This summer, entertainment in Virtual Reality is being taken to the next level with its incorporation into rollercoasters and arcades across the globe. The United States is leading this trend compared to the other countries currently working to bring VR to theme parks, with 14 separate locations that have a VR rollercoaster or arcade experience. Six Flags alone is introducing two new VR rollercoasters at nine of their amusement parks across the nation. Six of these locations will have the New Revolution Virtual Reality Coaster, which transports riders into a futuristic battle to save the planet from an alien invasion. The remaining three are the SUPERMAN Virtual Reality coasters, which immerses the rider into a 360 degree comic book world, soaring alongside SUPERMAN. All are powered by the Samsung Gear VR, which the rider will wear throughout the experience.
One company, THE VOID, has opened a theme park solely dedicated to Virtual Reality. The Utah-based company focuses on hyper-reality, where physical sets, real-time interactive effects, and virtual reality merge. THE VOID’s hyper-reality experience is bring introduced to Madame Tussauds’ New York location starting July 1st with their new Ghostbusters VR Experience. Even sports parks are introducing VR for fans to use. Both the Boston Red Sox and the San Francisco Giants have incorporated VR into their fan experience, allowing users to virtually be in the batting cage with David Ortiz and get a field view of the Giants at Spring Training. Many of these advances in the VR industry are their first of their kind in North America and it’s likely that these innovations will keep coming.
Below is the full infographic by Sensics:
