Could Nolan Bushnell Resurrect the Arcade?

Younger gamers might not remember Nolan Bushnell first hand, but chances are, anyone interested in gaming has heard of him. As one of the founders of the legendary Atari, he helped create the industry in the early days of gaming. Whilst Atari may have changed hands more time than the Olympic flame, the veteran himself has moved on to new things.

Bushnell's newest venture is a VR company called Modal VR. The system is in prototype at the moment, with beta kits expected to be distributed to interested developers later this year, but details of the system have been revealed and it's impressive stuff. As well as the obligatory headset, the Modal VR system comes with a full body suit to capture far more realistic movement than current VR systems can manage. There's also a "VR fabricator", needed to deal with the vast amount of data that the unit kicks out.

Of course, with tech this high, it's likely that the system will be incredibly expensive compared to devices like the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive. For this reason, the company don't envisage it as a device to be used in the home, rather for larger scale uses. The company stated:

"Modal VR for home use is likely cost-prohibitive and would require slightly more technical know-how than a typical consumer electronic device. We are focused on enterprise applications and typically only sell to other companies. We expect consumers will encounter Modal VR through the experiences our partners offer, whether it be gaming, education, training, eSports, mixed-reality television programming, etc."

From a gaming perspective, the device could open up huge possibilities. The reasons that the arcades were so popular in the earlier days of gaming was because they offered an experience that couldn't be had at home. As gaming technology improved, many arcades started to close. Why go all the way to Blackpool pier to play Tekken when you can just play it at home on your PlayStation?

The fact that Modal VR could offer games unlike anything that you see at home could appeal to gamers eager to find something different. It might not be the same as the "good old days" of putting ten pence pieces into a Pac-Man cabinet, but it could make gaming a viable business again and restore actual games to the sea of push penny and ticket prize machines.