The Being Virtual Podcast - with Bob Cooney

Today’s podcast was a panel discussion about VR Digital Marketing Masterclass recorded at the 4th Annual VR Summit at Amusement Expo International held in Las Vegas on June 30, 2021.

Learn how to increase sales through unique marketing tactics you can start immediately. Innovative operators and marketing consultants will share their go-to strategies to help you drive awareness, higher ticket sales, groups sales, and more.

Today’s podcast was a panel discussion about VR Digital Marketing Masterclass, recorded at the 4th Annual VR Summit at Amusement Expo International held in Las Vegas on June 30, 2021.

Learn how to increase sales through unique marketing tactics you can start immediately. Innovative operators and marketing consultants will share their go-to strategies to help you drive awareness, higher ticket sales, groups sales, and more.

Featuring Matt Wells, co-founder, and CEO of Frontgrid

Today’s podcast is a recording from the 4th Annual VR Summit at Amusement Expo International held in Las Vegas on June 30, 2021.

Adventure used to require risking life and limb. Now virtual reality enables anyone to push their limits, face their fears, and challenge their beliefs.  Matt Wells, a former paratrooper, and founder of an expedition company share his real and virtual first ascents – culminating in a blueprint for venues to offer the next generation of immersion and experience for customers craving transformational experiences.

WHAT YOU’LL LEARN FROM THIS EPISODE:

• The future blueprint for VR
• How Paradrop VR was born
• Getting to Know Matt Wells Experiences on his Outdoor Adventures Journey led him to become one of the biggest contributors to the VR Project.
• Parachuting and Paragliding in a Virtual Reality Element
• What is the experience like in Paradrop VR? What makes it interesting and fun?
• What are its limitations on the hardware, operators, and commercial perspective? How they found solutions to these?
• How do operators compete with the home play market with the famous video games online to bring the same level of excitement and interest in younger generations?
• The future of VR transformational experiences and gamification
• Consume Price of Project VR
• How much of a community is there that operators could tap into Paradrop VR

Frontgrid: https://www.frontgrid.co.uk/paradrop-vr

Today’s podcast was a panel discussion about VR arcades, recorded at the 4th Annual VR Summit at Amusement Expo International held in Las Vegas on June 30, 2021.

VR Arcades started with enthusiasts renting consumer equipment by the minute or hour. Hear from the leading minds in the industry how experienced developers and operators are creating destination attractions and innovative experiences people cannot replicate at home. With our panel of experts, we’ll take a look at the future innovations of VR Arcade 2.0.

The panel was moderated by Bryan Severance. The panelists were:

Tommy Goodkin, consultant in the lb VR space and former head of content at VR World in New York City who is in charge of programming one of the best arcade 1.5 models.

Chuck Taylor, VP of entertainment for Main Event in Dallas. He was out here in Vegas working for Caesars Entertainment, running experiential entertainment, development, testing technology work across the enterprise.

Brooke Chapman, consultant in the virtual production and Location-Based Entertainment (LBE) spaces. She’s from nomadic and has been at junk VR; spent a couple of lifetimes and Industrial Light and Magic years ago.

Hunter Lane, Director of Business Development from Resolution Games, is one of the best VR games on the plane.  He was one of the innovators of 1.0 VR Arcade, the first arcade in Oklahoma.

Let’s dive in!

WHAT YOU’LL LEARN FROM THIS EPISODE:

● Spectators involvement

● How FECs are selling socially shared experiences

● How VR is going to compete with the market from other developments?

● What is the future of Location-Based FPC VR?

● What are the strategies involved for the different age groups to make it more engaging?

● Marketing a VR attraction at your FEC.

Listen to PART 1 and 2 here:

https://anchor.fm/dashboard/episode/e16hh9u/EP138: VR Arcade 2.0: Beyond the Novelty of Consumer VR – Presented by Springboard VR by Vertigo Games (Part 1)

https://anchor.fm/dashboard/episode/e16oki7/EP138: VR Arcade 2.0: Beyond the Novelty of Consumer VR – Presented by Springboard VR by Vertigo Games (Part 2)

Our Sponsor: Springboard VR: https://springboardvr.com/

Today’s podcast was a panel discussion about VR arcades, recorded at the 4th Annual VR Summit at Amusement Expo International held in Las Vegas on June 30, 2021.

