StarVR, a joint venture between Acer and Starbreeze, and SEGA Entertainment announced a collaboration to bring the eponymous wide field of view (FOV) StarVR headset to SEGA Game Center locations across Japan. The StarVR headset will be featured at three SEGA arcade locations by March 2018, and expand to a total of more than ten locations by the end of 2018.
SEGA’s flagship Game Center in Shinjuku Kabukicho was the first to see the StarVR installation back in late December 2017.
Starbreeze Studio’s VR titles John Wick Chronicles (2017) and The Mummy Prodigium Strike will be the first experiences available to arcade-goes, although StarVR says more titles will be introduced gradually. Each experience costs ¥1,200 (~$11) per ticket.
Starbreeze surprised attendees back at E3 2015 when they unveiled StarVR, a 210 FOV, 5120×1440 resolution VR headset born from project InfinitEye. Little was known about the company’s plans for the headset until Starbreeze and Acer announced a joint venture to “market and produce” StarVR in an effort to showcase Starbreeze’s games at location-based VR centers like SEGA’s Shinjuku arcade.
“We’re especially excited to bring StarVR arcade experiences to Japan, as it has the world’s most sophisticated arcade industry and culture,” said Jerry Kao, Vice Chairman of StarVR Corporation. “Collaborating with SEGA Entertainment, the leader in the local market, we’re confident that we can make truly immersive and premium VR experiences widely available to Japanese consumers soon.”
