Major League Baseball’s Home Run Derby VR will let you step into the box and swing for the bleachers. The game, first trialed at All-Star FanFest back in June, is now heading to a total of 10 ballparks for the 2018 season, and also to consumers on PSVR and SteamVR-compatible headsets including HTC Vive and Oculus Rift.
Update (04/30/18): Both the Steam page and PSN page are now live, charging $20 for a chance to step into the virtual batter’s box at Marlins Park (Miami), Nationals Park (Washington, DC) and Progressive Field (Cleveland). The original article announcing availability follows below.
Original article (02/23/18): According to a Forbes report, a consumer version of the game will offer support for the platform’s respective motion controllers, and will feature virtual versions of all three All-Star Game locations: Miami’s Marlins Park, D.C.’s Nationals Park, and Cleveland’s Progressive Field, where the 2019 Midsummer Classic will be played.
There aren’t any pricing or other detail at this time, although MLB says they’ll be releasing it at a later date (see update above).
While the list of ballparks featuring the out-of-home version isn’t public yet, the report holds that at least two demonstrations are confirmed; one in Puerto Rico for the Indians and Twins games in April and the other in Mexico for the Dodgers and Padres games in May. Previous demos have included HTC Vive headsets coupled with Vive Trackers attached to physical baseball bats—something that’s definitely a surreal and immersive experience.