Mario Kart Arcade GP VR

August 3, 2018

From Power Slides to Blue Shells, HTC Vive Talks Mario Kart Arcade GP VR

Out of all the virtual reality (VR) titles that have been released arguably the one that people have most looked forward to getting to try is Mario Kart Arcade GP VR. This experience was released in Japan but now, thanks to HTC Vive the title has made it’s way to London. After getting to try out the title VRFocus’ own Nina Salomons talked with Graham Wheeler, VP Sales, Product and Operations HTC Vive, Europe to discuss HTC’s involvement with the title.

“How we’re involved is basically making sure that we have great VR experiences everywhere where people can try them out and then get to understand what VR can do.” Wheeler explains: “So here with Mario Kart VR, first time in London, it’s just amazing. It adds that immersion to another level when you’re driving in Mario Kart you grab out, you chuck a turtle shell over to the next person and that’s the idea is showing people what you can do in VR and then hey want to try it at home.”

HTC have worked hard to be able to bring the popular title over to London at the VR Zone Portal located within the Hollywood Bowl at The O2. The location allows for up to four players to jump into a race with each other and see who is able to win the mushroom cup within VR. This release has been made possible thanks to the working relationship which HTC have with other parties which Wheeler explained by saying: “The relationship we have with the VR zone guys and Namco Bandai in Japan, so we’re just here making sure that it runs perfectly for these guys and making sure the setup is working great and making sure everyone gets a great experience.”

The setup for Mario Kart Arcade GP VR is built up of numerous components starting with the HTC Vive head-mounted display. They are running with the original Vive HMD for the moment but Wheeler does explain they are getting the Vive Pro setup and ready for the experience shortly. Users will also get to wear the deluxe audio strap for improved immersive and comfort, along with the HTC Vive Trackers which are used to track the hands in VR. This is important because it is what helps make Mario Kart VR stand out from other racing titles by offering that option to grab items to throw at other racers. All of this is then brought to life even further thanks to an actual kart setup which you sit in complete with a steering wheel.

“Everyone has come out with a massive smile on their face.” Said Wheeler when asked how the response to the experience has been: “We sent some of our office here when I came back from a business trip and literally the entire office just didn’t stop talking about it. So it just shows that even though we’ve been in VR a lot it’s a great kind of company to be in and VR experiences but this is just really immersive level people know Mario Kart, everyone has played it so they just naturally go into it so even the skeptics love Mario Kart VR.”

The Mario Kart Arcade GP VR experience is now open in London and the full interview with Wheeler is available to watch below. If you are curious what VRFocus thought about Mario Kart Arcade GP VR then read our hands-on and for all things VR in the future, keep reading.

August 2, 2018

Hands-on with Mario Kart Arcade GP VR: Leave Your Red Shells at Home

It’s a common belief that modern virtual reality (VR) needs the power of IP to succeed. In the world of approachable videogame entertainment, few franchises come as highly regarded as Mario Kart. For more than 25 years mushrooms, plumbers and princesses have been charging across varied landscapes and attacking one another with shells and banana skins trying to reach that pole position, and now you can join the action in VR.

Mario Kart Arcade GP VR is the first step into VR for the Mario Kart franchise, though not in the out-of-home entertainment sector. There have been three previous Mario Kart Arcade GP releases, all of which have been developed by Namco Bandai Games under license from Nintendo. Mario Kart Arcade GP VR doesn’t break this rule, but of course the experience you’ll get when entering the lifesize kart replica is wholly different.

The most obvious change is one of perspective, of course. Mario Kart Arcade GP VR puts the player into the kart in first-person, with a full range of head-movement perspective offered by the HTC Vive that is coupled with every kart. The player chooses their character – Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach or Yoshi – and once in the HMD can see the position of their virtual hands thanks to Vive Tracker pucks which are attached via a velcro strap to each of their real hands. This is a surprising but important aspect of Mario Kart Arcade GP VR.

