Base Station VR Lounge, Providence

What services does your business offer and what makes your business stand out from the competition?
Base Station VR Lounge uses state of the art technology to create a fully immersive Virtual Reality (VR) experience. We're the first and only dedicated Virtual Reality Arcade/Lounge in Rhode Island offering experiences and games no one else in the area is able to provide. With 5 seperate VR Stations, we can host a single person, a date night, or a group of people who want to share the experience, up to being able to rent out the entire venue for a private party event. Unlike other business that might include a single VR headset to their offerings, our focus is on Virtual Reality and understanding the technology and how to make it the best experience for everyone involved.

What was the inspiration to start or run this business?
When trying Virtual Reality for the first time, we knew that experiences like this neet to be shared. As this is a young technology, places like Base Station VR Lounge are one of the few ways the general public can dive into Virtual Reality without the huge expense and space commitment required by VR. Unlike going to technology shows, where time is limited with doing a short demo, a place like Base Station VR gives people the time and space to experience as much as they want. That's what we wanted to bring to the table.

What do you love most about your job?
Watching people experience an "alternate" reality that they can interact with and explore. The wide eyes that come out of the headset and the "wow"s and the "are you seeing this?" reactions of those wearing the headsets during an experience. Plus watching friends and family watching the person in the VR headset, who also are generally a part of the experience, sometimes waiting their turn to get in and play, knowing what they will be experiencing. All of that make this a worthwhile endeavor.

What is the best reaction you've ever gotten from a customer?
Seeing people fully immersed in games and forgetting they're in the shop is the best overall "reaction" we've seen. We've seen people physically run from a virtual monster (headset being flung off), we've had people scream when confronting a virtual ghost or ghoul even knowing they are not real, and some people jumping off planks and their bodies, being so immersed, giving them the feeling they're truly falling (until their legs hit the floor). And beyond the person on the headset, the laughter and anticipation from those waiting their turn is an incredible sight as well.