According to the just-released December figures from Steam’s Hardware & Software Survey, the Oculus Rift has for the first time claimed the ‘Most Popular’ designation on the platform. Meanwhile, Windows VR is starting to make a mark in marketshare of VR headsets in use on Steam.
At the start of the New Year Valve has released a look back at 2017’s best selling VR titles on Steam.
Ever wished you could jet set around the world fast enough to ring in the New Year at a party in every timezone? Well that might not be quite possible, but VRChat is offering something close.
Social VR app Bigscreen is teaming up with Paramount Pictures to debut a new virtual cinema inside of Bigscreen. The cinema will operate much like a real movie theater, offering timed screenings of Top Gun (1986) in 3D, free for a limited time. Screenings start today, December 29th and go until December 31st. Players can join friends to watch together.
PlayStation VR owners will get a chance to hop into the fast-paced StarBlood Arena for free next month, a battle arena shooter from WhiteMoon Dreams and Sony’s San Diego Studio.
Pimax, the China-based VR headset manufacturer known for its wildly successful ‘8K’ headset Kickstarter campaign, probably won’t be hitting its January 2018 ship date for its consumer version as previously promised to early backers. Then again, we sort of expected that in the first place.
VR is so new that one of the regular activities of VR headset owners is introducing other people to the technology. Usually that means putting one person in a headset and standing around while they take their turn. But a few great VR party games let people both inside and outside of VR participate in the fun, and you only need one headset!
Road to VR recently visited Hardlight VR’s downtown Seattle office to take a look at the new Mark III version of their haptic vest. During the visit, Hardlight VR revealed a dramatically lower price point of $300. This is down from the previous price of $630 for consumers and $1,100 for businesses. Now both consumers and businesses (like VR arcades) will pay the same, lower base price, but businesses will pay an additional monthly license fee of $10 (or $100 when paid yearly).
Pico Technology, the China-based VR headset manufacturer, today unveiled their latest Pico Neo VR headset, a standalone device that offers 6DoF positional tracking and 6DoF motion controllers. Like HTC Vive Focus, Pico Neo will use the Vive Wave open source API and have access to a mobile version of Viveport in China; unlike Vive Focus though, which was previously destined for Western markets using the Daydream platform, Pico Neo is definitely leaving China along with Vive Wave, although it still isn’t certain which app store the headset will use.
Ahead of any official announcement, Lenovo’s upcoming Daydream standalone headset was recently approved by the FCC, suggesting the company is gearing up for launch soon.
The Swedish flat-pack furniture giant has made some impressive strides into virtual and augmented reality in the past few years, and to celebrate its success, the company is gifting VR headsets to its employees this year for the holidays.
While it may be too late to ship that shiny new VR headset to your home in time for Christmas, this may be the last chance to grab an HTC Vive at its Black Friday sale price. To sweeten the deal, HTC is also throwing in a $50 Steam voucher to start the new year off right.
More than three years in the making, Quentin Lengelé’s Blade Runner 9732 VR fan project is finally set to hit Steam on January 7th. The experience, which lets you stroll a screen-accurate replica of Blade Runner (1982) neo-noir protagonist Rick Deckard’s entire apartment, is coming to HTC Vive for free.
Described by Danish developer Decochon as a “revolutionary music sandbox for VR”, MuX features virtual, low-level synth components that can be connected together and adjusted to generate unique sounds. The various tools allow the creation of complex electronic instruments, which can be easily shared with the community.