As will be familiar to any fans of the Mario Kart franchise, the player is tasked with getting around the track as fast as possible while racing through landscapes themed around the Super Mario titles. Mario Kart Arcade GP VR does only offer one course, but it includes a range of locales such as Bower’s Castle, Kamek’s Laboratory and Donut Plains, separated by boost ramps that fade into cloudy whiteness. A variety of dangers exist in the course – potholes, Thwomps, Piranha Plants and Bullet Bills, to name a few – and of course Mario Kart Arcade GP VR features some weaponry to assist your efforts to gain first place.

Sadly only three weapons have made the cut: the banana skin, green shell and a hammer. These weapons are no longer confined to question mark blocks however; as mentioned earlier the player wears Vive Tracker pucks on each hand which allow them to reach out and grab the chosen item from balloons drifting across the track. The banana skin and green shell can then be used similarly to every other edition of Mario Kart (however the effort to accurately throw the item in the desired direction seems to be replaced with a rather inaccurate approximation) while the hammer allows you to bash opponents close to you with physical swings of your hand. This of course is the most entertaining item available.

Elsewhere Mario Kart Arcade GP VR differs from the chosen formula of Mario Kart a little too much to be taken seriously by avid fans of the series. While lacking the commentary of Mario Kart Arcade GP 2 and Mario Kart Arcade GP DX, there are no powerslides or boost tricks in Mario Kart Arcade GP VR and in fact no real reason for a brake pedal. The rubber banding of opponents is extreme in all instances (a design for tension rather than fairness, no doubt) and the impact of weapons realistically has no effect on the outcome of a race until the final straight.

For more casual players however, Mario Kart Arcade GP VR is certainly going to offer a welcome step into the world of VR. The visual quality is almost parallel to that of Mario Kart Arcade GP DX – a decidedly bright and colorful world perfectly recreating the Super Mario aesthetic seen in more than 100 videogames, cartoons, books, clothing and other paraphernalia across the years – and the VR optimisation is without flaw. It’s a simple and intuitive experience designed to welcome anyone, and in that Mario Kart Arcade GP VR is certainly a proficient piece of content design.

Essentially, Mario Kart Arcade GP VR could never be everything to everyone, and so the development team has opted for a light-hearted and enjoyable – if forgettable – adaptation of a beloved franchise into VR. Fans of Mario Kart will certainly enjoy a flirt with the experience but are unlikely to become too involved, and so too are those who may have purchased one-or-two of the home videogames but never found themselves wishing for a recreation of their favourite Mario Kart 64 track. Given the high asking price for a single three-and-a-half minute experience (£7.99 GBP at the time of going to press) that might well be a good thing.

July 11, 2018

Mario Kart VR Heads To London’s O2 Arena This Summer

You know that Mario Kart VR experience that’s only available in Japan and is making every non-Japanese VR fan jealous? It’s finally heading elsewhere.

Namco Bandai will bring Mario Kart Arcade GP to its VR Zone installation inside London’s O2 Arena next month, it’s been revealed. The experience will be available on August 3rd. The VR Zone is located inside the Hollywood Bowl and already features experiences like Argyle Shift and Hospital Escape Terror.

Mario Kart VR offers you the chance to pull on an HTC Vive and jump into the world of Nintendo’s beloved karting franchise. Speeding alongside the likes of Mario and Bowser, you gather items and hurl them are opponents whilst dodging obstacles. It’s the only Nintendo IP to currently be available in VR.

Sadly, there’s no word on bringing the experience to the US right now, although it will arrive at other UK VR Zone locations including Tunbridge Wells and Leeds later down the line.

Tagged with: Mario Kart Arcade GP VR

The post Mario Kart VR Heads To London’s O2 Arena This Summer appeared first on UploadVR.

