Update: ‘Korix’ Claims to be First PSVR Title to Run Natively at 120Hz, Launching March 28th
Korix a visually-minimalist VR RTS headed to PlayStation VR claiming to be the first title to run natively at 120Hz on the headset.
‘Ghostbusters VR’ Experience Comes to PSVR, from Makers of Acclaimed ‘The Walk’ Demo
It seems the Ghostbusters franchise isn’t done capitalizing on the video game market just yet, because the first installment of a new Ghostbusters experience is heading to PlayStationVR today. The experience (read: not game) was developed by CreateVR and Sony’s in-house VR production studio, and is entitled Ghostbusters VR – Now Hiring, Act 1: Firehouse.
Disney Research Shows How VR Can Be Used to Study Human Perception
Researchers from Disney use a virtual reality headset and a real ball tracked in VR to understand the perceptual factors behind the seemingly simple act of catching a thrown object. The researchers say the work sets a foundation for more complex and meaningful dynamic interaction between users in VR and real-world objects.
The VOID Opens Mixed-Reality Location in Dubai
THE VOID, the untethered mixed-reality park, is opening a new location in Dubai, UAE. The new Dubai-based park is the company’s second public location, and will be hosting their Ghostbusters: Dimension experience—the same currently running at their first location at Madame Tussaud’s New York.
Biometric Data Streams and the Unknown Ethical Threshold of Predicting & Controlling Behavior
I recently attended the Experiential Technology Conference where there were a lot of companies looking at how to use biometric data to get insights into health & wellness, education for cognitive enhancement, market research, and more. Over the next couple of years, virtual reality platforms will be integrating more and more of these biometric data streams, and I wanted to learn about what kind of insights can be extrapolated from them. I talked with behavioral neuroscientist John Burkhardt from iMotions, one of the leading biometric platforms, about what metrics that can be captured from eye tracking, facial tracking, galvanic skin response, EEG, EMG, and ECG.
‘Witcher 3’ Developer “observing [VR] with interest”, Awaiting Compelling Content
Developed by Polish studio CD Projekt RED, 2015’s Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is surely one of the best regarded games to launch in recent memory. Studio co-founder Marcin Iwinski says the studio is watching VR carefully, but he’s still waiting to see what compelling made-for VR content looks like.
NASA’s ‘Mission: ISS’ is an Impressively Detailed View of Life in Zero Gravity
NASA and Oculus have launched their collaborative project ‘Mission: ISS’ for the Oculus Rift for free and it’s offers a detailed, visually sumptuous virtual reality trip to space that most of us would otherwise never experience.
Report Predicts AR and VR Headset Shipments to Approach 100 Million by 2021
In a new report from IDC (International Data Corporation), the market research firm predicts a near 10 fold increase in the shipments of augmented and virtual reality headsets in the next 4 years, bolstered by a plethora of new devices and “expanding array of content for both consumer and enterprise users.”
First All-in-one VR Headsets Based on Qualcomm’s VRDK Expected in 2H 2017
Qualcomm’s latest VRDK headset is a reference design that the company has positioned to act as a foundation for consumer electronics makers to create their own headsets based on Qualcomm’s Snapdragon VR hardware. Now with manufacturing partners on board, the first consumer headsets based on the VRDK reference design are expected to launch in the second half of 2017.
HTC to Sell Shanghai Phone Factory for $91 Million, Invest Proceeds in VR Business
Despite its major role in the growing VR space, HTC’s overall business continues to struggle financially, posting significant losses over the last two years. Working to turn things around with a restructuring of assets and priorities, the company is facing the sale of a smartphone factory in Shanghai. The proceeds from the $91 million sale will largely funnel toward the company’s Vive VR business, according to China Daily.
Privacy in VR Is Complicated and It’ll Take the Entire VR Community to Figure It Out
When I was at the GDC VR Mixer, Jim Preston struck up a conversation about his concerns about privacy in VR. He works at FOVE which is making a VR headset with eye-tracking, but wanted to speak to me on his own behalf about some of the deeper philosophical questions and conceptual frameworks around the types of intimate data that will become available to VR headsets. As more and more biometric data streams are integrated into VR there a lot of complicated and complex ethical questions that he thinks will take the entire VR community needs to figure out.
Epic Games Busts ‘Robo Recall’s’ $10 Million Myth
Good news. Robo Recall, one of the best looking games available on a VR headset today, actually cost a lot less to produce than the rumored $10 million.
‘Raw Data’ Early Access Review, Now with Oculus Touch Support
Raw Data, a first-person combat game from Survios currently in Early Access, is one of the most fast-paced and exciting games out for HTC Vive and Oculus Touch right now. Far from being a simple shooting gallery, Raw Data gives you an impressive range of abilities and physical agency, making you feel like you’re in real danger. And if you can master the controls, you’ll feel like a superhuman badass too.
NVIDIA GTX 1080Ti vs. 1080 VR Performance Review: Supersampling Showdown
NVIDIA’s latest GPU is here and it offers a big performance bump, but what exactly does that power deliver the VR gaming enthusiast? We pit the new Nvidia GTX 1080 Ti against the GTX 1080 to see just how far each card can enhance VR image quality through supersampling.
