The Latest The Being Virtual Show - Replay Cut the Crap - The Truth About Esports
WTF is Esports? Esports is one of the hot buzzwords in the entertainment market. Companies seem to be pouring hundreds of millions of dollars into building esports arenas, gaming lounges, and other location-based entertainment venues catering to the burgeoning esports market. Bob Cooney opens with an overview of the market and its growth along with definitions we can agree on to frame the conversation.
Subscribe to the number one podcast on the business of virtual reality.
REAL MONEY FROM
VIRTUAL REALITY
Bob Cooney crams his 30 years of entrepreneurial experience into a handy, and thoroughly enjoyable guidebook to launching a VR product. A must read for anyone looking to enter this growing but increasingly crowded marketplace.
“Amazing! A very straightforward, no BS look at what needs to be done to be successful when launching an LBE startup.” - Anne McKinnon – VR Voice
Are you an operator? Get Bob's Strategic Guide to Buying VR Attractions now!
Bob Cooney
SPEAKER, AUTHOR, MENTOR
An 8X entrepreneur with thirty-five years of experience launching emerging technology companies, Bob Cooney is widely referred to as the world’s foremost expert on location-based virtual reality.
An Inc. 500 CEO with a successful NASDAQ IPO, Bob is the go-to-market strategist behind many of the world’s most successful immersive entertainment products. Cooney mentors founders and executive teams of some of the top VR companies and helps operators choose the best VR products for their locations.
LBVR is Approaching the Tipping Point
I just spent a week in Chicago with the insiders and influencers of the amusement industry. Every year the American Amusement Machine Association (AAMA) gathers to hold their committee and board meetings. Manufacturers preview new products coming to market for distributors. And everyone collaborates to help raise money for the AAMA charitable foundation. This year,…
VR Addiction Post 3
Oculus, one of the two largest virtual reality platforms, is owned and controlled by the largest social media company on the planet, Facebook. In my last two blogs, I write about how social media addiction is a growing problem, driven by society’s desire for distraction. VR has been proven to be a distraction that is…
Virtual Reality, Distraction, and Addiction
Last week I wrote about how VR can be a pain mitigation treatment in hospitals. We’ve long known distraction is a useful treatment methodology for pain. The mind has trouble processing stimuli outside out of the field of attention, and VR provides powerful means of distraction. We all seek distractions. Television has been so ingrained…
Will VR be the New Opiate for the Masses?
Virtual reality is going to change everything. Consumer companies like HTC and Facebook (Oculus) have been building headsets, banking on it being the next big consumer gaming platform. Whether that will happen is a matter of quite some debate, but what nobody is debating is the impact that VR is having across a number of…
How to Evaluate Non-Gaming Experiential VR Content
Last week I gave you a framework to help evaluate content for a VR attraction. I focused on gaming content, but there’s lots of experiential content out there. This week I want to give you some things to consider when evaluating non-gaming content. One of the raps against non-gaming content is that it’s not replayable. Typically this content does well in…
How to Evaluate Content for Your VR Attraction
For the last couple of months, I have been writing about how to select the perfect VR attraction for your location-based entertainment operation. I’ve been encouraging operators to take a 360-degree approach, considering things like mindset, staff capability, physical attributes of your location, and the context of the consumer. At the center of all of these…
Featured in:
What They're Saying
Bob Cooney was an early advisor once we determined that we would be entering into the space of family entertainment. With his nearly 30 years of predicting business and technology trends, evaluating product and market viability, and helping to introduce new experiences to the public, he would be an asset to any company looking for leg up on the competition.
Leif Petersen
Founder and CEO of Hologate
Drew Pawlak
VP Latin America, GM of Mexico, American Gaming Systems
"An eye-opening experience"
Ever since our first contact with Bob, we've felt that unique chemistry that defines true professionalism. With true down-to-Earth and practical approach, Bob has been an invaluable help to our strategic development. Thanks to Bob's intimate knowledge of best practices in out-of-home entertainment market and track record-proven "do's and dont's" combined with crystal clear intensive study framework, our team was able to lay the foundation to what normally takes months to prepare. On behalf of all of Neurogaming team, I would like to thank Bob for his time and help!
Alex Morozov
I've worked with several consultants throughout Virtuix's history, but I can say that our workshop with Bob has been the most impressive and valuable consulting session I have ever experienced. Bob is a marketing genius. In just one day, we were able to cut through the noise, including our own nonsense, and distill a brilliant marketing message and positioning that set us up for success in this competitive industry. If you need help to navigate marketing and find your value proposition in the location-based entertainment space, Bob is the best guide around."
Jan Goetgeluk
CEO, Founder, Virtuix
"provocative, engaging and informative…overwhelming two thumbs up!”
Pete Gustafson
Executive Vice President of the American Amusement Machine Association (AAMA).
Emmanuel from Scale1
ICART, President SCALE-1 PORTAL".
Bob has been instrumental in developing our go-to-market strategy. His understanding of the location-based entertainment market has informed our transition from a game studio to a solution provider that builds turnkey games for the LBE market.
Matt Schiel
Matt Schiel Design
Kevin Bachus
SVP Dave and Busters
Bobs creativity, big picture view, and extensive industry insight enable him to quickly position a product and formulate a go-to-market strategy. His charismatic leadership, relatability, and genuine enthusiasm enable him to facilitate this type of thinking during his workshop. Our team came away from the workshop educated on the industry and with a real sense of ownership in the positioning, brand identity, and market strategy developed over our 2 day session. We are charged up and excited to tackle the challenges still ahead. Bob's executive mentoring workshop is fantastic and I would highly recommend it to any company looking to enter the Location-Based Entertainment space.
Stephen Haynes
Raydon
Running a Virtual Event?
Bob is the leading expert on going virtual, and one of the top-rated speakers and hosts.
Reach out today!