July 11, 2018

Mario Kart VR Crashes Into London

When it was announced that the incredibly popular granddaddy of all kart racers, Mario Kart, was getting a virtual reality (VR) adaptation at the VR Zone in Tokyo, fans all over the world immediately started planning how much it would cost for a trip to Japan. For European fans at least, there is now a more local option, as Mario Kart VR is heading to London.

HTC Vive have announced that the official European launch of the Mario Kart VR Experience will take place at the Hollywood Bowl in London on Thursday 2nd August, 2018.

The experience will become part of the VR Zone Portal located within the Hollywood Bowl at The O2, where it will offer up to four players the chance to climb into a specially design Mario-themed kart before racing against each other as Mario, Luigi, Peach or Yoshi.

The experience is powered by the HTC Vive, along with the Vive Tracker, which will let players physically grab items such as banana skins to throw at opponents and potentially send them spinning off the course. The Mario Kart VR Experience boasts haptic feedback to give players a jolt when they crash into a barrier or another racer to give an extra dose of immersion.

Following the London launch, there are plans to bring the Mario Kart VR experience to other Hollywood Bowl location at VR Zone Portals in places such as Leeds or Tunbridge Wells.

Steve Burns, CEO, Hollywood Bowl Group, said: “We continue to evolve our innovative bowling and wider family entertainment centres, which offer customers a fully immersive entertainment experience in a premium environment. The launch of the iconic Mario Kart VR at Hollywood Bowl is an exciting introduction, as it brings virtual reality gaming to our customers on a large and accessible scale.”

Access to the Mario Kart VR experience can be booked in advance, though spaces will be limited on launch day. Further information can be found on the Hollywood Bowl website. As usual, VRFocus will keep you updated on any further developments.

April 17, 2018

VR vs. Videogames Nintendo Should Adapt To Virtual Reality – Part 1

A year ago, I sat down and over the course of a few weeks laid out ten SEGA franchises that I thought would be excellent for ports or adaptations into the world of virtual reality (VR). It was a sort of combo of VR vs. and Make It A (Virtual) Reality – and it made sense. After all, precious few stakeholders out there have as rich and diverse a library of videogame titles as SEGA, and the said library of titles is certainly ripe for VR adaption. Not that SEGA have particularly leapt at the new technology; which is, historically at any rate, a very un-SEGA like thing for them to do.

Nintendo - Header

There is, however, another company that both has a library that rivals SEGA’s and has been even more hesitant to get involved in VR despite having historical ties to the technology. (If you are unaware of SEGA’s VR efforts look them up, it’s a fascinating tale and a typical ‘what could’ve been’ story from the company.) It is, of course, fellow videogame giant and SEGA’s long time console wars nemesis, and respected rival – Nintendo. So, it makes sense that I next turn my attention to them for the next multiparter.

A few ‘rules’ as such before we begin. Mainly because this is an opinion piece and as such a red rag to the bull that is the Internet.

Firstly, the titles listed here are only a selection of possibilities I’m bringing up and me not listing down your favourite title doesn’t mean I don’t think it’d be great in VR. (I mean I might not, but, y’know…) As with any article of this type these are my opinions – not yours. You may disagree with what I think, but that doesn’t make me ‘wrong’; if I like to eat sushi (I do, very much) and you don’t like sushi that’s a matter of taste, I’m not wrong for liking it. I’ve also been careful in the wording of the title – these are not necessarily videogames that have been made by Nintendo. They have however all appeared on Nintendo systems or have a connection to Nintendo in some way. Lastly, we’re adopting something of a sense of disbelief here to a degree. In some instances getting the title made would be problematic from, for example, a logistical point of view. We’re also ignoring Nintendo’s continued ambivalence towards VR as a whole, something we’ve discussed here before. Even now Reggie Fils-Amie is probably leaning out of his car somewhere and shaking his fist at a billboard for Ready Player One and yelling “THIS ISN’T FUN!”. So I’m casually ignoring that as well.

