Creston’s newest entertainment business, Kootenay Virtual Reality, is the first and only virtual reality (VR) studio located in the Kootenays.
Steve Fischer, the owner of Kootenay Virtual Reality, has lived in the Creston Valley for 15 years and has always kept his eye open for a profitable business venture.
“I was looking for something for quite a few years,” said Fischer. “A couple of years ago I looked at VR a little bit, and then it just slowly went from there,” said Fischer. “VR entertainment fills the gap between the bowling alley in town and the local drinking establishments.”
VR is an interactive, computer-generated experience that takes place within a simulated environment and is accomplished using VR headsets in combination with props, to generate realistic images and simulate a user’s physical presence in a virtual or imaginary environment.
VR headsets allow a person to “look around” the artificial world, move around in it, and interact with virtual features or items. The VR environment can be similar to the real world or complete fantasy and can be used in a variety of applications.
“We have been open since March 7 and have had people aged seven to eighty-year-olds come in and experience the VR system,” said Fischer. Our biggest hurdle is that people think it’s for teenage boys and it might have been five years ago, eight years ago, but it’s really changed now. “
Four stations are available for rent at 15 minute, half hour or one-hour increments. Included with the station rental are 35 different choices of simulations.
“You can take a guided tour of the Titanic in a mini-sub, the Fine Arts Museum in Paris, or a 3D tour of Paris and the Golden Gate Bridge in San Franciso using images from Google Earth.” said Fischer “There are also plenty of games for kids and adults alike.”
Kootenay Virtual Reality is available for birthday parties, team building, and other private functions. Reservations are highly recommended.
Visit www.kootenayvirtualreality.com for more information.
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