Throughout the previous few years, we've seen an array of news posts about the way virtual reality was going to save the classic arcade. The theory goes that the VR indoor playground equipment, childwelfaresocietykenya.org, is too expensive for home users, so it creates an opportunity for operators to pony up the big dollars to buy it and make their money back by charging a match to play with it.
"While many high-end headsets were released last year which may bring virtual-reality adventures to your living room, adoption of this technology remains in its first days to get a lot of reasons--it is still bulky, pricey, and there isn't all that much to do as soon as you've got it on your face. Over two million cans were shipped globally in 2016, according to an estimate from market researcher Canalys, yet this figure pales compared to the prevalence of, say, video game consoles (sales of the top one, Sony's PS4, topped six million throughout the 2016 holiday season ). Consumer virtual reality will likely catch on as costs come down and headsets improve. In the meantime, however, a variety of businesses are betting that customers may be happy to pay a much smaller sum to try the tech with their friends at, say, an arcade, theme park, or even bowling alley"
It's tempting to fall into this snare, but in the operator's perspective VR is a terrible deal. Aside from buying a brand new car and driving it a mile, I can't think about a way you could lose money faster between what you pay and what you will be able to get for it down the street.
Another limit for most operators is that while you may be able to provide a space for VR individuals to wander around in today, as new VR technology is introduced, we're going to see the stage expanded from 100 square feet to the entire world. Rather than viewing just the games in your headset, you will realize the true world with sport play overlayed. Children can visit the park and relive the knights of the round table or parking garages to take aliens. Since the tech allows more actual world areas to be explored, it's going to earn a cramped arcade look fairly lame in comparison.
VR is already heading for mass market acceptance, however it's demand isn't being driven by players who wish to pay big buck to play with video games, but such as the BETAMAX that came before it, by individuals who want to watch pornography in their homes.
Even when an operator can make a little bit of money to the next few years, after VR achieves critical mass, then it is going to crush whatever revenue flow that operators're dreaming of. Don't believe me? Just check out what's going on in China.
Last year, an eye popping 35,000 virtual reality arcades opened up in China. A year later 22,000 of them have closed.
This is an incredible failure rate over such a brief period of time and one which should serve as a sharp warning to anyone considering investing in the VR games. Maybe Dave and Busters can afford to take losses on the matches longer than Chinese startup arcades, however I doubt that most North American operators are going to fare far better using the tech in their game rooms and will only end up in debt at the end of the day.
The issue essentially boils down to customers not being willing to pay a premium for the experience. Tech In Asia, describes the problem perfectly in their article, on that the Chinese VR boom and bust.

"Enterprising shop owners leaping into VR are finding it impossible to bill fees comparable to cinemas or bowling alleys to get a VR experience. One VR arcade owner told iHeima that he saw eager queues when charging US$1.50 to get a 30-minute session, but everybody disappeared when it climbed to US$5. By that kind of revenue it is impossible to pay the rent."
Even if the game was sold out all day, at $1.50 a half hour they're only earning $30 a day.
The real world data streaming in from China should serve as a canary in the quarter mines of North America. Operators who invest large amounts of money on fancy VR setups will probably find their little VR rooms being replaced by the whole world as a stage. Since the setups get cheaper, smaller and more portable, the digital arcades will seem more expensive, bulky and restricted.