Amusement Expo International released the educational program agenda for the fourth annual location-based VR Summit today. It features over 15 industry innovators and trailblazers bringing case studies on the latest applications of immersive virtual reality entertainment to the family entertainment centre industry.
In the traditional opening keynote, VR Summit founder and emcee Bob Cooney will build a case that virtual reality had its “iPhone Moment” in the last year, and what that means for the location-based entertainment and amusement industries. Cooney, who has been riding out the pandemic in Australia, will be appearing via a virtual telepresence robot, aptly named RoboBob.
“I’m so excited that we can have a live, in-person event in our industry again,” commented Cooney. “This is the first live trade show in 15 months. There was a lot of innovation in the VR market over the last year. It’s great to offer this conference as a platform to share those innovations, and educate the market.”
Sean Griffin, CEO of Nomadic, will present “Lessons from Launching Star Wars During a Pandemic – presented by Lightsaber Dojo.” Griffin will discuss the continuous improvement approach they’re taking on Vader Immortal, and the challenges and opportunities presented when working with AAA movie IP.
Springboard VR will present a panel on the next generation of virtual reality entertainment centres. VR Arcade 2.0: Beyond the Novelty of Consumer VR will feature
- Chuck Taylor, VP entertainment at Main Event
- Tommy Goodkin, former head of creative strategy and content at VR World, NYC
- Sean Griffin, CEO of Nomadic
- Hunter Lane, director of business development at Resolution Games
Bryan Severance, longtime FEC operator, and immersive entertainment veteran, will moderate.
Matt Wells, co-founder and CEO of Frontgrid, a former army paratrooper and expedition leader, will showcase a blueprint for for venues to offer the next generation of immersion and experience for customers craving transformational experiences.
Wells will then join the panel ‘VR Games vs Hyper Reality Attractions: Driving New Customer Traffic’. Presented by Paradrop VR it will feature, in addition to Matt:
- James Jensen, founder of JUMP! – the wingsuit flight experience that just announced its first location coming to American Dream Mall
- Michael Bridgman, co-founder of Major Mega, maker of the Hyperdeck
Gregg Katano, SVP of US operations for Hologate will moderate.
The Summit will wrap with a digital marketing masterclass led by bestselling author and longtime amusement industry veteran Eric Schwartzman. The author of The Digital Pivot will share the secrets to driving demand and generating online revenue with cutting edge immersive attractions. He will be joined by Brad Mark, COO of Pole Position Raceway in Las Vegas, who recently used digital marketing to promote his new Virtuix OmniArena, increasing his total facility sales by more than 40%.
The VR Summit at Amusement Expo will take place at the Westgate Hotel in Las Vegas on 29 June from 8:30 AM until 5:00 PM. It is followed by the Amusement Expo International trade show at the Las Vegas Convention Center on 30 June and 1 July. For more information on Amusement Expo go to hwww.amusementexpo.org