HTC launched the Vive Focus System Update 2.0 this week to add quite a few extra features to the headset. A new companion app for HTC smartphones also brings smartphone-to-headset functions to the Vive Focus.
At the Vive Ecosystem Conference (VEC) in Shenzhen today, HTC announced new VR initiatives in partnership with Major League Baseball (MLB) and McLaren Racing, the Formula One racing team.
SID Display Week played host to a number of big names in display technology showing off their respective high pixel density VR panels. UploadVR’s Ian Hamilton was on the scene, and managed to get a pretty good capture of both Samsung’s and JDI’s panels with his iPhone 8 camera.
HTC and Seagate have partnered to produce an external power & data storage accessory for Vive Focus, ideal for people using the headset for local media consumption.
While it’s exciting to start seeing 6DOF standalone VR headsets like the Vive Focus and Mirage Solo, both unfortunately include a 3DOF controller which in many cases functions as an immersion barrier compared to a fully 6DOF VR system. Today at its Vive Ecosystem Conference 2018 in China, HTC said that the 3DOF Vive Focus controller will see a 6DOF mode, and further said that the headset will soon include controller-less hand-tracking for gesture input.
Today at the Vive Ecosystem Conference 2018 in China, HTC announced that the Vive Focus standalone headset will be able to wirelessly stream PC VR content from both Steam and Viveport over a 5GHz WiFi connection.
Red Matter is a first-person puzzle adventure set in a strange and mysterious alternate universe, which takes old Cold War rivalries and teases them out to an interesting logical conclusion: space bases, astronaut espionage and a healthy dose of intrigue as you, a member of the Atlantic Union, infiltrate the off-planet test facility of the Soviet-sounding Volgravians. Exclusive to Oculus Rift, Red Matter showcases some impressive worldbuilding, a knack for polish, and an engaging enough story to make this a single sitting game.
Nolo VR, the China-based company behind the 6DOF mobile tracking system Nolo CV1, today announced they have successfully completed a $10 million Series A financing round. The Series A was led by the Menlo Park-based BlueRun Ventures, and included Nigeria-based Lotus Capital. Previously, Nolo VR had secured financing from Lotus Capital and Galileo Capital.
Hulu’s new VR comedy Door No. 1 launches today on the Hulu VR app. Written and directed by Nora Kirkpatrick (The Office, Greeks) and produced by AOL’s immersive film studio RYOT, the single-episode VR comedy will be available on Oculus Go, Samsung Gear VR, PSVR, Google Daydream and Oculus Rift.
GameFace Labs, a company that’s been in ongoing development of an ambitious standalone VR headset over the last few years, has finally opened pre-orders for its dev kit, a system built around NVIDIA’s powerful Jetson TX2 computing platform. Priced at $600, the device is fully self-contained running a custom Android operating system, but can also be tethered to a PC for full compatibility with SteamVR content, including support for SteamVR Tracking.
Gunheart, the VR co-op shooter from Drifter Entertainment, has been in Early Access for almost a year, and now the studio says the alien bug-exploding game is getting an official street date for its full release: June 4th, including support for desktop PC, HTC Vive, Oculus Rift, and Windows “Mixed Reality” VR headsets.
Sony Japan Studio today announced a new platform action game for PSVR starring the cute little robots made famous in Sony’s The Playroom (2013) and The Playroom VR (2016). Called Astro Bot Rescue Mission, you take control of Astro, the Bot captain of a ship on a mission to rescue its lost crew, who are scattered across five planets.
Evasion, an upcoming sci-fi bullet-hell shooter from Vancouver-based studio Archiact, was previously confirmed for release on Oculus Rift and HTC Vive this Fall. Archiact today announced that PSVR owners will have a chance at the robo-bug killing adventure too, which includes support for AIM, the PSVR gun peripheral introduced with Farpoint (2017) last year.
