When it comes to location-based virtual reality (LBVR) entertainment two thing are highly important, the hardware for visitors to use and where you get your content from. mk2 is a specialist provider of VR equipment, providing locations across Europe with its mk2 VR Pods. The company had been searching for a content management tool, announcing a new partnership with Secret Location to use its all-in-one solution, Vusr Venue.
Both companies have a shared goal to create a worldwide VR distribution network and this collaboration is a step in that direction.
Secret Location unveiled content management platform Vusr Venue way back in 2016 as a way for VR creators to easily publish, distribute and monetise content for VR platforms. The platform looks to offer LBVR operators efficient management of content through a centralized dashboard, where they are able to view station operating statuses, troubleshoot hardware, components and software, download and install new software, manage live sessions and more.
mk2 launched its VR Pod earlier this year. Designed as a VR plug-and-play solution for various venues mk2 has sold them to institutions including the National Public Library of France and the Film Fund in Luxembourg, Nordisk in Scandinavia as well as exclusive partners in Brazil (Arvore) and Asia.
“mk2 has long been searching for an easy-to-use content management tool to power our VR Pods. Secret Location’s Vusr Venue is providing exactly what our global customers need, and more,” said Elisha Karmitz, CEO of mk2 in a statement. “Vusr Venue gives our operators simple methods to manage the complex back-end components of VR LBEs and will help mk2’s VR Pods even easier to use at any scale.”
mk2’s VR Pods feature over 50 curated experiences, but with Vusr Venue the company aims to offer a lot more that can be distributed globally. Secret Location has begun several collaborations with studios to ensure monthly content additions, they include Felix & Paul Studios, Atlas V, WITHIN and SuperHot Team to name a few.
While Secret Location and mk2 continue to push the growth of the LBVR industry, last week saw it take a hit with IMAX VR announcing the full closure of its centres worldwide. As the industry continues to find its footing in the entertainment world, VRFocus will notify you of the latest announcements.
It seems that while consumer virtual reality (VR) sits at a crossroads, the digital out-of-home entertainment (DOE) sector has exploded with new developments – not one day seems to pass without major announcements, partnerships or acquisitions hits the wire. Industry specialist Kevin Williams of KWP, gives his unique perspective on the recent developments and offers some exclusive insights into some recently visited new projects.
Following on from the developments that we covered at the first Microsoft LBE VR Summit (read part one and two here), and momentum continues to build in the commercial entertainment sector. These investments are being registered across the industry, and some of the once previous advocates for a consumer approach to this latest phase of VR adoption. This was best illustrated by Unity CEO, John Riccitiello, quoted at a recent TechCrunch Disrupt event, feeling that we have yet seen a true consumer launch of a VR or augmented reality (AR) headset; stating “AR and VR is mostly to this day been launched to developers”. But Riccitiello continued that he had been impressed by how fast enterprise had latched on to VR and AR tech, surprised that the commercial applications have preceded the consumer applications.
Though an obvious progression for those of us that work in the DOE sector, this realisation has struck most consumer-facing VR developers, and most recently we saw the pivoting of major VR success stories in the consumer sphere, build a commercial entertainment offering. This was best illustrated by Vertigo Games, developers behind the successful consumer VR title Arizona Sunshine, with an estimated $1.4 million (USD) in generated sales on the PC platform. The company has decided to spin out a unique location-based videogame division called Vertigo Arcades B.V., who has started in supporting the already popular utilisation of the title in the VR arcade scene, accounting for approximately 20% of all VR arcade minutes played in Western venues.
At the same time other successful developers have turned towards a commercial facing opportunity in this market place. Czech-based Beat Games renowned for their phenomenally successful Beat Saber, have invested heavily in defining their game for the commercial entertainment scene – signing an official licensing agreement with key VR arcade providers such as CTRL-V (Canada), Exit Reality, IMAX VR, MK2 (France), PeriscapeVR, SpringboardVR, Private Label and SynthesisVR. Their partnership with SpringboardVR seeing a ‘Beat Saber Global Tournament’ run across 50 of their supported VR arcades; emphasising an eSports element to commercial entertainment deployment of VR. In an unusual development Beat Games also officially sanctioned an amusement-based VR adaptation of their license. Originally called Beat Saber Arcade, this Korean manufactured cabinet employs the Samsung Odyssey Windows MR headset and controllers; this seen as the first of several amusement-style VR experiences crossing the divide.
