Virtual Reality center coming to Midland Mall – Midland Daily News

Local ownersexcited to share experience with community

Ashley Schafer, Ashley.Schafer@hearstnp.com

You4ia Virtual Reality is coming soon to the Midland Mall. (Logo provided)

You4ia Virtual Reality is coming soon to the Midland Mall. (Logo provided)

You4ia Virtual Reality is coming soon to the Midland Mall. (Logo provided)

You4ia Virtual Reality is coming soon to the Midland Mall. (Logo provided)

Virtual Reality center coming to Midland Mall

A new gaming center, You4ia Virtual Reality, is coming to the Midland Mall, bringing visitors the opportunity to play virtual reality games.

Virtual reality, known as VR, is a simulated gaming experience that places gamers in life-like scenarios using simulated sights and sounds. Headsets, like goggles, are often used to provide realistic, 360-degree views of simulated environments.

"It's something newer and it's very cool; it's very immersive," said Coleman McCarthy, co-owner of You4ia. "If somebody hasn't experienced it before, it's going to be completely different for them."

McCarthy and Jacob Lewis, business partners and friends since high school, are bringing a VR gaming center to the Midland Mall, catering to people of all ages. The business duo has lived in Midland most their lives, and said they are excited to share this experience with the community.

"When I envision us opening, honestly the thing that I am really, really excited for, aside from the business, is being in there, seeing people in there just experiencing it and having fun," Lewis said. "It's going to be super cool, and just to see people that haven't experienced it before, see something new and we're offering it to them-- it's going to be super fulfilling."

Using top-of-the-line equipment and gaming computers, McCarthy said they will cater mostly to gamers who want extended play, as opposed to quick games. However, he said they plan to have a flat rate for people who just want to give VR a quick try.

When a customer comes into the shop, which is the where the former Monster Lounge was located, they will be able to browse a game catalog, and if all the booths are full, they can reserve a time slot to play. McCarthy and Lewis said certain games can also be synched up so players in separate booths can play the same game together. This will lend itself to birthday parties and other event groups who come in together.

The space will have four booths to start, each with their own gaming set. The booths will have curtains to allow for privacy, although they can be opened to allow friends and visitors to see the player in action. Each booth will have a chair as well, for the option of sitting or standing.

However, just like at the movies, games will be screened for their appropriateness and gamers under 18 years old will need a parent's permission to play certain games, including more violent shooting games.

In addition, Lewis said they were intentional in looking for empty space at the Midland Mall because they wanted to help keep it going and add to what the market there has to offer.

McCarthy and Lewis said they have been renovating the space but have a lot of technical computer work that still needs to be done before they announce soft open dates. They said they've set the goal of March 1 for the grand opening.

"We're doing all this with our blood, sweat and tears - in there late nights, sometimes until (1 a.m.) just trying to get it going," McCarthy said. "And we're hitting to the point where most of the remodeling is done, but now it comes to all the technological things ... that's probably going to be the hardest part - working out all the bugs."

To stay up to date with You4ia Virtual Reality, follow the company's Facebook page.

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Virtual Reality center coming to Midland Mall - Midland Daily News