Gene Wilder as Willy Wonka in “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory” from 1971 told people to see into their “world of pure imagination.” Now the wonders of virtual reality (VR) can bring the same experience into homes.
The new revolution can turn anyone using VR into anything they would like, whether that be a lightsaber-wielding drummer in “Beat Saber” or a clumsy employee working his mundane office job in “Job Simulator.”
David Callahan, along with his fiancée Heather Davis, his brother Mike Callahan and Mike’s wife Ashley Callahan own Bluff City VR, a new arcade in Cordova people can visit to get the experience of VR without having to purchase a headset.
“My wife and I went up to visit some friends in Bowling Green, Kentucky,” Mike Callahan said. “And we were looking for something to do one night, and we found this VR arcade. It just said VR, and I’m thinking ‘That’s not virtual reality. Surely that’s not virtual reality. Let’s go check it out anyways.’ From that moment on I was hooked. I came back and told my brother that we have got to find a way to bring this to Memphis.”
Mike said the VR games are much more interactive than normal games people play in they’re homes. He said the way the headset immerses the player makes it seem like they’re experiencing something in real life.
“Normal video games aren’t nearly as interactive as this,” Mike Callahan said. “You can sit back in your chair with your controller in hand watching the game unfold in front of you. With this, you are actually put inside the game. It’s not even accurate to say ‘It’s 3-D’ because would you describe real life as being 3-D?”
The business model of Bluff City VR is aimed to bring the experience of VR to families who cannot afford to purchase high-quality VR headsets. David Callahan said the magic of the technology captivated him the first time he put on a headset.
“As soon as you put the headset on, you’re sold, and you realize how amazing it is,” David Callahan said. “But it’s so cost-prohibitive for the average person to buy one and keep it in their house that it immediately made sense as a business opportunity.”
In the space the quartet of owners has set up, VR is a group activity where people can play while their friends or family watch them. David Callahan said this changes the dynamic completely from a normal VR session inside a home.
“We set it up as a group activity where each booth has couches around it and a TV that mirrors the display in the headset,” David Callahan said. “So you can come in with a group of people and take turns playing. It’s entertaining to sit there and watch people play.”
David Callahan said he thinks VR will soon be a fixture in many homes across the country, but he also said he thinks his business won’t be affected if they keep their quality high.
“Right now, with the technology being so new, I think it’s actually priced as cheaply as it can be, but five or six years from now, all our games will be VR games,” David Callahan said. “At this point in the lifecycle, the equipment and technology and the games are improving so rapidly that it’s just not financially feasible over the course of the long-term for most people to keep up with technology in their homes. So right now, I can focus on getting the best equipment and the best games, and they get the best experience.”
Bluff City VR grew from just 12 games to now having around 30 games to choose. Later this year when it is released, David and Mike Callahan hope to add “Vacation Simulator,” a game made by the same company who made “Job Simulator.”