Line-up of Beat Saber Arcade cabinets, put through their paces at Korean VR Festival
An amusement facing approach to commercial VR entrainment was seen most recently appearing in the heart of London – at the VR ZONE Portal housed inside the Hollywood Bowl at the O2 Arena on the Greenwich Peninsula. The first VR ZONE Portal outside of Japan (we reported at their opening last year), the site is part of a special agreement between the bowling site operator and the UK division of BANDAI NAMCO Amusement. The site becoming the first Western location to install the eagerly awaited Mario Kart Arcade GP VR, based on the popular Nintendo license.
Enter London’s latest VR experience. [via KWP]
BANDAI NAMCO and Hollywood Bowl organised an exclusive media junket to promote the appearance of the game, but before-hand we were lucky enough to get a behind the scenes look at the system in operation. The Japanese “Project I Can” system only seeing translation of its game software, with the remainder of the hardware the same as operated in Japan. Players’ using HTC Vive headsets, as well as hand trackers to allow them to throw items at their opponents, players sitting in their own “Fusion Karts” motion simulator – the game able to accommodate four players in this seven-minute single circuit race.
Immersed in the action on Mario Kart GP Arcade VR. (Credit: KWP)
Launched in Japan in 2017, the then titled Mario Kart VR proved an enthusiastic VR title, developed by the rebranded BANDAI NAMCO Amusement Lab Inc., as one of a number of IP based VR experiences that combined the initiative behind the “Project I Can” brand and the VR ZONE concept as a whole. Many have mistakenly thought that this game was developed by Nintendo, but in reality, BANDAI NAMCO and Nintendo have established a long reputation of cross-overs and licensed IP – the amusement division in 2005 launching the popular series with Mario Kart Arcade GP, which saw Pac Man also join the Nintendo racers – and with this background it was logical for the VR ZONE to consider developing a VR interpretation of this popular racer.
Past, Meet Future: Mario Kart Arcade GP cabinetsin the shadow of Mario Kart Arcade GP VR. (Credit: KWP)
Trying the title for myself, it proved a hectic mix of racing and throwing items, and though capturing the spirit of the Mario Kart videogame it did not offer as fulfilling a VR interpretation as one might have wanted. A great taste of what is achievable with a VR environment and a world-class property, but not a real game experience that will achieve any level of repeat visitation. The VR ZONE Portal at the O2 has the VR experiences Hospital Escape Terror and Argyle Shift, each costing £8 (GBP) and £5 respectively on launch, but now the restructured layout sees the replacement of the quirky Argyle Shift for Mario Kart Arcade GP VR and all these two games are now £7.99. Many comments on social media, who made a point of hunting down the launch of this iconic VR game property, balked at this high price.
Another interesting element in the handling of this property different to the Japanese approach was Hollywood Bowl having a 15 years of age restriction in playing Mario Kart VR, while in Japan’s VR ZONE operation, the age cut off is 13, with even the VR ZONE Shinjuku seeing children as young as 7 allowed through the doors. No word was given on why BANDAI NAMCO or Hollywood Bowl had picked this arbitrary cut off to play this VR experience. And as with our last visit to the VR ZONE Portal, the UK adaptation of the brand seems a little stilted compared to that achieved in Japan.
Hollywood Bowl has partnered with the UK BANDAI NAMCO Amusement operation and has seen a second VR ZONE Portal opened in Tunbridge Wells, and a planned Leeds Hollywood Bowl site schedule for a third iteration. Sources at BANDAI NAMCO’s VR Projects team confirmed that these sites would be seeing installations of their own Mario Kart VR units by the end of the year respectively – and the company promised that there would be other European and US deployments of the eagerly awaited VR racer. Speaking to the Evening Standard newspaper, Paul Brown, General Manager for HTC Vive Europe, said: “We are so excited to be working with Bandai Namco and Hollywood Bowl to bring Mario Kart VR to the UK, following its stunning launch in Shinjuku.”