Essentially, it’s a case of fantasy over reality. (Thank you Gravity Falls…)

1 – Mario Kart

We start with something of a cheat, owing to the fact that Mario Kart VR already exists. However, what we currently have in the form of HTC Vive experience Mario Kart Arcade GP is merely the appetiser, and a pretty exclusive appetiser at that. As beloved as the Mario Kart franchise is there’s a limit to how far you’ll go to play it and I think ‘you’ve got to go all the way to Japan is a bit of an ask.

Mario Kart Arcade GP is part of the line-up at VR Zone in Shinjuku and sadly has not budged from there despite the growth of the VR Zone brand. There’s also the fact it isn’t by Nintendo but their long-time partner in all things Mario Kart arcade, Bandai Namco. As a result, in some senses it isn’t truly what Nintendo would create with the brand if their hands were firmly on the reigns. Friendships have both been formed and been tested by Mario Kart, and to have the Nintendo team let their imaginations fully run free to realise a Mario Kart VR where you could battle friends and strangers online as you can with the current iteration and have the immersion in the colourful worlds of the Mushroom Kingdom and beyond could well be a defining racing experience.

Not only that Mario Kart VR would be both the sort of title that has the potential to draw in new interest to VR and also act as a stepping stone for long-time gamers. Even if Rainbow Road would probably melt your eyes, in terms of racers on a theoretical Nintendo VR system this surely has to be Number One with a Bullet (Bill).

2 – Eternal Darkness: Sanity’s Requiem

There have been a number of videogames that like to mess with your minds down the years. To be clear I’m not talking about a twist here but the videogame actually deliberately messing with you to freak you out. We’re talking something like Psycho Mantis in Metal Gear Solid reading your save files or to give a more modern example Batman: Arkham Asylum had you thinking your save was gone, giving you impossible quick time events and a fake game over screen.

Eternal Darkness

Well if those videogames messed with your mind, then Eternal Darkness took great pleasure in taking your understanding of what’s going on and then whipping it in the ass with a wet towel full of utter blind panic. Eternal Darkness implemented the sanity mechanic, something Nintendo thought so good they actually patented the entire concept. Which in retrospect seems a bit cheeky.

To quote the patent: “A video game and game system incorporating a game character’s sanity level that is affected by occurrences in the game such as encountering a game creature or gruesome situation. A character’s sanity level is modified by an amount determined based on a character reaction to the occurrence such as taking a rest or slowing game progress and/or an amount of character preparation. That is, if a character is prepared for the particular occurrence, the occurrence may have little or no effect on the character’s sanity level. As the character’s sanity level decreases, game play is affected such as by controlling game effects, audio effects, creating hallucinations and the like. In this context. the same game can be played differently each time it is played.”

Eternal Darkness proceeded to do the following.

Convince you it had crashed with a ‘blue screen of death’ – until you realised that the Gamecube obviously didn’t have that.
Pretends your television had turned off.
Pretends your television has lost signal with the Gamecube.
Interrupts you with other content entirely.
Mute’s the sound, deliberately desync’s the sound, or else lowers the volume to nothing like you’re accidentally sitting on the remote.
Brings up a ‘To Be Continued’ screen mid-game.
Has blood start randomly falling from the ceiling.
Changes the camera angle of corridors and has the camera react to non-existent threats.
Alters the art on the wall and gives life to physical objects.
Has bugs start crawling over the inside of your screen.
Has your character fire a gun at you, shattering the screen.
Has your character commit suicide.
Convinces you your file has corrupted or that the controller is broken.
Tricks you into thinking you’ve lost all your items from your inventory,
Tricks you into thinking all your game saves have been deleted.

Eternal Darkness

You get the idea. The fourth wall was essentially playdough. However despite critical acclaim, any initial plans for a sequel fell apart with all the troubles between Silicon Knights and Epic Games. That’s not stopped Nintendo from keeping the trademark alive, however.