VR Arcades started with enthusiasts renting consumer equipment by the minute or hour. Hear from the leading minds in the industry how experienced developers and operators are creating destination attractions and innovative experiences people cannot replicate at home. With our panel of experts, we’ll take a look at the future innovations of VR Arcade 2.0.

The panel was moderated by Bryan Severance. The panelists were:

Tommy Goodkin, consultant in the lb VR space and former head of content at VR World in New York City who is in charge of programming one of the best arcade 1.5 models.

Chuck Taylor, VP of entertainment for Main Event in Dallas. He was out here in Vegas working for Caesars Entertainment, running experiential entertainment, development, testing technology work across the enterprise.

Brooke Chapman, consultant in the virtual production and Location-Based Entertainment (LBE) spaces. She’s from nomadic and has been at junk VR; spent a couple of lifetimes and Industrial Light and Magic years ago.

Hunter Lane, Director of Business Development from Resolution Games, is one of the best VR games on the plane.  He was one of the innovators of 1.0 VR Arcade, the first arcade in Oklahoma.

Let’s dive in!

WHAT YOU’LL LEARN FROM THIS EPISODE:

● How take-homes and social media social sharing is imperative to creating repeat customers?

● What is the future of VR Arcades?

● What are they going to offer to users for a better experience?

● What are the advantages of using intellectual property (IP) in VR?

● Experiences in the Virtual Reality Arcades

●  Dealing with the Hardware shelf life and its issues.

● The lifespan of IP and some mobile games.

● View of VR in the next 5 years.

● How to make it more sustainable in the market.

● “The future of VR would be like a place where there's just one game where everyone goes to compete against each other. And I think that could be a realistic possibility.”

● What’s likely in eSports and VR.

Listen to PART 1 here:

https://anchor.fm/dashboard/episode/e16hh9u/EP138: VR Arcade 2.0: Beyond the Novelty of Consumer VR – Presented by Springboard VR by Vertigo Games (Part 1)

Our Sponsor: Springboard VR: https://springboardvr.com/

Today’s podcast was a panel discussion about VR arcades, recorded at the 4th Annual VR Summit at Amusement Expo International held in Las Vegas on June 30, 2021.

VR Arcades started with enthusiasts renting consumer equipment by the minute or hour. Hear from the leading minds in the industry how experienced developers and operators are creating destination attractions and innovative experiences people cannot replicate at home. With our panel of experts, we’ll take a look at the future innovations of VR Arcade 2.0.

The panel was moderated by Bryan Severance. The panelists were:

Tommy Goodkin, consultant in the lb VR space and former head of content at VR World in New York City who is in charge of programming one of the best arcade 1.5 models.

Chuck Taylor, VP of entertainment for Main Event in Dallas. He was out here in Vegas working for Caesars Entertainment, running experiential entertainment, development, testing technology work across the enterprise.

Brooke Chapman, consultant in the virtual production and Location-Based Entertainment (LBE) spaces. She’s from nomadic and has been at junk VR; spent a couple of lifetimes and Industrial Light and Magic years ago.

Hunter Lane, Director of Business Development from Resolution Games, is one of the best VR games on the plane.  He was one of the innovators of 1.0 VR Arcade, the first arcade in Oklahoma.

Let’s dive in!

WHAT YOU’LL LEARN FROM THIS EPISODE:

● What is Springboard VR and how it was acquired by Vertigo Games

● Getting to know the panelist Tommy Goodkin, Chuck Taylor, Brooke    Chapman, and Hunter Lane. What are their contributions to VR Arcade?

● What are LBE, VR, AR, and FEC VR mean?

● What's the difference between the VR 1.0 arcade and nomadic.

● Distinguishing Location-Based VR from Home-Based VR to make it more of a social experience

● Utilizing VR, out of home or in-home experiences big free room space, and small individual space; its pros and cons

● How to develop accessibility, get better experiences and get diverse people coming into FECs.

● Setting up, conflict and the resolution, and how it is being totally ignored as a way to increase the user experience.

Listen to Part 2 here:

https://anchor.fm/dashboard/episode/e16oki7/EP138: VR Arcade 2.0: Beyond the Novelty of Consumer VR – Presented by Springboard VR by Vertigo Games (Part 2)

Our Sponsor: Springboard VR: https://springboardvr.com/

Episode 137- Lessons from Launching Star Wars During a Pandemic – Presented by Lightsaber Dojo

Speaker: Sean Griffin, CEO Nomadic

Today’s podcast is a keynote presentation, recorded at the 4th Annual VR Summit at Amusement Expo International held in Las Vegas on June 30, 2021.