The Mario Kart VR installation. (Credit: KWP)
While completing this feature, news broke that BANDAI NAMCO were about to launch yet another VR experience based on previous amusement success – with a re-creation of 1997 white-water rafting experience VR Rapid River – after extensive testing the Amusement Lab team part of the “Project I Can” VR initiative have created a two-rider motion base with yaw and heave components to offer a thrilling white-water rapids ride, with players using tracked ores to steer their craft through a wild water environment. By the time you read this article the first installations of this VR simulator planned for VR ZONES in Japan will possibly be already in venues.
These games developed by the newly reorganised BANDAI NAMCO Amusement Lab Inc., formed to increase investment in intellectual properties (IP) utilising their XR expertise (XR defined as incorporating VR, AR and MR technology). Most recently a VR experience for the VR ZONE flagship location was based on the legendary movie monster, with GODZILLA VR.
But London was not the only UK location to see a brand-new VR attraction unveiled. A quick journey down to the countries South coast and we arrive in Brighton and make our way to the iconic Brighton Palace Pier – the home of a major seaside amusement operation and the first site to run the ParadropVR attraction. The system represents a partnership between creators FrontGrid and manufacturers Simworx releasing a thrilling simulation of soaring the skies on your very own paraglider.
The ParadropVR attraction takes pride of place on Brighton’s Palace Pier. (Credit: KWP)
The attraction uses an innovative vertical heave motion system to simulate the soaring motion, while the player sits in a specially developed harness system while controlling the direction of flight using two lanyards – while wearing an Oculus Rift CV1 to see the virtual vista. The experience was developed to offer an 8-minute experience, as a separate ticket item on the pier. The machine being operated in partnership with local immersive entertainment operator and representative Immersivity Ltd. The experience was a fun one, though the game experience was slightly limited compared to the conventional VR attraction experience we have come to expect.
Reaching for the skies in ParadropVR (Credit: KWP)
FrontGrid recently announced the opening of a second installation, with Denmark’s Universe Science Park opening their first system this month. FrontGrid and Immersivity are now working on refining the platform and deploying the attraction with a number of other interested operators. Europe has seen a spate of VR attractions opening their doors – moving from Denmark to Germany and it was announced that Europa Park had partnered with VR Coaster, Mack Media and Holodeck VR to create a unique VR attraction. The system married a free-roaming experience with a ride-on coaster, with a seamless transition from one to the other. In what the operators referred to as their patent pending ‘Roam & Ride’ setup – the new attraction Eurosat Coastiality has guests putting on headsets and then walking round a pre-show area, before boarding the actual VR rollercoaster ride (employing a mobile VR headset arrangement).
Europa-Park – The first Roam & Ride system to be deployed
The UK has seen one of the first floatation’s on the London Stock Exchange, of a company dedicated to location-based VR entertainment deployment – the Immotion Group PLC has already started a dedicated roll out of venues employing their Immotion branded offering – the company signing a important agreement with UK shopping center operator intu. Following the opening of a new Immotion VR center in Cardiff, the agreement sees a further three sites at intu Derby, Newcastle and Uxbridge. Immotion not just focused on opening venues, but also driving development, seeing AAA content creation for their sites as essential, has recently announced the launch of their wholly developed space-themed VR ride experience Delta Zero.
The company has also worked to ensure a lead in the deployment of the latest VR experiences and announced the extension of their exclusive distribution agreement with leading Chinese manufacturer LEKE VR Technology. A company that has established major advancements in the VR arcade hardware scene, and in 2016 formed a strategic partnership with HTC Corporation towards utilising the latest technology married to VR entertainment for commercial application (at that time for the Viveport Arcades support of the LEKE VR’s VRLe platform). Now with a US sales operation Immotion is seen to be one of the fastest developing companies championing this sector.