We’ve already had one VR videogame in particular where the title deliberately sets out to mess with your brain. It’s probably a title you don’t even remember. In Flying Mollosk’s psychological thriller Nevermind, what you see is in-part generated by your own fear. The more panicked you become, as tracked by compatible heart rate monitors, the more twisted the world becomes. If you combined this premise with the sanity system, throw in some VR horror lessons learned from Resident Evil VII biohazard‘s atmosphere and you’re in business. Probably a pile of your own business, after you’ve shit yourself in terror.

That’s all for part one, I’ll come back to this very soon on VR vs. What Nintendo titles would you like to see in VR?

July 28, 2017

VR Zone Shinjuku: Mario Kart VR & A Lot More Besides

Sixteen (and counting) immersive attractions? Check. Getting up close and personal with beloved characters? Check. An unforgettable experience? Double check. VR Zone Shinjuku, a project birthed by Bandai Namco, opened its doors to the public on July 14 and we had the opportunity to take a sneak peek at what this next-generation theme park has to offer. From throwing shells in Mario Kart VR to riding in the palm of a giant Gundam mech, the park offers a bunch of world-first experiences that are no doubt going to lure in both virtual reality (VR) fanatics and lovers of Japanese pop culture alike.

Walking into the lobby, you’re greeted by an intricate light show that can be interacted with by touching the walls and columns surrounding it. The first floor is littered with time-limited temporary VR experiences – including Google’s Tilt Brush and the PlayStation VR – as well as a resort-themed area home to a gourmet café. It’s interesting to note that the park also offers three non-VR activities – Giant Balloon Burst Room PANIC CUBE, Trap Climbing and Niagara Drop – as well as a virtual beach, complete with water made up of interactive light projections. A gift store can also be found conveniently by the entrance, where you can pick up themed goods like Pac-Man cookies to take home with you.

The second floor is the where the action happens, and where you can find majority of the VR attractions. Each attraction has a pretty large amount of VR headsets and contraptions available, so surprisingly you won’t have to wait too long to get your turn. This writer made a beeline to Mario Kart VR, which made headlines around the time of E3 this year, to see if it really lived up to the hype.

You can play with up to four players at once, and each of you can communicate using the headset and microphone that you’re strapped into upon climbing into the life-sized kart. Along with an HTC Vive headset, you’re equipped with sensors that are placed on your hands – these are used to capture weapons that are floating around the stage as you drive. Lob a shell, banana, or hammer by swinging your arm as you speed through the stage – which is littered with Mario Kart favorites like the Piranha Plant, Thwomp, and rainbow boosters. Out of all the attractions we tried, Mario Kart VR came out on top as the most fun, so in our eyes it lives up to the hype for a one or two time try.

Close to the Mario Kart VR area were a number of other high-profile attractions, including Evangelion VR: The Soul Seat and Argyle Shift, but the next attraction we were looking to try that has had people talking was Dragon Ball VR: Master the Kamehameha.

Dragon Ball VR: Master the Kamehameha

This attraction was one of the most immersive (and to be honest, a little complicated) in the park. With sensors strapped to your arms, abdomen, feet and head, and a panel of cameras in front of you, here you go through training with Goku to master the art of the Kamehameha – which requires you to hold a certain leg and arm stance and to shoot your arms forward at just the right time – before heading into a heated battle against a second player. Along with Mario Kart VR, Dragon Ball VR proved to be a hit, with many a journalist lining up to try it out.

Next up on our ‘to try’ list was Gundam VR: Daiba Assault, which was on the opposite end of the park. We passed by attractions like Dinosaur Survival Run: Jungle of Despair, in which you ride a Segway-like scooter through an island populated with dinosaurs, and Steep Downhill Ski Simulator: Ski Rodeo, where you ride a pair of true-to-life skis down a hill while chased by an avalanche – both of which had their fair share of curious onlookers.

