Customer Experience

Virtual reality’s ‘I-Phone Moment’ has arrived

Consumer VR headset sales are "exploding" due to Oculus Quest 2, causing retail, entertainment and other venues to follow suit, consultant Bob Cooney noted in his keynote presentation at the Amusement Expo International show.

Bob Cooney addressed Las Vegas listeners from Australia.

July 12, 2021 by Elliot Maras — Editor, Kiosk Marketplace & Vending Times

The future is virtual. It doesn't matter where you reside, physically or figuratively — a lot of 21st century interaction will be virtual.

Bob Cooney, a VR consultant, delivered this message by way of example at the recent Amusement Exo International at the Las Vegas Convention Center, with his image projected on to a display screen from his office in Australia.

Bob Cooney "roamed" the conference room with his image beamed from a robot.

"People want better immersion, and when people start getting used to VR, 2D screens, LCD, are not going to be enough," he said during his keynote session, "Virtual Reality's I-Phone Moment, and What It Means To You."

While Cooney geared most of his remarks to the amusement machine industry, he encouraged his Las Vegas listeners to visit Omega Mart, an interactive, mind-bending art experience at Area 15 in Las Vegas that demonstrates VR's application to traditional grocery retail. He described Omega Mart as a combination of an immersive grocery store, an art museum and an entertainment center.

"It's beyond categorization," Cooney said. But "the reviews are off the charts… they're selling out like crazy." Area 15 is an experiential retail and entertainment complex one mile west of the Las Vegas Strip.

VR headsets explode

What makes Cooney so sure about VR's impact on the future? The consumer. Consumer VR headset sales are "exploding," he said, due to Oculus Quest 2, causing retail, entertainment and other venues to follow suit.

He called it the "i-Phone moment for virtual reality."

For any doubters in the room, Cooney showed stats indicating VR gaming has increased 110% year over year, jumping form 1 million connected units to 3 million in 11 months.

"If that growth curve holds we're talking about 80 million headsets in the next five years," he said.

To prove he isn't alone in his forecast, Cooney pointed to John Riccitiello, CEO of Unity Technologies, a software developer, who said that by the end of the decade, VR devices will be at the same level that game consoles are today.

"By the end of this decade, we're highly likely to see VR as the next consumer gaming platform," Cooney said.

Facebook drives growth

Facebook, which owns Oculus, is doing its part to drive the growth.

"They're subsidizing the hardware costs like telecom companies did with the early iPhones," he said.

And so far, it's working: The number of active monthly Facebook users continues to grow and now stands at almost 3 billion users.

Creative studios are also taking note and creating VR experiences for entertainment venues.

Netflix, for example, is producing location-based VR attractions that will tour worldwide.

"We're seeing big money come into the industry," Cooney said. "They're coming in with a real team interest on immersive technology, and specifically right now virtual reality, which is kind of the way a lot of people are bringing these experiences to market."

"That is the next display technology that is being adopted by our industry," he said.

Historical precedent

Putting VR in historical perspective, Cooney said the iPhone launched in 2007 following weak smartphone growth, posting 100% one-year growth for two straight years, gaining 65% market penetration over five years.

In the amusement industry, a new platform emerges every 10 to 15 years, he said. Arcades moved to console/PCs, followed by mobile. VR is the next platform.

Headsets, meanwhile, continue to improve

The HTC Vive Focus 3, with magnesium alloy crane, a swappable battery and magnetic removable face plates for cleaning, has a 5k display where Quest was under 4k. The field of view, which determines how far one can see, has extended from 89 degrees to 120 degrees.

It also features inside out tracking, so tracking cameras are not required.

"Everything sits inside the headset," he said, adding that early reviews have been positive.

Bob Cooney introduces Sean Griffin of Nomadic.

Growth during the pandemic

The pandemic did not stop Nomadic, a location-based VR entertainment provider, from introducing its Lightsaber VR game.

Cooney introduced Sean Griffin, Nomadic CEO, also appearing on screen, to describe his experiences launching the game through the pandemic.

The Nomadic team was challenged to test it in the field since many locations were closed, but by the end of 2020, more than 200 game cabinets were in the field.

A survey indicated 55% said the game was excellent, but too many were having bad experiences.

The team then reordered the instructions, making it clear that the users had to use the tutorial, to which they added text. They also streamlined the tutorial to focus on fewer elements.

They re-entered the game into the field and once again observed players in action.

After the second set of observations, the team made some additional changes.

They further refined the language and removed the "skip" option in the tutorial.

The level of engagement improved. All the players were throwing the Lifesaber instead of just 40% at the outset. Three quarters said it was an excellent experience.

"We're thrilled to see that now everyone is doing it," Griffin said.

Asked about the future, Griffin echoed Cooney, saying studios want to reach customers in more locations.

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