Downtown Durham is already getting one nostalgia-soaked bar arcade — featuring pinball and classic 1980s arcade games — but now an arcade focused on the future of gaming is set to join the scene.
Augmentality Labs, which calls itself North Carolina’s first virtual-reality arcade, is set to open on 207 N. Church St. on July 22. The arcade is building six 100-square-foot gaming stations, where arcade-goers can use the HTC Vive — a virtual-reality set that retails at nearly $800.
“I think it really is the future of gaming,” owner Alicia Hetrick said about investing in the technology.
Four of the gaming stations will be available to book online and the other two will be available for walk-in customers. The stations can be set up for multiplayer or single player. The arcade will also feature old-school games such as Sega Genesis and Nintendo 64, as well as food. “It’s meant to be a hang-out space,” Hetrick said.
The arcade is co-founded by Hetrick and her wife Alex Markello, two veterans who recently moved to Durham after leaving the military. After being stationed in Fort Bragg, the two fell in love with the state of North Carolina, especially Durham, which they often visited.
Hetrick also runs NC Escape, an escape room and private event space located on Orange Street downtown.
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Source: Herald Sun