Throughout the previous few years, we've seen an array of news articles about the way virtual reality was going to save the timeless arcade. The theory goes that the VR equipment is too expensive for home users, therefore it creates an opportunity for operators to pony up the big bucks to purchase it and make their money back by charging a game to play it. In the MIT Technology Review.
"While many high-end cans were released annually which may bring virtual-reality adventures to your living space, adoption of the technology remains in its earliest days to get a bunch of reasons--it is still bulky, expensive, and there isn't all that much to do as soon as you've got it on your face. Over two million headsets were sent worldwide in 2016, according to an estimate from market researcher Canalys, yet this figure pales in comparison to the prevalence of, say, video game consoles (earnings of their leading one, Sony's PS4, topped six million throughout the 2016 holiday season ). Consumer virtual reality will probably catch on as costs come down and headsets improve. Meanwhile, however, a variety of businesses are betting that consumers may be happy to pay a much smaller amount to try the technology with their buddies at, say, an arcade, theme park, or bowling alley"
It is tempting to dive into this snare, but from an operator's perspective VR is a terrible deal. Other than buying a brand-new car and driving it a mile, I can't think about a way you could eliminate money quicker between what you pay and what you will have the ability to get down the road.
Another limit for operators is that while you may be able to provide a room for VR individuals to roam around in now, as fresh VR technology is unveiled, we're likely to see the stage expanded from 100 square feet into the entire world. Instead of viewing just the matches in your headset, you'll realize the real world with sport play overlayed. Children can visit the park and relive the knights of the round table or parking garages to take aliens. Since the tech allows more actual world places to be researched, it's going to earn a cramped arcade seem pretty lame in comparison.
VR is heading for mass market acceptance, but it's demand isn't being pushed by players who wish to pay big buck to play video games, but like the BETAMAX that came before it, by individuals who wish to watch porn in their houses.
Even if an operator can make just a bit of money for the next few years, once VR achieves critical mass, then it is going to crush whatever revenue stream that operators are dreaming of. Don't believe me? Just check out what's going on in China.
A year after 22,000 of them have closed.
This is an unbelievable failure rate over such a brief time period and one which should function as a sharp warning to anyone considering investing in the VR games. Maybe Dave and Busters can afford to take losses over the matches more than Chinese startup arcades, but I doubt most North American operators are going to fare much better with the tech in their game rooms and will only end up in debt at the close of the day.
The issue basically boils down to consumers not being prepared to pay a premium for the encounter. Tech In Asia, describes the problem perfectly in their article, on the Chinese VR boom and bust.

"Enterprising store owners jumped into VR are finding it impossible to bill fees akin to cinemas or bowling alleys for a VR experience. One VR arcade owner told iHeima he saw eager queues when charging US$1.50 for a 30-minute session, but everybody vanished as it climbed to US$5. By that sort of revenue it is not possible to pay the lease."
Even if the game was sold out all day, kids indoor playground at $1.50 per half hour they are just earning $30 per day.
The real world data flowing in from China should function as a canary in the quarter mines of North America. Operators who invest considerable amounts of money on elaborate VR setups will soon find their little VR rooms being substituted by the whole world for a stage. Since the installations get more expensive, smaller and more mobile, the digital arcades will seem more expensive, bulky and limited. I'd like to be proven wrong on this one, but I feel that the arcade VR fad is more hype than hope.