Fans of Gundam are in for a treat: in this experience you’re thrown into the middle of a battle of a Gundam mech going up against the nemesis Zeon, complete with a rumbling floor that simulates the gigantic robots stomping around. At one point the mech places its hand on the ground and you can walk up to it and take a seat, wrapping your arms around its thumb as it continues the battle. A fun extra here is a heat lamp that moves close to you when the mech’s saber is in front of you, really ramping up the immersion of the experience.

After the pretty intense experiences up to this point, we decided to take a little break and try out Bandai Namco’s take on fishing with Fishing VR GIJIESTA. It was located pretty close to another mech simulation, VR-AT Simulator Armored Trooper Votoms, that allows you to go into battle against a friend (or frenemy) from the cockpit of a gun-toting iron trooper.

Fishing VR GIJIESTA

If you’re not a fan of fast-paced VR, here you can relax and unwind at a mountain lake while catching fish. The experience comes with a simulated rod and reel, as well as a net that’s used to grab the fish once you’ve pulled them in. You have a time limit of around 6 minutes, and here you’re challenged to catch as many fish as you can. When you’re done you can check your stats in the virtual world, and there’s also daily park leaderboard that displays the biggest catches of the day.

Although we were busting to try out all the attractions, we were running low on time and had to make one last quick pick, which ended up being Winged Bicycle – it was neck and neck between this and the Hospital Escape Omega horror attraction, which has you controlling a wheelchair as you escape a dilapidated hospital alongside other players.

Winged Bicycle

After climbing onto an exercise bike, here you’re tasked with pedaling to control a flying bicycle as you make your way across a mountainous landscape littered with caves and waterfalls. You control the brakes and direction with the handlebars in front of you in order to navigate, and specially placed fans on all sides of the bike react to the wind to really immerse you in the experience. You can really feel your body reacting to this as if it were really happening – I found myself drenched in sweat and heart pounding after reaching the goal point and taking off the headset, and even feeling a little disoriented.

As our time was coming to a close, we were reminded that another big-ticket attraction, ‘Arise: Ghost in the Shell Stealth Hounds,’ is still yet to come, being released sometime in August. With the strength of such well-known and loved game and anime VR experiences behind them, Bandai Namco have made some smart moves with their first official foray into the realm of VR – with this, hopefully the mainstream appeal of VR will continue to burn bigger and brighter going into the future.

July 13, 2017

See Every Vive Demo in Action at Bandai Namco’s VR ZONE

Bandai Namco announced last month that the company would be opening its first VR ZONE arcade in Shinjuku, Tokyo. Promising branded VR content playing on HTC Vive, the now publicly open arcade features some big names like Nintendo’s Mario Kart Arcade GP VR, Dragon Ball VR, and Gundam VR—most of which uses special motion platforms and other ‘4D’ sense-fooling gadgetry to beguile would-be VR first-timers. Here, we take a look at all 12 demos available—including trailers—in the company’s 2-story facility.

Mario Kart Arcade GP VR

4 players: The globally popular Mario Kart Arcade GP has been reborn at the VR ZONE with the kind of thrill-packed action that could only come from a VR activity! Enter the Mario Kart universe you know and love and race to the finish line. The course is filled with the well-known Mario Kart traps and tricks. Dodge giant Piranha Plants and Thwomps, leap over huge ravines, and watch out for Koopa as he tries to get in your way.

Dragon Ball VR

2-4 players: An unprecedented Kamehameha experience! Enter the world of Dragonball with our innovative new VR technology and equipment, and experience firsthand what its really like to generate a Kamehameha. Feel your body shake from the intensity! Train with Goku himself and learn to generate your own Kamehameha! Test your Kamehameha in battle with friends! Generate more power than the others and blow them all away!

Jungle of Despair

4 players: A plane has crash-landed in a forbidden jungle where dinosaurs are said to be still alive. You have been sent to make your way through the darkness and search for survivors. You speed through the jungle, riding on a standing scooter. Shadows lurk everywhere and all around, you can hear your companions screaming. Your battery is running low.

