World's Greatest VR Experiences Arrive In The Netherlands
Vitas Kersbergen and Maarten Peelen met 20 years ago, quickly becoming friends and then going into business together. Now they're opening the first Zero Latency VR venue in The Netherlands, in Rotterdam.
How are you feeling about bringing Zero Latency VR to The Netherlands?
Super excited. And relieved! Because it almost did not happen. In the end, the delays proved to be a blessing in disguise. We now have the Gen 2 Zero Latency VR System, and it rocks.
There's a lot of virtual reality entertainment going on here already, mainly smaller free-roam attractions and VR arcades. After trying Zero Latency VR in Madrid, we were sold. There is VR and there is Zero Latency VR. This is the feeling we would like to share with the rest of The Netherlands. We believe the adventures you can only have in Zero Latency VR will add something to the entertainment industry here.
What is your connection to Rotterdam?
Both Maarten (my business partner) and I have lived in Rotterdam since the beginning of our studies, at the start of the 00’s. We met at the Rotterdam Student Association. After drinking together… we became business partners. Rotterdam is our hometown, and the perfect place for the first Zero Latency VR venue in The Netherlands.
What's the appetite in Rotterdam for cutting-edge tech?
We have a vibrant start-up scene, that creates cool new tech. People here are very online and mobile oriented. Rotterdam is constantly reinventing itself, renewing and innovating.
This experience we bring to The Netherlands is unique.
How did you first discover virtual reality?
A few years ago I played VR at Bright days, a Dutch event for tech lovers. First I got a Playstation VR, followed by an Oculus Rift, but nothing beats 8 people playing together at the ‘office’. As for Maarten, he was making maps for Half Life in 2005. He thought it would be really cool to have this experience in VR. And here we are!
2 years ago, we visited a free-roam VR experience here in The Netherlands. We thought this was so cool, but there was room for improvement. Graphics, total experience and bugs to name a few. It was catered too much towards gamers. A week later Maarten called me and said the now legendary words - "we can do better".
I found a company in Australia that has the real deal. And as they say, the rest is history. It is now 2020, and our Zero Latency VR site is opening.
How has the experience been working with Melbourne's headquarters to prepare your venue for launch?
Excellent. The Zero Latency VR System is so tried and tested, it was up and running within a couple of days. The deployment guidelines were perfect. This allowed us to focus on getting our location ready, marketing and getting personnel trained. It also helps that you don’t have to doubt the core product. The team from Zero Latency VR headquarters have been a blast, just to have them over to talk and walk VR.