What happens when you launch a new VR game into the teeth of a global pandemic? How do you observe, test, iterate, learn, and improve to take a game from good to great when locations are shuttered? This session will take you behind the scenes of the development, release, and improvement of Vader Immortal: Lightsaber Dojo, the world’s first Star Wars VR arcade game.

Let’s dive in!

WHAT YOU’LL LEARN FROM THIS EPISODE:

● Who is Sean Griffin and Nomadic?

● How did they develop and launched Star Wars Games during the pandemic?

● What are the challenges they encountered developing this game remotely? And how did they cope up with these challenges?

● What is Vader Immortal Lightsaber Dojo? How to play it for a better experience?

● Getting to know customers to learn how they experience games to improve the design.

● What is Project New Hope and how does it work?

● How does the level of engagement increase for the Empire Strikes Back Project?

● Learn what is the benefit of products like the VRsenal, cabinet and how that might play out.

● How to bring VR and IP into out-of-home entertainment.

● Understanding Hollywood and the IP holders on economics fair and equitable share.

EP136 – VR Summit 2021 - Introduction and Keynote: Virtual Reality’s iPhone Moment and What it Means to You

Today’s podcast is the first in a series of recordings from the 4th Annual VR Summit at Amusement Expo International held in Las Vegas on June 30 2021.

Bob Cooney introduces the VR Summit, providing an overview of the sessions, before delivering his welcome keynote.

Oculus Quest 2 was VR’s iPhone moment. A cheap, easy, portable VR system with great, curated content. And the market responded.  With VR now finally taking off in the home, what do operators need to do to stay ahead of the market? Bob Cooney will deliver an overview of the VR market, why VR makes more sense than ever, and explain exactly what you should consider when mapping out your VR strategy.

Let’s dive in!

WHAT YOU’LL LEARN FROM THIS EPISODE:

• Why are people calling the Oculus Quest an Iphone Moment to the Art Virtual Reality?
• What is Steam’s growth over the last year?
• Why is the VR market exploding today?
• How did Virtual Reality Industry grow in the last couple of years?
• How are some industries react to VR gaming market?
• John Richard Telo, CEO of unity & former      CEO of Electronics Arts sees VR as the next consumer gaming platform.
• Is Oculus a Facebook product?
• Why did Facebook use their cash coffers and billions of dollars in profit to bring the cost of the quest headset down?
• How does the movie industry use virtual reality and how much did it earn?
• What is the future of Virtual Reality? What does it mean to us?
• Why did Bob say that the future is a good predictor of the past?
• What are hyperreality effects?
• How is location-based VR the next phase of      Immersive Entertainment?
• Is HTC Vive Focus Three better than oculus quest?
• Bob provide an overview of the      upcoming episodes from the VR Summit

Randy White is the CEO of White Hutchinson, one of the leading design and consulting firms in the location-based entertainment industry. Randy’s blog page is followed by thousands of people who want to stay on the leading edge of the consumer trends that will drive the next decade of entertainment development.

In today’s episode, Randy White brings the consumer and operations data to a discussion on what has to happen before location-based entertainment businesses return to profitability. He also tells us what consumers really want in entertainment, and if this is a good time for newcomers to the industry to enter the market. If you’re in the LBE industry, this episode is a must-watch for the insights into how you can be successful in the post-COVID future.

Let’s dive in!

Randy White is the CEO of White Hutchinson, one of the leading design and consulting firms in the location-based entertainment industry. Randy’s blog page is followed by thousands of people who want to stay on the leading edge of the consumer trends that will drive the next decade of entertainment development.

In today’s episode, Randy White brings the consumer and operations data to a discussion on what has to happen before location-based entertainment businesses return to profitability. He also tells us what consumers really want in entertainment, and if this is a good time for newcomers to the industry to enter the market. If you’re in the LBE industry, this episode is a must-watch for the insights into how you can be successful in the post-COVID future.

Let’s dive in!

Randy White is the CEO of White Hutchinson, one of the leading design and consulting firms in the location-based entertainment industry. Randy’s blog page is followed by thousands of people who want to stay on the leading edge of the consumer trends that will drive the next decade of entertainment development.

