Back in the day, going to the arcade meant lining up your quarters on the screen of Ms. Pac-Man, Crystal Castles, or Space Invaders, and waiting not-so-patiently for your turn at the controls, which were often a joystick and a button or two to zap the bad guys with. My, how things have changed!
Just as the modern day mall is being reinvented, Survios Virtual Reality Arcade, located at the Del Amo Fashion Center in Torrance, has reinvented what it is to play games at the mall. The arcade utilizes VR technology to immerse guests in virtual entertainment. The first time I put a VR headset on, I thought of THE MATRIX, where, once you are inside, you cannot see anything OUTSIDE of it as you look up, down, and all around. And VR is about to get even hotter with the upcoming release of READY PLAYER ONE (which was a fantastic book, btw), where pretty much everyone lives life with a VR headset strapped on, existing in an online world called OASIS.
The Survios VR Arcade allows guests to enter different worlds and games without the commitment of buying a system for their homes. And, it gets everyone up and off the couch and moving! The space is really clean and beautiful and there are different open stalls where customers play the games; we get to see what they are seeing in their headset on a screen behind them. There are 25 games, including RAW DATA and SPRINT VECTOR, and 10 HTC Vibe headsets and controllers. Ben Kim, who is the CFO and VP of Business Development for Survios, pointed out to me how the VR systems track players’ hands, head, and upper body movements in real time. As Ben and I were talking, my son was playing a game that featured bows and arrows, and it was cool to see him draw back “the bow” in front of me and then see it play out on the screen at the same time. I love thrill rides, so for my game I went up in an “elevator” in a high-rise building, and when the doors opened I basically walked a plank way up in the air. In the real world, I was walking on a narrow piece of wood on the floor!
The Bottom Line: Survios demonstrates why the company is leading the Los Angeles VR scene with a terrific new arcade addition to the Del Amo Fashion Center. A super fun time for parents and kids!
There is no minimum age to participate, but not recommended for kids under 8. Individual games each have their own rating, so you can select games that are age appropriate for the player.
Survios VR Arcade at the Del Amo Fashion Center in Torrance
playsurvios.com
Del Amo Fashion Center
3525 W Carson St
Torrance, CA 90503
