Virtual reality arcade opening in Pontiac this weekend – The Oakland Press

A husband and wife team from West Bloomfield are opening up a new virtual reality arcade in Pontiac.

The V.R Life Arcade, located at 320 Telegraph Road, will be the countys second dedicated virtual reality entertainment space along with theEscape Virtual Reality Arcade in Oxford. Featuring both room-scale and omnidirectional treadmill gaming hardware, the new arcade will launch with over 50 games during its grand opening event on Saturday, Oct. 26.

Inside a room-scale virtual reality station at the new V.R Life Arcade.

Sheray and Jack Laury, also co-owners of Southfield-based The Party Source, said they were inspired to start the business by their kids. With a 17-year-old and two young children, the couple said they found that virtual reality gaming was a good way to spend time together as a family.

Were hoping to provide a place where the whole family can come together. Our kids are all over the place in age, but they all love it here, Sheray Laury said. In our research, we found that like myself, a lot of moms use this game setting to interact with their kids. Were used to moms saying to get off the couch, get off the games But in this setting, youre moving, laughing, playing all in one place, together.

Sheray and Jack Laury, husband and wife, co-owners of V.R Life Arcade in Pontiac.

The arcade features seven room-scale stations with headsets, hand-held controllers and monitors above each station. Stations can be rented individually with up to 10-guests on each. In the center of the arcade stands four omnidirectional virtual reality treadmills, which allow players to have full 360-degree movement using slip on shoes with sensors.

Omnidirectional virtual reality treadmills at the new V.R Life Arcade opening in Pontiac on Saturday, Oct. 26.

We have a wide variety of games from sports to nature, music games and horror, Sheray Laury said. For Halloween, well be pushing our selection of horror and escape room games. We plan to always be rotating our games. Our management system lets us know whats popular and what people arent playing at all. We also want to take our costumers input on what theyd like to play.

Traditional arcade and racing games, as well as a dedicated kids corner for younger children, are also available.

V.R Life Arcade in Pontiac.

Renovations and build-out of the space, which was previously a furniture store, cost about $175,000 according to the owners. The arcade received a $50,000 Flagstar Big Idea Grant this week to assist with the launch. In 2016, the bank announced it would make a five-year, $10 million investment into the city of Pontiac. About $2.5 million was set aside for economic development and business attraction, including the grant program.

The couple also received a $50,000 small business loan from CEED Lending.

Inside a room-scale virtual reality station at the new V.R Life Arcade.

Were still not done yet, Jack Laury said. Weve got a few more things we want to add. We want to get into tournaments, so were planning on getting a hold of some consoles for that and setting up a place where gamers can bring in their own stuff to play on.

V.R Life Arcade will hold its grand opening event from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 26. Attendees will receive five-minutes of free gameplay on a virtual reality game of their choice, as well as the chance to enter raffles and giveaways including a free birthday party package and gaming packages. The Pontiac All Star Marching Band will also be in attendance to perform prior to the ribbon cutting ceremony. Trunk or Treating will take place in the parking lot from 3 to 5 p.m., or while candy supplies last.

Inside a room-scale virtual reality station at the new V.R Life Arcade.

Prices and booking information can be found at vrlifearcade.com.

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Virtual reality arcade opening in Pontiac this weekend - The Oakland Press