudios has a deal to place a VR system at Universal Studios Orlando, along with the North American gaming chain, Stampede. In the international arena, VRStudios has deals with Smartlaunch in Europe, Korea’s Simuline, and Meraas’ Hub Zero in Dubai.
Seattle: A VR Gaming Hub
Seattle is the home to a large number of virtual reality startups these past few years. A few of VRStudios’ top competitors are Envelop VR, Nullspace VR, AxonVR, VREAL, Pluto, Endeavor One, and Pixvana.
Game design and software design in general naturally locate in Seattle, because of all the tech talent in the area. Companies like Microsoft, Oculus, Valve, and HTC are headquartered in the Seattle area.