In today’s episode, Randy White brings the consumer and operations data to a discussion on what has to happen before location-based entertainment businesses return to profitability. He also tells us what consumers really want in entertainment, and if this is a good time for newcomers to the industry to enter the market. If you’re in the LBE industry, this episode is a must-watch for the insights into how you can be successful in the post-COVID future.

Let’s dive in!

Raising money has always been one of the most difficult parts of being an entrepreneur. Without capital, many business ideas would never get off the ground. Bob Cooney has raised over $100 million in capital over 7 different successful startups.

In today’s episode, Bob will be talking with four of the leading VR investors, Ryan Wang from Outpost Capital, Pearly Chen from HTC ViveX Accelerator, Angelo Del Priore from HP Tech Ventures and Martina Welkhoff from the WXR Fund, about what they are looking for in investments in the post-pandemic world.

Let’s dive in!

Raising money has always been one of the most difficult parts of being an entrepreneur. Without capital, many business ideas would never get off the ground. Bob Cooney has raised over $100 million in capital over 7 different successful startups.

In today’s episode, Bob will be talking with four of the leading VR investors, Ryan Wang from Outpost Capital, Pearly Chen from HTC ViveX Accelerator, Angelo Del Priore from HP Tech Ventures and Martina Welkhoff from the WXR Fund, about what they are looking for in investments in the post-pandemic world.

Let’s dive in!

Raising money has always been one of the most difficult parts of being an entrepreneur. Without capital, many business ideas would never get off the ground. Bob Cooney has raised over $100 million in capital over 7 different successful startups.

In today’s episode, Bob will be talking with four of the leading VR investors, Ryan Wang from Outpost Capital, Pearly Chen from HTC ViveX Accelerator, Angelo Del Priore from HP Tech Ventures and Martina Welkhoff from the WXR Fund, about what they are looking for in investments in the post-pandemic world.

Let’s dive in!

Peter Csathy is Entertainment/Media/Tech Advisor, Dealmaker, Board Member and Futurist.

He is an internationally recognized entertainment, music, media & tech expert. He has spent his career working with passionate teams pushing the boundaries of ground-breaking entertainment, music, media and tech innovation and developing transformational content and entertainment business partnerships and consumer experiences. He now advises entertainment and technology companies on how to navigate the complex and ever-changing media landscape.

Peter sits on several boards and has served as CEO & President of multiple media/tech companies that achieved successful exits. He also spent years as a senior business executive in major studios.

Peter recently founded CREATV University to be an industry “give back” to the entertainment, media & tech leaders, innovators and creators of tomorrow. He is a Harvard Law graduate and critically-acclaimed author who is regularly featured in the leading press.

Peter is a Founder & Chairmanof CREATV Media, a platform of personalized services that include entertainment, music, media and technology-focused M&A, business development and advisory services. Peter and his team work closely with artists, content/IP owners, entrepreneurs and companies to push the boundaries of innovation and creativity and to develop game-changing business opportunities and entertainment experiences.

Peter Csathy is Entertainment/Media/Tech Advisor, Dealmaker, Board Member and Futurist.

He is an internationally recognized entertainment, music, media & tech expert. He has spent his career working with passionate teams pushing the boundaries of ground-breaking entertainment, music, media and tech innovation and developing transformational content and entertainment business partnerships and consumer experiences. He now advises entertainment and technology companies on how to navigate the complex and ever-changing media landscape.

Peter sits on several boards and has served as CEO & President of multiple media/tech companies that achieved successful exits. He also spent years as a senior business executive in major studios.

Peter recently founded CREATV University to be an industry “give back” to the entertainment, media & tech leaders, innovators and creators of tomorrow. He is a Harvard Law graduate and critically-acclaimed author who is regularly featured in the leading press.

Peter is a Founder & Chairmanof CREATV Media, a platform of personalized services that include entertainment, music, media and technology-focused M&A, business development and advisory services. Peter and his team work closely with artists, content/IP owners, entrepreneurs and companies to push the boundaries of innovation and creativity and to develop game-changing business opportunities and entertainment experiences.

Peter Csathy is Entertainment/Media/Tech Advisor, Dealmaker, Board Member and Futurist.

He is an internationally recognized entertainment, music, media & tech expert. He has spent his career working with passionate teams pushing the boundaries of ground-breaking entertainment, music, media and tech innovation and developing transformational content and entertainment business partnerships and consumer experiences. He now advises entertainment and technology companies on how to navigate the complex and ever-changing media landscape.

