VR ZONE Shinjuku, a location-based virtual reality entertainment facility in Tokyo, Japan, opened its doors last week on July 14th. VR ZONE is owned and operated by Bandai Namco Entertainment Inc., a top arcade, mobile and home video game publisher headquartered in Japan. VR ZONE Shinjuku offers a glimpse at the new LBVRE venues opening each week and highlights the bright future for virtual reality arcades across the globe.

VR Zone Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan

Alix Zerd, a Market Analyst with Greenlight Insights based in Tokyo, visited this location on July 20th. Below are notes from his visit.

VR ZONE Shinjuku is very futuristic with a dark atmosphere of blue neon and gray colors. For all intents and purposes, the decor appears styled after traditional video game arcades of the 1990s. Contrary to the old arcade rooms, however, was the amount of space. The facility felt more like an indoor amusement park rather than a standard VR arcade. In terms of price, the entrance fee was 4,4000 yens (roughly $40) for standard admission (which includes four experiences tickets).

The entire facility has been designed to promote and accommodate repeat visits. Each experience ticket is assigned a color (red,yellow, green, blue). As expected, most popular IP related experiences (Dragon Ball Z, Evangelion, Gundam) all share the same color. This means that once a consumer has used their red ticket for instance, they cannot do any other red experience without purchasing additional tickets. Customers can buy extra experience tickets for 900 yens (roughly $7) each. That said, the most popular experiences are not available as single tickets.

VR ZONE Shinjuku offers 16 exclusive experiences, most of them custom-made: the result of a combination between a VR headset (HTC Vive) and a motion simulator specifically designed for the experience (eg: a kart machine for Mario Kart VR).

We sampled Dragon Ball Z, Mario Kart, Ski Rodeo and Hane Chari (flying cycle simulation). They were all impressive, for various reasons. Being able to shoot a ‘kamehameha’ (the famous move from Dragonball Z) was a milestone moment, a must-do for any Dragon Ball fan. Mario Kart was the funniest experience by far. The tension, the fun, the cruelty of crushing opponents with items, everything was here, but this time, the user feels totally in control. The ski and the flying cycle were also very enjoyable, and Greenlight Insights heard users yelling in delight at some points. This facility offers high-end content that is worth the wait and the price.

Mario Kart VR motion simulators

We would like to stress the degree of customer care in this new facility. It maintains at least three staff per experience to make sure customers understand what they are going to play, fix their masks properly, make sure they do not get hurt, and assist them in any other way needed.It is interesting to note that all staff appeared to speak English to some degree. This is unusual in Japan: it is very rare to have an English support and to have english speaking staff. The explanation notice for each experience also had an English version. This facility has clearly been designed to appeal to the tourist population.

Explanation by the staff before each session

Although Greenlight Insights went there in the middle of the afternoon on a weekday, it was still crowded. We observed lots of couples, groups of friends, and a few tourists. There is a screen indicating the estimated waiting time for each experience at the entrance lobby, which is quite useful to know when determining where to head to first. Depending on the experience, we waited from five to 30 minutes.  Given this wait time during the week, it is easy to envision waiting hours during the weekend.

Average waiting time displayed for each experience

Greenlight Opinion: VR Zone is ready for primetime.  The 4,400 yen entry fee is a fair price considering the quality level of each experience available. Bandai Namco is the latest player in Japan to have opened its location-based VR entertainment facility. Other big players like Sega and Taito have also opened this year, and more major players are expected to enter in the coming months. Regulation is also going on as Japan’s Location Based VR Association officially announced its opening on July 18th this year. Most big players are part of it (except for SEGA) and they plan to set clear regulations for VR location-based facilities in Japan and support global development. Being able to offer fun experiences based on worldwide known IPs is definitely a big advantage for Japanese actors. Being aware of it, Bandai Namco already plans to open its first international facility in London this summer. With this global strategy and the IPs it is showcasing, Bandai Namco could become THE major player in the global location based VR scene.

New Research on VR Arcades

Greenlight Insights anticipates that the LBVRE sector will reach $1.2 billion by 2021. This is according to new research in which Analyst Colin McMahon analyzed the future of LBVRE, interviewing and researching key players such as IMAX, Dave & Busters, Six Flags, The Void, and Survios.

For more information, including how to purchase this report, visit Greenlight Insights.