Can you retain your sanity in an abyss of despair and make it back to base in one piece?

Hanechari (Winged Bicycle)

1-4 players: Pedal with your legs and experience the thrill and exhilaration of free-flying through magnificent natural scenery on a winged bicycle! With our specially developed sensory machine, you’ll feel the wind and experience the true thrill of flight. Feel the excitement and tension as you fly over mountain surfaces and plunge through waterfalls, dodging rocky cliffs along the way.

Evangelion VR

1-3 players: Pilot an EVA for the first time in VR history. The future is in your hands. The wonders of VR technology have fully recreated the cockpit, aka “Throne of Souls”, inside the EVA Entry Plug. Board a specialized sensory machine and pilot your EVA in a VR world of massive scale. The 10th Angel is attacking Tokyo-3! Defeat it with the help of two other companions on EVAs, before your operational time limit runs out!

Experience firsthand the thrill of the EVA activation sequence, including LCL immersion, A10 nerve synchronization, and sync ratio measurement, as you prepare for an intense battle with the 10th Angel.

Fishing VR

2 players: Go lure fishing in the wild with this VR activity! There’s wild fish to your right, to your left, some even jumping and wriggling in the air. You’ll feel like you’re really there!
Don’t lose concentration, even for a second, until they’re in your net. How many can you catch? Compete with your friends and enjoy a head-to-head battle of skill with fish in the wild.

VR-AT Simulator

2 players: You too can be the lowest of the low (Votoms)!
The world’s first VR-AT simulator allows you to ride the scopedog and experience a real one-on-one battle. Experience the realism of the cockpit where reckless ‘iron troopers’ commit their bodies.

Argyle Shift

1 player: Enter the cockpit of a giant robot with your android. Take the attacking conspiracy head on! Our specialized sensory machine creates a shockingly realistic sensation allowing you to live out the ambition of riding in a giant robot to fight in battle!

Gundam VR

1 player: Grab hold of Gundam’s hand, and experience the impact of the life-sized mobile suit in battle. You will feel the utter powerlessness of humans. The threat of Zeon attacks the life-sized Gundam in Odaiba! Feel the impact of the two giants colliding, the intense rumblings of the earth, the heat gushing before your eyes! Experience the realness as if you are right there, through multiple sensations created by the specialized sensory machine!

The Big Fear of Heights Experience

2 players: People can’t help turning back midway! It’s an extreme test of courage 200 meters above the ground! Even if you are unable to take even one step out of fear a refund will not be issued.Please be aware that the experience will end as soon as your foot steps off the plank.

Hospital Escape Terror

4 players: In this haunted house, you really get attacked! It’s a horrifying experience unlike ever before pioneered by VR! Escape from this cursed abandoned hospital with your friend! Two to four people can take part at the same time. However, participants may not always be able to take part together. Please be warned there are violent scenes and grotesque expressions included in the experience.

Ski Rodeo

1 player: Ski down the sharp slopes of the vast snowy mountain with its sheer drops at tremendous speed! Fight for control of the wild skis! The specialized sensory machine creates a shockingly real experience with the response of the skis and intense vibrations. There are several different routes that will take you to the goal. Aim to reach it as fast as you can.

Ghost in the Shell: Arise Stealth Hounds

An 8-person VR experience is said to launch sometime in August featuring the Ghost in the Shell IP. The experience is a 4 vs 4 team battle in a room-scale space measuring 20m X 12m featuring a “highly sophisticated multi-person full body tracking system.”

We’ll have our eye on VR ZONE Shinjuku in the coming month’s to see how one of the biggest VR arcades fares.

The post See Every Vive Demo in Action at Bandai Namco’s VR ZONE appeared first on Road to VR.

