Bandai Namcos VR version of Mario Kart Arcade GP is available to play in the US from today, after successful circuits in the UK and Japan.
The VR game was unveiled last year in Japan and is based on Bandai Namcos existing arcade games, which are entirely separate from Nintendos home titles – even if theyre the same basic idea.
After Japan it turned up in Londons VR Zone Portal and now the one in Washington DC will play host to the set-up for an initial six months.
Mario Kart VR uses HTC Vive headsets and has you sitting in life-sized go-karts with a real steering wheel. Matches are limited to four players, but you can pick up item power-ups with your hands – which is pretty great.
Given the high cost of virtual reality, and the novelty nature of many of the games, many have suggested that location-based VR like this may be the future for the technology in the short term.
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A number of what are essentially VR arcades already exist around the world, and Bandai Namco has been particularly keen to make them work.
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Since there is no VR headset for the Switch theres not much hope of a home version, and its likely Bandai Namco want to keep these games as a premium arcade experience anyway.
But they have been experimenting with home VR as well, with games based on Ace Combat and Dragon Ball due soon.
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