Virtual reality gaming takes centre stage in France
A visitor at the TelcoDR booth during the Mobile World Congress 2021 in Barcelona, Spain, June 28, 2021, is testing a VR device at the TelcoDR booth. BERNAT ARMANGUE AP The players move slowly and cautiously, each carrying a rifle, hunting out their enemies in steaming jungles, baking deserts or even the surface of Mars.
They can hear, see and shoot their foes, but the field of battle is a vast warehouse north of Paris and players are moving in immersive worlds thanks to virtual reality VR headsets.
This is the latest attempt to bring an element of physical exercise to the world of competitive gaming known as esports.
The lack of real physical exertion is one of the reasons why esports are not considered real sport Jean Mariotte, founder of EVA Esports Virtual Arenas, told reporters at the warehouse, the first of 14 arenas to be opened across France and Belgium.
The esports tournaments feature hundreds of players sitting comfortably in huge halls while they battle it out for prize money and kudos.
Mariotte hopes to upend that model by mixing physical activity with gaming in what is called free-roam virtual reality.
The most successful game of this type is Hado, a dodgeball-style activity where players fling fireballs at each other in an attempt to prevail.
Ludovic Donati, whose company is Volt Events promotes Hado and other games, said the environment is as it really is, but special effects are added on top.
Hado is huge in Japan and its promoters are keen to push it elsewhere. Both Hado and EVA have limitations that are still in experimental stages.
EVA is limited to so-called'shoot em up' games with niche appeal.
It could be popular with pre-wedding'stag' parties or other group get-togethers, even if players are sweaty.
The instructions are simple on the upside. Before playing, an instructor tells players: To run, you just run! Hado is a good workout for the leisure market, while EVA could find its niche in the leisure market.
The games are so intense that they only last for 80 seconds, said Donati.
The problem that has dogged VR from the outset seems to have been solved by both games.
One out of two people couldn't stand it, said Donati of the experience of standing still in the real world while moving around in the virtual world.
He said this was the reason so many older-style VR rooms had closed.
Promoters of EVA and Hado believe that there is a brighter future for their products, positioning them as burgeoning sports rather than video games.
Hado already has teams and competitions set up in France and EVA is planning to capitalize on the 2024 Paris Olympics, hoping to have 100 arenas in the country by then.
Mathieu Lacrouts of Hurrah Gaming Communications Agency told AFP he tried it at a corporate event and was surprised by the unanimously positive feedback.
Even those who do not normally play video games got caught up in the game, he said.
He said that EVA is well-positioned because it is the kind of experience that can't be reproduced at home, unlike other VR-sports crossover products like the FitXR or Beat Saber.
EVA chief Mariotte accepts that he will need to branch out to attract more players.
He has already announced an investment of 5 million euros $5.1 million to develop an experience that is not a shooter.