Roller Coasters Go Virtual With Samsung And Six Flags

Between the long lines, the pricey food and the incessant crowds, it’s no wonder attendance to theme parks has fallen off in the face of more convenient in-home entertainment. But Samsung and Six Flags have a project they think will be too unique to pass up — even for those roller coaster-phobes out there.

Samsung announced Thursday (March 3) that it had finalized a deal with amusement park brand Six Flags to outfit several of its roller coasters with Gear VR headsets for a next-generation theme park experience. In addition to the normal dips and dives, riders will be treated with immersive viewing experiences of intergalactic space battles or duels between superheroes and villains — a combination that Samsung Electronics America CMO Marc Mathieu is practically giddy about for the future use of virtual reality in existing entertainment mediums.

“What makes this partnership so compelling for consumers and the broader tech industry alike is that both companies are committed to pushing the boundaries of what’s possible, and bringing a VR coaster to life is certainly a new and thrilling proposition,” Mathieu said in a statement. “Now, people can be immersed into a totally new universe, while riding a roller coaster, powered by Samsung Gear VR virtual reality devices. This transforms the modern roller coaster into a totally new, one-of-a-kind sensorial experience, powered by technology. We are excited to work with the premiere brand in theme parks to bring Samsung’s VR technology to nine Six Flags locations across the U.S.”

VentureBeat explained that this announcement is the natural extension of the virtual reality roller coaster that Samsung demoed at this year’s Mobile World Congress, but with the first three real-world applications coming to Six Flags parks by late March, consumers in Texas, Georgia and southern California won’t have to wait long.