June 14, 2017

Check Out The First Images Of Mario Kart VR

Bandai Namco had a very non-E3 surprise for us yesterday, announcing new additions to its VR Zone arcade in Tokyo, Japan that included a Mario Kart VR titles running on the HTC Vive. Now new images of the experience have surfaced.

Bandai Namco provided us the four new images following the reveal. Two of them are in-game screenshots, which show classic Mario Kart Arcade GP gameplay ported into VR with a first-person view. We especially like the image above of a green shell about to be launched in the direction of an unsuspecting Wario. Poor him.

We’ve also got the banner for the game, which is a little crazy, and a look at the four cockpits that players will sit in. This new experience should be integrated into VR Zone in Shinjuku on 14th July. Reservations to attend the limited event will open on Friday June 16th.

Tagged with: Mario Kart Arcade GP VR

June 13, 2017

Mario Kart is Coming to HTC Vive at Tokyo’s VR Zone

Nintendo aren’t likely to bring Mario Kart 8 to a virtual reality (VR) head-mounted display (HMD) any time soon, but that doesn’t mean you should miss out on slinging bananas and shells in VR. This is where Tokyo’s new VR Zone in Shinjuku comes in – the VR arcade is bringing a brand-new version of Mario Kart Arcade GP to HTC Vive for their guests.

Bandai Namco are developing the videogame, as they have done for the previous videogames in the franchise, Mario Kart Arcade GP, Mario Kart Arcade GP 2 and Mario Kart Arcade GP DX, only this time players will assume the driver’s seat directly in VR.

The new title, Mario Kart Arcade GP VR, will see players sitting in custom Mario Kart arcade seats, and throwing projectiles with their arms, thanks to motion sensors that can be strapped to player’s wrists.

Nintendo aren’t working on the title directly in any way, but Mario Kart Arcade GP VR is fully licensed – making it the only officially licensed Nintendo videogame in VR – if you forget about Nintendo’s ill-fated Virtual Boy, that is.

The game’s description reads; “The course is filled with the well-known Mario Kart traps and tricks. Dodge giant Piranha Plants and Thwomps, leap over huge ravines, and watch out for [Bowser] as he tries to get in your way…”

Few details are known about Mario Kart Arcade GP VR, but we can only hope it’ll be coming to an arcade near us soon.

For everything on virtual reality gaming and experiences, make sure to keep checking VRFocus.

June 13, 2017

Mario Kart Arcade GP VR Is Nintendo’s First VR Game For HTC Vive

Not every big VR story is spiralling out of LA this week; over in Japan we’ve seen the surprise reveal of what looks like an official Mario Kart VR game, coming to arcades.

A new trailer for Bandai Namco’s VR Zone Arcade in Shinjuku, Tokyo reveals this very surprising new game being played on none other than the HTC Vive. It almost seems too good to be true, but an official website confirmed the existence of Mario Kart Arcade GP VR.

There’s little else listed about the game, but we’ve reached out to the publisher to find out more about the game and ask if it could come to the west. From the looks of the gameplay it’s a straight VR port of the pre-existing arcade game, allowing you to sit in a real cockpit and steer with a wheel.

Still this makes Mario Kart VR Nintendo’s first official VR game. It’s somewhat fitting given that the company has always expressed concern with VR’s isolation issue, and VR arcades detract from that somewhat. At the same time it’s hugely surprising that the company’s first VR game is appearing on the HTC Vive. We’re still holding out hope that Nintendo’s latest console, the Switch, will get VR support some day, and we expected to see the first VR games on that platform.

Does this suggest more Nintendo VR games are on the way? The company has been branching out in recent years, bringing games to mobile and partnering with publishers like Ubisoft for new Mario titles. Perhaps it will take the same approach for VR.

There’s also new experiences from Dragonball Z using the Vive Trackers and others shown off in the video. Sounds like we need to book a trip to Tokyo.

Tagged with: Mario Kart Arcade GP VR