US EUROPE AFRICA ASIA 中文
    Business / Technology

    Playing virtual games in the real world

    By MA SI (China Daily) Updated: 2016-08-04 09:07

    Playing virtual games in the real world

    A visitor plays a VR-driven game for a 360-degree immersive experience at a recent tech fair in Shanghai. XU KANGPING/CHINA DAILY

    VR spawning bars where pals and siblings spend big bucks for fun and quality time together

    Wang Xiaomeng, 27, became nervous and excited when he and his "little brother" Liu Jiahua, 20, got trapped in a deserted laboratory. Before Wang could reach down for the gun under his belt, the enemies, standing in a line, started firing at them. Liu ducked while Wang, using bare hands, punched the living daylights out of an enemy.

    Transpires, Wang and Liu were totally immersed in the digital experience of Raw Data, a multiple-player virtual reality game. "That's 30 minutes of adrenaline-pumping thrills and fun," Wang said.

    As players of Raw Data, the brothers were equipped with headsets and motion controllers, and could use their bodies and limbs just like they would in real life-walking around, wielding swords, throwing grenades and pushing back a line of robots.

    "The line between the real and the virtual gets blurred here. It's an experience beyond imagination," Wang said.

    Their real-life arena was no larger than an eight-square-meter room darkened by black curtains. Inside, they yelled, punched the air and made a range of awkward faces during the combat. But, all the while, Wang and Liu enjoyed every moment.

    For the brothers, it was quality time spent well together. They paid roughly 220 yuan ($30) for the half-hour experience at a virtual reality or VR bar in Beijing.

    There are many of their ilk who spend several hundred yuan without batting an eyelid for such VR kicks.

    What makes these games expensive is the high cost of VR gadgets.

    For instance, HTC Corp's Vive retails for 6,888 yuan in China. Coupled with Chinese consumers' mounting interest in ?(read demand for) VR and the limited supply of game bars, prices will likely remain high for some time to come.

    To make the most of the opportunity, local entrepreneurs are monetizing VR technology.

    A search on Dazhong Dianping, China's popular Yelp-like business-review service, shows more than 60 VR bars in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou.

    "Just like the internet cafe in the 1990s, the VR bar is now a place where consumers can access immersive digital experience at affordable prices. Before VR device prices begin to fall, more VR bars will pop up first across China," said Shen Meng, director of Chanson&Co, a boutique investment bank in China.

    The VR-related revenue from bars, devices, experience centers and content in China is expected to hit 850 million yuan in 2016, according to Beijing-based consultancy Analysys International.

    But for Hu Yuxiang, a former corporate lawyer and chief operating officer of Omniland, a Beijing-based startup that runs VR experience centers, the essence of such spaces lies in their potential for social networking.

    "Unlike computers that are designed to help people work, VR devices are meant to provide entertainment to users and allow a group of people to have fun together," Hu said. "So, VR bars will continue to thrive even after the devices become affordable. The desire to play VR games with friends will lure consumers."

    According to him, VR devices such as HTC Vive, which offers a room-wide experience, have laid the foundation for VR bars. Vive delivers a new form of entertainment that consumers are willing to pay for, he said.

    Omniland opened its first VR bar in May in a big shopping mall in Beijing. In its first month of operations, the bar attracted more than 3,000 paying consumers. Omniland runs six VR bars now, including the one where Wang and his brother teamed up to take on the Raw Data enemies.

    It has three small rooms covered by curtains that help create a private environment for players. On one side, outside, LED TV screens show the digital world players are immersed in, for the visitors to know what is going on inside.

    Unlike the experience sites at retail stores that seek to persuade consumers to buy VR devices, VR bars focus on services and enable consumers to enjoy VR content more thoroughly, Hu said.

    "In future, VR bars will feature different themes and we are also discussing with partners to offer tourism-related VR services," Hu said.

    For example, a time- and budget-constrained couple wanting to visit Paris may first experience the French capital in a VR trip at a bar.

    "In fact, we can put almost everything into VR bars as long as we are able to produce really good VR content to imitate the real experience," Hu said.

    Hot Topics

    Editor's Picks
    ...
    精品久久久久久无码专区不卡 | 亚洲不卡无码av中文字幕| 最好看的中文字幕2019免费| 久久国产亚洲精品无码| 中文精品久久久久人妻| 亚洲精品中文字幕无码蜜桃| 精品久久久久久无码中文字幕一区| 亚洲精品无码AV中文字幕电影网站| 无码AV大香线蕉| 国产成人精品无码一区二区| 野花在线无码视频在线播放| 亚洲中文字幕伊人久久无码| 亚洲av中文无码乱人伦在线r▽| 国99精品无码一区二区三区| 亚洲日韩激情无码一区| 无码av中文一二三区| 久久中文字幕一区二区| 亚洲欧美中文字幕高清在线| 国产免费黄色无码视频| 国产av永久无码天堂影院| 免费看又黄又无码的网站| 亚洲va无码va在线va天堂| 国产AⅤ无码专区亚洲AV| 在线看片福利无码网址| 大地资源中文第三页| 中文字幕天天躁日日躁狠狠躁免费| 丝袜熟女国偷自产中文字幕亚洲| 亚洲?V无码成人精品区日韩| 精品人妻少妇嫩草AV无码专区 | 久久久久无码精品国产不卡 | 成年午夜无码av片在线观看| 日韩人妻无码一区二区三区99| 亚洲桃色AV无码| 亚洲va无码手机在线电影| 永久免费AV无码网站国产| 亚洲AV无码久久精品成人| 乱色精品无码一区二区国产盗| 久久久久亚洲av无码专区喷水| 久久精品国产亚洲AV无码偷窥| 粉嫩高中生无码视频在线观看| heyzo专区无码综合|