Neon Genesis Evangelion is one of the most popular and successful Anime ever to come out of Japan and has resulted in an avalanche of spin-offs from videogames, to drama CDs, light novels and, more recently, the Rebuild of Evangelion movie remakes; so it could be considered inevitable that it would eventually be adapted into a virtual reality (VR) experience.
Namco Bandai have announced that a VR experience titled Evangelion VR: The Soul Seat will be installed at Namco Bandai’s VR Zone arcade amusement centre in Shinjuku this summer. The experience involves the player getting into a specially-built pilots seat, which is designed to resembled the Eva Unit pilot seats from the anime, and donning a VR headset. The pilot chair comes equipped with actuators and haptic feedback that allows it to shake and move in response to what is happening within the VR experience.
What is currently known of the plot of Evangelion VR: The Soul Seat involves the player being roped in to taking control of one of the Eva units as one of the regular pilots has gone missing and being thrust into a battle against the eldritch forces of the Angels that are attacking Tokyo 3.
So far not much else is known of how the title will play, or if it will tie in to the main Evangelion storyline. The HUD that has been shown so far shows a colour scheme consistent with the Eva Unit 01 usually piloted by Shinji Ikari, the series protagonist, if that is the case, then will the plot address what has happened to Shinji? Considering that Evangelion is known for its labyrinthine plot in all its incarnations, it seems unlikely that the VR title would leave out such a vital series element.
VRFocus will bring you further updates on Evangelion VR: The Soul Seat when further information becomes available.