After years of watching operators waste millions buying virtual reality products that don't fit the unique needs of their location-based entertainment businesses, Cooney created The VR Collective website to help operators find the perfect VR arcade games for any business.

Cooney, the world’s leading expert on location-based VR, has traveled over a million miles across five continents, conducting research, product demos, and due diligence on over 100 location-based VR products. He’s put all that information into The VR Collective so operators can see the breadth of solutions available and find the product that best fits their arcade or LBE business.

“My laser tag business helped kick-start the immersive entertainment industry in 1989,” said Cooney about his startup Laser Storm. “We added Virtuality VR games to Laser Storm in the mid-90s. Then, I helped launch the VR Vortek at Global VR, the first successful VR arcade game in the late 90s. Since then, I’ve helped launch Zero Latency VR, Hologate, and several other award-winning VR companies. I’ve been in the location-based VR business for 30 years now. I want to use that experience to help operators bring VR experiences to more people.”

A few years back, a large LBE chain recommended a product to their franchises, and the company took hundreds of thousands of dollars in deposits and vanished. "Seeing entrepreneurs lose money kills me." added Cooney. "I knew the company’s business model wasn’t sustainable, but the company never asked me. The VR Collective is my way of ensuring amusement and LBE operators have access to the information they need to minimize risk and maximize their returns.”

Greg Smith, Managing Director of The VR Collective, has decades of experience working with retail entertainment locations. He was an early distributor of Pioneer karaoke systems in the 1980s, and also led sales for NTN Buzztime, the largest online networked trivia game system for bars and restaurants like Buffalo Wild Wings. He most recently was the factory topper for Boxblaster, a developer of multi-player VR arcade game systems in the US.

“I’ve spent almost 30 years helping owners and operators increase their profits through cutting-edge entertainment,” said Greg Smith. “VR is the next wave of technology driving new revenue for location-based entertainment venues. The VR Collective is the best resource for operators to discover and learn about what’s possible. I can’t wait to hear from you.”

The VR Collective website, live now at www.thevrcollective.com, has detailed listings and reviews of more than fifty different location-based VR products and solutions, adding more each month. New software-only solutions and accessories sections will be added in the coming weeks, and there’s a section full of insights, tips, and strategies.

Companies that want their products listed on the Collective website can send an email to info@thevrcollective.com