Gaming is levelling up in Kelowna with Virtual Rcades, where old school arcade-style gaming meets the future through the use of modern VR technology and motion simulators.
Co-owners and brothers Kyle and Michael Markus grew up in Kelowna, and believe the city has long been missing a modern arcade.
“You don’t really see a lot of virtual reality mixed with motion simulators in North America, so we decided we would make an entire facility dedicated purely to not just giving you the visuals, but putting you on a physical ride," said Michael.
"So you don’t necessarily have to be a gamer to understand these things, you just hop on a ride, put on your headset and away you are off into your own world.”
The 3,500-square-foot facility has 32 different simulators with tons of different games to choose from, all of which make you feel like you’re right there in the moment.
"We’ve got at least 100 different visuals that you can be experiencing at any time," continued Michael.
"You could be on a race car racing with your friends, you could be on a jet plane like this one here racing in the sky, roller coasters, and yeah, pretty much anything you can imagine, you can come experience here at the arcade.”
The arcade comes with six different gaming categories, including racing, sports, flight, adventure, theme park and cinema.
The owners say is great for the kids, but also makes for quite the romantic night out.
“We realized there’s a great market for people looking to go out for a date night, and you know, not a lot of people have enough money to go across the world to fly over Egypt or fly over the Great Wall," added Michael.
"You and your partner can sit down on a hot air balloon and fly up in the air and experience the same ride at the same time … It’s not just for kids, it’s for everybody.”
Virtual Rcades at 1698 Findlay Road in Rutland is holding a grand opening weekend on Saturday, March 25 and Sunday, March 26. Entrance starts at $40.