Virtual reality movie theaters are now a thing

Virtual reality (VR) was the talk of the town at Mobile World Congress (MWC) last month, and it has become increasingly clear that VR will be the hot technology trend of 2016. A great deal supports that assertion — Samsung and Six Flags are creating VR roller coasters, while seemingly every tech company is looking to claim a piece of the VR pie, including HTC, Facebook, Google, Intel, and maybe even Apple.

The latest industry to lend credence to the notion that VR will swallow the world is cinema. News emerged this week that a company based in the Netherlands is introducing what it touts as the first permanent virtual reality movie theater, with the aptly named VR Cinema opening for business in Amsterdam following a successful pop-up cinema tour of Europe last year. Further permanent outlets are planned for later this year in Berlin, London, Barcelona, and Paris.