Sansar, a virtual world platform from the creators of Second Life, will open its doors to everyone in the first half of 2017. Developer Linden Lab explains their new approach to virtual worlds, and the many ways they plan to enable creators to make money with compelling virtual experiences.
Frank He goes hands on with PiMAX’s ludicrously high-spec 8k, 200 degree FOV prototype at CES and find the company has some innovative solutions to some of the substantial challenges driving a headset like this poses.
Virtual reality has the potential to enable so many amazing utopian futures, but it also has the potential to become one of the most intimate surveillance technologies that could create a Big Brother dystopia of political and economic control. But if privacy considerations are built into virtual reality technologies from the beginning, then Accomplice investor Sarah Downey argues that the metaverse could actually be one of the last bastions of privacy that we have in our lives.
At CES 2017 Qualcomm unveiled its Snapdragon 835 processor and along with it a solid focus on the mobile VR market. We got a chance to test that new focus by going hands on with Qualcomm’s latest reference hardware and find impressive inside-out tracking using just the phone’s onboard sensors.
Own Gear VR or Daydream View? Then you’ve got access to free courtside seats to this Tuesday’s forthcoming Timberwolves vs. Spurs NBA game live… in VR of course.
At CES 2017 Panasonic showed off a new VR headset prototype with a 220 degree FOV derived from four displays and a rather unique set of lenses. I was able to try the headset myself, and while it seemed that there’s certainly still work to be done, there might be some merit to their method.
After a successful jump to virtual reality last year on Oculus Rift, developer Codemasters is bringing the VR experience to the PS4 version of DiRT Rally. It will be available as a standalone retail game or via DLC for existing owners.
Here’s a close look at Sennheiser’s new AMBEO VR microphone in all its glory as demonstrated at last week’s CES 2017 in Las Vegas. It’s the company’s first step into VR audio and it’s just received wide release for a cool $1700.
Moving around comfortably and immersively in VR remains a hurdle for VR game developers. VR studio Huge Robot has created the Freedom Locomotion System which brings together a number of VR movement systems into a comprehensive and functional package which allows for comfortable walking, running, and climbing in VR.
Looking to lower the barrier of entry for VR, CyberPower Inc., a custom PC manufacturer, recently announced a new Oculus Ready gaming system that could just convince you to take the plunge into virtual reality. Dubbed the ‘Gamer Ultra VR Desktop’, the custom PC was created in partnership with AMD and Oculus, and being bundled with the Oculus Rift for a total of $1,099.98 from Amazon (link available soon) and BestBuy’s online shop.
Subtracting the price of the Rift headset ($599), that makes CyberPower’s new Oculus ready PC one of the most affordable options at $499.
After having teased the tech toward the end of last year, we’ve finally gone hands-on with HypeVR’s volumetric video captures which lets you move around inside of VR videos.
The most significant VR announcement from CES 2017 was the Vive Tracker, a modular Lighthouse-tracked ‘puck’ attachment that will enable users to track additional objects within VR experiences. It has the potential to drive a lot of new innovative applications and gameplay for consumers, to kickstart a lot more mixed reality livestreams, but also grow the overall VR ecosystem as there will be more high-end B2B applications, advertising campaigns, and VR arcade peripherals.
Tim Sweeney, founder of Epic Games and creator of Unreal Engine, has a unique position in the virtual reality industry. As an active supporter of VR and head of one of gaming’s most important VR-compatible game engines, when Sweeney speaks, we tend to listen.
Valve plans to manufacture and sell new SteamVR Tracking 2.0 base stations in 2018. The new base stations will bring a number of improvements over the current tracking beacons, including the ability to support more than two base stations for a huge tracking volume.
