Arcade Football Game ‘2MD: VR Football’ to Hit PSVR This Spring
2MD VR Football (2017), a room-scale quarterback game that first landed on SteamVR-compatible headsets last September, is making its way to PSVR this spring.
Apple Shows VR Could Help Fight Motion Sickness & Boredom in Self-driving Cars
When you’re driving a car, you’re invested with a sense of purpose: stay alert, don’t crash, optimize your route for the fastest and most comfortable experience. But what about when self-driving cars become the norm, and we’re no longer involved in those tasks? You’ll probably want to catch up on work, or play a game to fight the inevitable boredom—two things Apple thinks will be done in VR in the near future.
HTC Launches $300 SteamVR 1.0 Tracking Bundle for Vive Pro Users
HTC today announced they’re launching a hardware accessory bundle for $300 that will include all necessary bits for new Vive Pro customers starting from scratch (besides the headset, that is).
Mozilla Announces Open Source AR/VR Web Browser ‘Firefox Reality’
Mozilla, the non-profit company behind Firefox web browser, today announced a new cross-platform, open sourced web browser called Firefox Reality, something Mozilla says was built from the ground-up for standalone VR and AR headsets.
‘Facebook Spaces’ Overhauls Avatars to Be More ‘fluid and natural’
Facebook Spaces, the company’s social VR application which launched in beta one year ago, is getting an entirely new avatar system and customization tool, something Facebook says in a recent blog post was designed to make avatars “more expressive and customizable than ever.”
Oculus Rift Increases Lead Over HTC Vive in Steam Majority Market Share
Valve’s monthly Steam hardware and software survey is out, and it appears Oculus Rift is still gaining momentum over HTC Vive on the Steam platform as the number one VR headset among Steam users.
A Candid Assessment of the Industry From a Leading Indie VR Developer
What is happening with the VR industry? Is adoption and growth still on target to support a vibrant and diverse ecosystem of independent VR developers? Leading headset manufacturers have not been transparent in sharing any specific information, and analyst datum that’s been released hasn’t been a reliable or comprehensive source of information. So it’s been difficult to get an honest and candid assessment about the overall health and vibrancy of the virtual reality ecosystem. But there are a few companies who have some deeper insights into the VR ecosystem, and these are the independent VR development companies who have released best-selling VR titles.
‘Skyrim VR’ for PC Review – a Dragon-sized Feast for the Eyes
Skyrim VR (2017), Bethesda’s premier virtual reality port of the hit open-world RPG Skyrim (2011), has finally made its way to PC VR headsets after its November 2017 launch on PlayStation VR. Unlike the studio’s recent release of Fallout 4 VR (2017), it appears being an older title, and having to squeeze into the lower graphical confines of PSVR, has done it a literal world of good, as it both looks and feels more like the Skyrim we know and love. Barring some imperfections, Bethesda has successfully opened up the giant region of Skyrim to a platform that can boost the pixels where it counts, giving you that immersive mountain vista you always craved, or the moody evening in the tavern reading up on the world’s ancient lore.
Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 VRDK to Offer Ultrasonic 6DOF Controller Tracking
Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon 845 VRDK, a VR headset reference design for hardware and software developers, is now offering 6DOF controller input with ultrasonic tracking.
StarVR Corporation Prepares to Go Public on Taiwanese Stock Exchange
Lenovo Mirage Solo Daydream Headset Now Available For Pre-order at $400
Lenovo’s Mirage Solo, a standalone VR headset in the Daydream app ecosystem, has had an official release date and price for some time now: May 5th and $400. Pre-orders are now live for both the VR headset and Lenovo’s VR180 camera.
Ubisoft Extends IBM Watson Support for ‘Bridge Crew’ Through 2018
Watson, IBM’s artificial intelligence platform designed to understand natural language, launched support for Star Trek: Bridge Crew (2017) across all VR platforms back in June of last year. Last week, Ubisoft said in a forum post that it was pulling support for Watson due to unspecified “technical reasons.” The company has since reversed that decision, saying Watson-powered voice controls will remain online “through 2018.”
‘WipEout Omega’ Looks, Sounds, and Plays Brilliantly on PSVR, Just Remember to Pace Yourself
Thanks to a free update to PS4’s WipEout Omega Collection (2017), you can finally get the authentic anti-grav racing experience on PSVR. The game’s VR update is a smart and skillful adaptation, offering players a chance to “play the full game in virtual reality from start to finish.” Just be sure to get familiar with the game’s various comfort options to find what works for you before you push it to the limit.
High Fidelity & NeoSensory Partner to Launch ‘exoskin’ Haptic Jacket, Coming July 2018
High Fidelity, the open source VR platform founded by Second Life creator Philp Rosedale, and NeoSensory, a Palo Alto-based haptics company, announced they’ve partnered to create a haptic jacket dubbed the ‘exoskin’.
