With New Invention, Virtual Reality’s Potential for Magic Gets Real - The New York Times

New opportunities for closed movie theaters and empty malls

"The Void’s potential may have as much to do with the solutions it offers to other businesses as it does with entertainment.

Take at-home virtual reality gear. Sales have been lethargic, held back by high costs ($400 to $800, just for the headsets) and a shortage of must-have content. Virtual reality also has a bad reputation for making users feel woozy. And the V.R. experiences offered so far can be unpleasantly isolating; you are alone in those goggles.

But the Void could be the equivalent of a gateway drug.

There is no investment necessary; just show up and buy a ticket. It’s social; groups of up to four can participate at once and see avatars of one another in the V.R. realm. And roaming through a large set — it’s all wireless, so participants are not tethered to a cord, as with most other V.R. experiences — seems to solve the nausea problem."

With New Invention, Virtual Reality’s Potential for Magic Gets Real - The New York Times