Although there has been several reports throughout the last little bit about IMAX VR being completely shut down and over, this latest post from their filing has put the whole experiment down for good.
IMAX provided pods well equipped with HTC Vive’s and some early StarVR headsets. The overall experience was something less than expected from an out of your home paid VR experience.
As most thought, the way they would get plenty of people in their doors would having it be connected to the theater and playable titles that were applicable to the movies, but that never came to light with the locations being completely apart from their theaters. Its an odd move for a company that is looking to to just get their foot in the door with VR arcade gaming.
“In connection with the Company’s previously-announced strategic review of its virtual reality pilot initiative, the Company has decided to close its remaining VR locations and write-off certain VR content investments.”
IMAX must’ve seen this coming. Most if not everything that they could’ve offered in their pods, you can do at home. While their competitors like The VOID and Dreamscape Immersive have different ways to make the experience completely different than the at home VR experience. They are some of the most visited VR locations in the world because they offer something that the IMAX VR could not offer. That is where they went wrong.
