Throughout the previous few years, we've seen a plethora of news articles about the way virtual reality was going to conserve the classic arcade. The theory goes that the VR equipment is too expensive for home users, so it creates an opportunity for operators to pony up the big dollars to buy it and make their money back by charging per game to play with it.
"While many high-end headsets were released annually that can bring virtual-reality experiences to your living room, adoption of this technology remains in its earliest days for a bunch of reasons--it's still bulky, pricey, and there isn't all that far to do once you've got it on your face. More than two million cans were shipped worldwide in 2016, according to an estimate from market researcher Canalys, yet this figure pales in comparison to the popularity of, say, video game consoles (earnings of the leading one, Sony's PS4, topped six million during the 2016 holiday season alone). Consumer virtual reality will likely catch on as costs come down and headsets improve. Meanwhile, though, a variety of businesses are betting that consumers could possibly be happy to pay a much smaller amount to try the technology with their buddies at, say, an arcade, theme park, or bowling alley."
It's tempting to dive into this snare, but from an operator's perspective VR is a terrible thing. Operators are being asked to pay top dollar for technology that is all but guaranteed to plummet in value within the very short term. Aside from purchasing a brand-new vehicle and driving it a time, I can't think of a way you could lose money quicker between what you pay and what you will have the ability to get down the road.
Another limitation for most operators is that while you might have the ability to provide a space for VR people to wander around in now, as new VR tech is introduced, we are going to see the stage expanded from 100 square feet into the entire world. Rather than viewing just the games from your headset, you will realize the real world with game play overlayed. Since the tech allows more real world places to be researched, it is going to earn a cramped arcade seem pretty feeble in comparison.
VR is heading for mass market acceptance, but it is demand isn't being driven by gamers who wish to pay big buck to play video games, but such as the BETAMAX that came before it, by people who want to watch porn in their houses.
Even when an operator can make a little bit of money to the upcoming few years, after VR achieves critical mass, it will crush whatever earnings flow that operators're dreaming of. Do not believe me? Just check out what is going on in China.
This past year, an eye popping 35,000 virtual reality arcades opened up in China. A year later 22,000 of them have closed.
That is an unbelievable failure rate over this brief time period and one which should serve as a sharp warning to anyone considering investing in the VR games. Maybe Dave and Busters can afford to take losses over the matches more than Chinese startup arcades, however I doubt most North American operators will fare much better with the tech in their match rooms and will only end up in debt at the end of the day.
The issue basically boils down to customers not being willing to pay a premium to the experience. Tech In Asia, describes the problem perfectly in their article, on the Chinese VR boom and bust.

"Enterprising store owners leaping into VR are finding it impossible to charge fees akin to cinemas or bowling alleys to get a vr game experience. One VR arcade owner told iHeima that he saw excited queues when charging US$1.50 for a 30-minute session, but everyone vanished when it rose to US$5. By that sort of revenue it's impossible to cover the rent."
Even if the match was sold out daily, at $1.50 per half hour they're just earning $30 a day. With retail rents in North America running $1 -- $2 a square foot, there's no way to make the math work, even in the event that you assume that Americans will spend more to play with the games.
The actual world data streaming in from China must function as a canary in the quarter plantations of North America. Operators who spend large amounts of money on fancy VR setups will soon find their little VR rooms being substituted by the whole world as a stage. As the installations get more expensive, smaller and more portable, the virtual arcades will look more costly, bulky and restricted.