(Credit: KWP)
The concluding part of this coverage will follow next week.
During the Cannes Film Festival this week LA-based virtual reality (VR) studio Positron announced that its Voyager VR chair will be coming to Europe thanks to a new distribution deal with location-based VR company mk2.
The deal will allow Positron to offer premium cinematic VR experiences to European audiences through its Voyager full-motion VR chair and Voyager Network distribution platform. mk2 has become the first official distributor of Voyager and will represent the territories of France and Spain exclusively.
“Our exciting partnership with mk2 marks a major step forward for location-based entertainment and demonstrates Positron’s blueprint for bringing a premium, seated VR solution to global audiences through our Voyager distribution network of motion-synchronized theaters,” said Jeffrey Travis, CEO, Positron, in a statement.
Positron debuted Voyager during the 2017 Sundance Film Festival as part of its New Frontier programme. For public, location-based use multiple chairs can be configured as a VR cinema, with synchronized or separate content screenings. While the Voyager Network allows for premium VR content to be delivered to Voyagers anywhere in the world, and has been used by studios such as Universal Pictures (The Mummy Zero Gravity VR Experience), and Warner Bros. (Save Every Breath: The Dunkirk VR Experience).
“We’re thrilled to partner with Positron to deliver the future of cinematic VR to European audiences,” said Elisha Karmitz, CEO at mk2. “In Voyager, we’ve discovered an unprecedented motion and distribution platform that offers creators a deeper level of immersion that cinematic VR experiences, and their audiences, deserve. We’re delighted to add Voyager to our diverse suite of turnkey VR solutions.”
Over the past year or so mk2 has expanded its operations, opening a dedicated VR facility at its Paris multiplex, mk2 Bibliothèque in 2016 with Oculus Rift, HTC Vive and PlayStation VR headsets on offer. Much more recently the company unveiled a VR plug-and-play solution for VR out-of-home centres called the Mk2 VR Pod. This is designed for use in places such as cinemas, museums, institutions and other locations, offering twelve VR pod configurations using HTC Vive, Oculus Rift and PlayStation VR. For further details on Positron and mk2, keep reading VRFocus.
There is growing interest in the area of location-based virtual reality (VR), sometimes known as Out-of-Home VR, or more casually if somewhat inaccurately as ‘VR Arcades’. Its been a year since French company Mk2 launched its VR space in Europe, and the company is aiming grow its presence in the VR space with the launch of its VR plug-and-play solution for VR out-of-home centres.
The new product is called the Mk2 VR Pod, and its release marks the start of Mk2’s aim to become the first worldwide distribution network for VR by combining the Mk2 VR Pod with a large library of available content to create an end-to-end product.
Mk2 is best known as a film exhibitor, having been in business for 42 years. The company has produced over 100 movies and operates 26 theaters throughout Europe and have won 160 awards from major film festivals.
The Mk2 Pod is designed for use in places such as cinemas, museums, institutions and other location-based VR entertainment centres. The Mk2 VR Pod has twelve VR pod offerings, powered by three different high-end VR technologies, HTC Vive, Oculus Rift and PlayStation VR, along with two full-body simulators; Birdly and the Holodia rowing machine.
The first run of Mk2 VR Pods have already gone on sale to selected Mk2 partners around the world. These include institutions such as the National Public Library of France and the Film Fund in Luxembourg as well as movie theatre companies such as Nordisk in Scandinavia and other entertainment partners located in Brazil and Asia.
“Providing state-of-the-art technology to fill the void of white label solutions in the virtual reality space will be a catalyst for making VR a requisite part of consumers’ entertainment expectations,” says Elisha Karmitz, General Manager at mk2. “Adapting VR is a natural next step for the cinematic community and mk2 aims to be their trusted partner in delivering quality and memorable experiences.”
The Mk2 catalogue of VR experiences will be available to customers of the Mk2 VR Pod immediately, and features curated VR content from some of the world’s leading VR content studios, including Felix & Paul Studios, Atlas V, WITHIN and SuperHot Team.
