End of an Era: Disney’s First VR Attraction Set to Close

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Sad news greeted the VR attractions sector with the confirmation from the Orlando Sentinel that DisneyQuest, the famous Indoor Interactive Theme Park, would be closing its doors in 2016 for the final time. Originally opened in 1998, the Orlando, Downtown Disney virtual entertainment facility was to have been one of over twenty facilities planned; however, only a sister site would ever be opened in Chicago, and that would close just over a year from opening.

‘Blocked In’ Creator Daniël Ernst on the Art of the Virtual Reality Diorama

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Daniël Ernst is the founder and sole member of The Shoebox Diorama, a production company dedicated to exploring the brand new artistic possibilities of a new genre, the virtual reality diorama.

Top 5 Things We Still Don’t Know About the Consumer Oculus Rift

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Although Oculus has revealed the design of the consumer Oculus Rift (the so called ‘CV1’), there’s still some crucial facts that we’ve yet to learn about the highly anticipated VR headset.

Research Survey Suggests Kids Are Equally Aware of Major VR Headsets, Want to Buy One at Console Prices

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A recent survey conducted by Touchstone Research, an online marketing research firm, suggests that kids and teens between the ages of 10–17 know what VR is, and when they see it in action they think it’s “off the charts cool.”

New FOVE Industrial Design Aims to Enhance Eye-tracking Precision

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Just before nearly doubling their Kickstarter funding goal of $250,000, Fove introduced a new and improved design for their eye-tracking VR headset, making it lighter, smaller, and more ergonomic.

‘VR: The Movie’ Raising Funds for Feature Length Documentary on History of VR

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VR: The Movie is an in-depth documentary film that follows virtual reality from its mid-1900s past to the VR technology of today. The documentary features interviews with designers, scientists, engineers and several industry professionals to help illuminate virtual reality’s legacy.

2nd Round Winners of ‘Render the Metaverse’ VR Panoramic Contest Announced, Available Now on Gear VR

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Oculus and OTOY have today announced the winners of the second round for Render the Metaverse, a three-month long contest to find the most compelling 360-degree stereo-panoramic still images rendered by OTOY’s OctaneRender software.

GameFace “Guarantees” Latency Equal to Gear VR, Mark 6 Prototype Field of View Impresses

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We recently got our hands on the latest ‘Mark 6’ mobile VR headset prototype from GameFace Labs. The ‘Head Mounted Console’ as the company calls it, features a 2560×1440 OLED display and an on-board processor, making the device a self-contained mobile VR headset with a notably wider field of view than Samsung’s Gear VR. The company says their headset will be on par—or better—than Gear VR’s superb headtracking latency.

Sony Supporting but Not Funding “Non-gaming content” for Morpheus, Says Yoshida

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Sony's Morpheus VR headset being revealed at GDC 2014

Shuhei Yoshida, President of Sony’s Worldwide Studios, recently revealed that Sony won’t be producing or funding any first-party “non-gaming content” for Project Morpheus.

2015 Proto Awards Ceremony to Be Held September 22nd Alongside Oculus Connect, Submissions End July 15th

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The second annual Proto Awards will be held on September 22nd alongside Oculus’ Connect developer conference. The award ceremony highlights the best in virtual reality content. Submissions for consideration close on July 15th.

OSVR HDK Shipping Now with 360 Positional Tracking – Wearality and Android Upgrades Pictured

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An early prototype featuring Wearality 150 degree FoV lenses fitted

OSVR’s Hacker Developer Kit (HDK) VR headset has started shipping units to early supporters. We take a peek at some potential future upgrades, including Wearality Sky 150 degree FoV lenses and an Android phone holder faceplate.

‘FlyInside FSX’ VR Plugin for Microsoft Flight Simulator X Passes Kickstarter Goal in First Week

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FlyInside FSX, a project that brings VR support to Microsoft Flight Simulator X (2006), has been successfully funded in its first week on Kickstarter with 23 days left in the campaign.

Oculus Plans to Have Rift Demo Stations in Retail Stores for Consumer Launch

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Although Oculus has sold more than 175,000 development kits, the vast majority of the world has still never had the opportunity to try the Rift VR headset, let alone any virtual reality headset. For a technology that frequently inspires notions of ‘you have to see it to understand it’, being able to try-before-you-buy will be a major hurdle for consumer adoption. In an effort to educate the public on what VR is all about, Oculus plans to put Rift demo stations in retail locations.

New CCO Says “My Head Exploded…” When First Experiencing Magic Leap

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Magic Leap recently announced that Rio Caraeff, former president and CEO of Vevo, has assumed the role of the company’s Chief Content Officer. Like many recent hires at Magic Leap, the first order of business is usually to explode somehow.

Sphericam 2 is a Tiny 360 Camera Sporting 4K Resolution, Kickstarter Nears Funding Goal

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Sphericam 2 is a 360-degree camera offering 4K video capture in a very small package, and aims to deliver immersive video specifically targeted at VR headsets.

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