I stood still for a moment with my hands out so the Kinect could find me, popped the Oculus over my head and went to town. It\u2019s probably a bit hyperbolic to call the experience \u201cfully immersive,\u201d but man, it\u2019s easy to get lost in the game \u2014 so long as you can forget that there are other people watching.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

(That last bit continues to be a sticking point for me.)<\/p>\n

Not long after, Virtuix blew past its modest $150,000 Kickstarter goal, with $1.1 million pledged, catapulting it into the crowdfunding service\u2019s all-time Top 10 technology campaigns. A Shark Tank appearance proved less fruitful, though panelist Mark Cuban would later personally invest in the company. All told, the company has raised $35 million from investors over the past decade or so, with much of that arriving through the less traditional route of equity crowdfunding.<\/p>\n

The company delivered a few hundred of the units to backers, but ultimately ran into a wall when it came to international pledges. \u201cWe actually refunded our Kickstarter backers all over the world with interest,\u201d explains Goetgeluk. The move arrived as Virtuix shifted plans for its device. Given the size, price and nascent nature of the home VR market, the company began focusing its efforts on commercial clients, including arcades and arcade-adjacent venues like Dave & Busters. To date, Virtuix has sold around 70 of its Omni Arena models to U.S. arcades.<\/p>\n

The move is especially interesting in light of the relatively recent shift toward enterprise customers that\u2019s been explored by Meta, Magic Leap and HTC. Pretty much all of the big players, outside of Sony\u2019s PSVR.<\/p>\n

Late last month, the company announced that it was finally ready to begin shipping a home version of its treadmill, making good on its promise nearly a decade later. The Omni One features some upgrades to the original model (including a new tethering arm), but is essentially the same product. The price, meanwhile, is substantial, at $2,595. That\u2019s due, in part, to the fact that while the original was compatible with HTC headsets, this one is only available bundled with a customized Pico Neo 3 headset.<\/p>\n