Further news on new and upcoming location-based VR products and services will be right here on VRFocus.
Chinese director and filmmaker Zhang Yimou, probably best known to western audiences for his work on House of Flying Daggers is launching a new collaboration with his company Sky Limit Entertainment and French film group MK2 to create So Real, a venture designed to cross-licence virtual reality (VR) content and hardware.
So Real will be the first distributor to licence titles from MK2 Films and VR. Those titles will be showcased at sky Limit Entertainment’s location-based VR them park in Beijing. Also part of the deal will be Sky Limit setting up a new VR venue in Paris under the So Real banner, which will feature VR space exploration, videogames and other VR experiences.
MK2 films have been heavily involved in VR content creation for quite some time, having created a sales division to curate director-driven VR content and also been involved in the creation of Europe’s largest VR facility in Paris, which has hosted 15,000 visitors since it was opened in December 2016. MK2 are also bringing two VR films to Cannes Film Festival this year, with Planet, directed by Momoko Seto and a 360-degree documentary film titled Dolphin Man 360.
“SoReal and MK2 will continue to share their cultural legacies and technical prowess in order to bring VR technology both in China and France to the international spotlight and to expand their business in France and Europe,” said Elisha Karmitz, the co-CEO of MK2 said when speaking to Variety.
VRFocus will keep you informed of never developments in VR licensing and content.
For most consumers, high-end virtual reality (VR) is still an expensive entertainment medium that few have really tried. There are companies endeavouring to change this, creating VR arcades where the public can pay for timed sessions to experience the latest technology. While these are few and far between they are growing, and now French cinema operator, mk2, has announced a dedicated VR facility at its Paris multiplex, mk2 Bibliothèque.Created in partnership with BNP Paribas, the the mk2 VR experience is located in the heart of Paris’ new ‘tech district’, offering consumers access to the latest VR tech and exclusive content from leading VR developers. Oculus Rift, HTC Vive and PlayStation VR will all be on demonstration in an interactive space spread over 300 square meters (3300 sq. ft.). The companies have invested 1.5 million EUR in the venture which includes 12 ‘pods’ for visitors to use.
“We are bringing VR to a multiplex-like environment with the opening of the first-ever entertainment venue fully dedicated to upscale VR experiences,” said Elisha Karmitz, general director, mk2. “mk2 VR’s concept offers consumers a lively, culture-filled facility focused on VR and good times, and that is why mk2 VR features ‘Le Perchoir mk2,’ a terrace bar developed in association with one of the trendiest rooftop and open air bar chains now in Paris, Le Perchoir. For anyone looking for a new experience, wanting to enjoy VR technologies or just having a drink in a cheerful environment, mk2 VR is poised to be the ‘go to’ place on the forefront of this latest revolution in entertainment.”
For those interested in checking it out the mk2 VR hours of operation are:
mk2 VR is open from Wednesday to Sunday, holidays and every day during school breaks. Private space can be reserved upon request at www.mk2vr.com .
Wednesday 6:00 PM to 11:00 PM
Thursday 6:00 PM to 11:00 PM
Friday 6:00 PM to 11:00 PM
Saturday 2:00 PM to 11:00 PM
Sunday 2:00 PM to 8:00 PM
Tickets are priced at 12 EUR for 20 minutes or 20 EUR for 40 minutes, and can only be purchased at the mk2 VR site.
“As a major actor of the seventh art, and with a history of 100 years, positioning us in this domain as the reference among European banks, BNP Paribas – the bank for a changing world – is delighted to be the partner of mk2 for the opening of the first place entirely dedicated to virtual reality, in Europe,” said Bertrand Cizeau, BNP Paribas Group head of communications. “This partnership allows BNP Paribas to continue its commitment to sourcing emerging talents and offers over 1000 clients the possibility to discover this unique venue.”
Further details can be found at the mk2 VR website, and continue reading VRFocus for all the latest news from around the world.
Following on from the developments that we covered at the first Microsoft LBE VR Summit (read part 
