Oculus Rift coming to Chuck E. Cheese’s

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May 20, 2014

The Oculus Rift virtual reality headset is coming to Chuck E. Cheese's. The kid-friendly restaurant/playplace founded by gaming icon Nolan Bushnell announced today that it is now testing a "Chuck E. Cheese's Virtual Ticket Blaster Experience" using the virtual reality headset in select markets. The first is Dallas, with expansions planned for San Diego and Orlando.

"Kids today have unprecedented access to game consoles and tablets," said Roger Cardinale, president of Chuck E. Cheese's owner CEC Entertainment. "Our challenge is to deliver an experience not available at home, and there is no doubt virtual reality does just that. Oculus Rift technology is the next frontier in the gaming industry, and we're thrilled to be able to say it's part of the Chuck E. Cheese's lineup."

As part of a six-week trial run in the three test markets, kids will get to use the Oculus Rift headset to try out the "Virtual Ticket Blaster." The standard Ticket Blaster is a game where kids stand in a chamber and must grab tickets as they fly by. But the Oculus Rift version of this experience will have them doing so in virtual reality.

The Virtual Ticket Blaster game/experience was created by Dallas-based effects studio Reel FX. "We believe that virtual reality eventually will be as popular as our handheld devices," Reel FX founder Dale Carman said. "It's a game-changer, and we're investing incredible time and talent into developing content for the Oculus Rift."

The Oculus Rift was created by 21-year-old Palmer Luckey. The device came to life through a wildly successful Kickstarter campaign in 2012, culminating in Facebook purchasing the company, Oculus VR, and the headset earlier this year is a surprise $2 billion deal.