Peter sits on several boards and has served as CEO & President of multiple media/tech companies that achieved successful exits. He also spent years as a senior business executive in major studios.

Peter recently founded CREATV University to be an industry “give back” to the entertainment, media & tech leaders, innovators and creators of tomorrow. He is a Harvard Law graduate and critically acclaimed author who is regularly featured in the leading press.

Peter is a Founder & Chairmanof CREATV Media, a platform of personalized services that include entertainment, music, media and technology-focused M&A, business development and advisory services. Peter and his team work closely with artists, content/IP owners, entrepreneurs and companies to push the boundaries of innovation and creativity and to develop game-changing business opportunities and entertainment experiences.

Joanna Popper is a global head of location-based virtual reality and go-to-market strategy for HP. She focuses on building adoption for what's coming next: emerging markets and languages, new target audiences and cutting-edge technologies.

Joanna is a sought-after international speaker on VR/AR/MR/XR, entertainment, tech, future of media, marketing, innovation and diversity and she has been a speaker at Cannes Film Festival, Collision, Comic Con, Berlin Film Fest, Sundance Film Festival, CMO Conferences and more. She has a passion for creating diverse and inclusive environments and empowering teams to fully realize their dreams.

In today’s episode, Bob will be talking with Joanna about the current and future state of location-based VR and VR arcades, HP’s product roadmap and upcoming Reverb 2 headset. They also discuss Joanna’s experience as a speaker and moderator in virtual conferences and how that compares to showing up live, and much more.

Let’s dive in!

WHAT YOU’LL LEARN FROM THIS EPISODE:

• What's going on in Joanna's world
• How Lockdown affected Joanna personally
• How companies are adjusting to new circumstances
• How VR hygiene management will change in the future
• Will the Reverb 2 be safe to use regarding the hygiene
  

Charlie Fink is an XR expert, Forbes columnist, and author about the future of work and remote collaboration, which is the subject of his forthcoming book, called “Remote Collaboration, Virtual Conferences and the Future of Work”.

Charlie also teaches XR at Chapman University Film School in Orange, California.

Fink is a consultant to some of the leading companies in the XR world. As a 28-year-old junior executive at Disney, Fink famously came up with the idea for "The Lion King." In the 1990s, he was Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of VR pioneer, Virtual World Entertainment.

In today’s episode, Bob will be talking with Charlie about how things like robots, virtual reality and remote telepresence will change work forever.

Let’s dive in!

WHAT YOU’LL LEARN FROM THIS EPISODE:

• Does Charlie think that remote work will be the thing for a while
• Will people bring VR headsets to locations in the future
• Is pandemic the best time to get into VR
• Apple's mystery AR device
  

Charlie Fink is an XR expert, Forbes columnist, and author about the future of work and remote collaboration, which is the subject of his forthcoming book, called “Remote Collaboration, Virtual Conferences and the Future of Work”.

Charlie also teaches XR at Chapman University Film School in Orange, California.

Fink is a consultant to some of the leading companies in the XR world. As a 28-year-old junior executive at Disney, Fink famously came up with the idea for "The Lion King." In the 1990s, he was Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of VR pioneer, Virtual World Entertainment.

In today’s episode, Bob will be talking with Charlie about how things like robots, virtual reality and remote telepresence will change work forever.

Let’s dive in!

WHAT YOU’LL LEARN FROM THIS EPISODE:

• The future of robotics
• Convergence of VR and robotics
• What other things might be replaced with technology
• Charlie's experience as an educator during pandemic
• What programs is Charlie using with his students
• Thoughts on Facebook Horizon
  

Charlie Fink is an XR expert, Forbes columnist, and author about the future of work and remote collaboration, which is the subject of his forthcoming book, called “Remote Collaboration, Virtual Conferences and the Future of Work”.

Charlie also teaches XR at Chapman University Film School in Orange, California.

Fink is a consultant to some of the leading companies in the XR world. As a 28-year-old junior executive at Disney, Fink famously came up with the idea for "The Lion King." In the 1990s, he was Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of VR pioneer, Virtual World Entertainment.

In today’s episode, Bob will be talking with Charlie about how things like robots, virtual reality and remote telepresence will change work forever.

Let’s dive in!

WHAT YOU’LL LEARN FROM THIS EPISODE:

• How is Charlie doing
• What led Charlie to write the book
• What's wrong with Zoom
• How Charlie's students reacted to remote way of studying
• The challenge Charlie gave his students