Likely due to the costs and complexity of virtual reality setups, theme parks are often referenced as prime homes for VR installations and rides. Amusement parks not only have the funding that can go into individual attractions providing fully immersive VR, but also the square feet to do so with few barriers. Companies like Optitrack are working on solutions to make the roll-out in parks and arcades easier while places like SeaWorld are already diving into virtual rides. A newer development has Sanrio Entertainment Co tapping InstaVR to create VR content for promotion of their Hello Kitty theme park.
Yes, there’s a Hello Kitty theme park.
InstaVR, created by CANDIFY VR Technologies, is a platform for fast and easy VR content creation and publishing. Sanrio is expanding their promotional efforts with VR and InstaVR is meant to allow them to work quickly.
“Due to the high productivity of InstaVR, production of mockups usually taking 2-3 weeks were completed in one week,” says a representative for Sanrio in a press announcement. “We were able to take more time to fill out the details, and we were able to improve the quality. As for the final cost and delivery time, production was completed at half of our initial cost estimate, and actual delivery date was realized in 3 weeks, from beginning filming to app delivery.”
InstaVR also includes a VR tourism heat-map that shows where virtual patrons gaze the most and Sanrio will be using that data to shape interactive features in the VR content. The first app for the Hello Kitty theme park was released in early February and they’re planning to invest more in virtual content during the Spring. The app features Hello Kitty characters that guide viewers on a tour around the park. Using VR for promotions allows people around the world to get a taste of what a far off destination offers, and Hello Kitty is the latest example.
