USA/Australia: Two New VR Arenas Now Open at US Karting Facilities

Two new Virtual Reality (VR) arenas have now been opened at the Xtreme Racing & Entertainment indoor karting center in the greater Tulsa area (OK) as well as at the Octane Raceway in- and outdoor karting facility in Arizona’s Scottsdale. Each of the two new VR arenas, which have been created by Australian VR specialist Zero Latency, covers an area of more than 186 square meters (2,000 square feet). A main characteristic of the company’s VR centers is that players can roam freely around, equipped with a VR headset and without any physical obstacles around them. Up to six guests can play together and choose between different virtual worlds to play in, e.g. “Zombie Survival” or “Engineerium”, a gravity-defying realm where communication and cooperation can unlock new paths to a mysterious goal.

The VR arenas match the offer of a karting facility perfectly: “There is an obvious fit between the white-knuckle experience of kart racing and Zero Latency’s mind-blowing virtual reality games. Zero Latency’s appeal to millennials seeking high-adrenaline entertainment fits a karting center’s customers like a driving glove. Our per-minute pricing models are almost identical to high-speed track time too, creating a combination that leverages the 25-40 year old customer base of any indoor karting center to increase utilization and profits,” explained Bob Cooney, Zero Latency’s Head of Global Business Development. Tim Ruse, Co-founder and CEO of the Melbourne-based company, added: “[…] Kart racers like to literally be behind the wheel and drive their experience, essentially controlling their own adventure, which is precisely what they will love about our free-roam VR. Every play-through of a Zero Latency game is different and unique; and every player has an impact on the players in the adventure with them,” said Ruse.

In the arenas, players see each other as full-motion avatars with their names hovering above them. Similar facilities have already opened as stand-alone attractions or integrated into resorts and FECs in Madrid, Japan, Australia and the USA (c.f. our special on Virtual Reality in EAP, 3/17). (eap)