HTC, Spree Interactive Win VR Bobble Award at IAAPA London
London, England – October 10, 2022
At the recent International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions trade show held at ExCeL London, two VR Bobble Awards were handed out, recognizing innovation in the VR arcade game business. HTC VIVE received a VR Bobble for their new VIVE Focus 3 headset and location-based software suite (LBSS). The second Bobble went to Spree Interactive, for their Spree Arena, which is the first VR product designed to accommodate families with younger children.
The VIVE Focus 3 VR headset was designed with the needs of the location-based entertainment market in mind. The Focus 3 eliminates the need for bulky backpacks, expensive computers, and unreliable cable connections. Based on the Qualcomm XR2 chipset, it offers reliable multiplayer experiences in large spaces without external tracking cameras.
“The Focus 3 is the best LBVR headset available right now,” exclaimed Bob Cooney – founder of the VR Bobble Awards. “HTC did an amazing job of listening to the market over the last several years. Every VR experience creator I talk to in the world has either moved to the Focus 3 or has plans to in 2023. The VIVE Focus 3 will become the industry standard headset for location-based entertainment. This will be a boon to operators, as they will be able to consolidate parts, service, and repair skills around a common set of equipment.”
“We’re honored to receive this year’s VR Bobble Award for VIVE Focus 3,” said Dave Myers, Director, Enterprise Tech Services at HTC. “It’s wonderful to see LBEs now able to deploy at a larger scale and showcase engaging, multi-user content through Focus 3 and our LBSS suite. I expect the LBE industry is about to see a lot of new, highly imaginative VR experiences that will drive business. And HTC will keep building upon the already successful Focus 3 platform to support that growth,” he said.
Spree Interactive won their VR Bobble Award for excellence and innovation found in their Spree Arena. Spree has been focusing on the under 12-year old segment, which has been ignored by location-based VR developers. Spree’s system supports play from kids as young a 4-years old with games that are short, simple, and family-friendly. With games that average 3 minutes, a Spree arena can handle over 120 players per hour with locations seeing over 10K plays per week.
“Spree has been focused on trampoline parks for the last few years,” commented Bob Cooney. They’ve been expanding at rapid clip, thanks to their partnership with Urban Air, who is deploying a customized version of the Spree Arena across their network. The family entertainment center business really focused on entertainment for families with kids under 12, but there are few if any VR systems catering to that market.”
There was a lot of early debate about whether VR was safe for younger kids, but the American Academy of Ophthalmology claims on their website “as far as we know this technology poses no threat to the eyes.” Most concerns about VR for kids centers around content and unsupervised social experiences. Spree’s content is kid-friendly and supervised.
“To be recognized for our relentless focus on delivering the very best VR experience for kids is a huge honor, “says Jonathan Nowak Delgado, Co-Founder and Managing Director of SPREE Interactive. “Our game designers have cracked the code to create games that capture the imagination of younger children, a huge segment of the FEC market being ignored by VR developers. Allowing younger kids to play together with their parents and even grandparents sparks joy for the whole family. And that’s what our industry is about.”
About The VR Bobble Awards
Bob Cooney, a speaker, author and thought leader in the field of location-based VR, awards VR Bobbles to visionary companies whose work promotes the advancement of VR arcade games in the industry. Past winners include LAI Games, Area 15 in Las Vegas, Hologate, Zero Latency, VRsenal, and Virtuix Omni Arena. For more information go to https://bobcooney.com/bobble/
About HTC
HTC VIVE is the premier virtual reality (VR) platform and ecosystem that creates true-to-life VR experiences for businesses and consumers. The VIVE ecosystem is built around premium VR hardware, software, and content. The VIVE business encompasses best-in-class XR hardware; VIVEPORT platform and app store; VIVE Enterprise Solutions for business customers; VIVE X, a US$100M VR business accelerator; and VIVE ARTS for cultural initiatives. For more information, please visit www.vive.com.
About Spree Interactive
SPREE Interactive is a pioneer and leader in delivering turn-key large-scale, multiplayer, free-roaming commercial VR attractions to the location-based entertainment industry. The company offers complete solutions that can be installed quickly and operated efficiently. SPREE is a one-stop shop that makes it easy for owners and operators to offer innovative virtual reality attractions to their visitors
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