Another year, another Internaional CES. But as the rapid growth of the VR industry shows no signs of abating, we look at the signs that mean 2015 will be the year VR heads to people’s homes.
Samsung’s powerful Galaxy Note 4 is the only phone compatible with the company’s recently launched Gear VR headset. After a Thanksgiving sale saw the price on the three major U.S. carriers come down to $199 before returning to $299, Verizon and Sprint have dropped their Note 4 prices down to $149 just in time for the holidays, while AT&T’s Note 4 comes down to $269.
Littlstar, a new 360 degree video-sharing network, wants to put their YouTube-like platform in the hands of anyone with a cardboard (or plastic) VR headset. Considering the recent appearance of some astonishingly well-funded competition, we reached out to the company’s founder and CEO, Tony Mugavero, to see how he plans on making this a reality.
Proton Pulse has been a well known name in virtual reality since the early days of the Oculus Rift VR headset. After a successful Kickstarter in 2013 followed by a mysterious cancellation and refund to backers, there was a time when it seemed that Proton Pulse would never see the light of day. Now, the pulse pounding VR arcade title launches for the first time in full on Android for Google Cardboard and other VR smartphone adapters.
As a developer, one of the most difficult challenges is getting your hands on the actual hardware you are developing for. Samsung’s Gear VR is slowly trickling out to non-US countries, but it may be months before some folks see it. What if there was a cheap, easily built alternative? Now there is, and Mark Schramm is making it happen.
Today Rothenberg Ventures has announced the launch of the first VR accelerator, ‘River’, created to jumpstart early-stage companies working on exciting virtual reality projects. To start, Rothenberg Ventures plans to invest $1 million across 10 companies, and they’re accepting applications starting today.
NextVR, a company focusing on live-broadcast 360 degree 3D VR video, has recently announced the first piece of content that they will publically release: Colplay’s Ghost Stories Virtual Reality Concert Experience. The company will start by releasing a VR video clip from the popular single A Sky Full of Stars which will soon be available on Samsung Gear VR, followed later by the full concert in VR.
Tammeka games, the UK based creators of “high-octane multi-player sci-fi racer” Radial-G, have made it to Steam via the Greenlight program. To celebrate, the team have released an ‘early access’ demo which includes new tracks and ships. We take it for a spin in VR.
With the Gear VR and Oculus Rift ‘Crescent Bay’ prototype currently in the spotlight, it shouldn’t be forgotten that Sony’s PS4 VR headset, Project Morpheus, is still brewing in the background. Development kits are out in the wild and work has already begun on bringing VR to Sony’s console. One developer wielding the white and glowing headset is Justin Moravetz of Zero Transform. Known for the VR titles Proton Pulse and Vanguard V, Moravetz shares his perspective on developing for Project Morpheus.
Deep inside the inlands of Florida, a technology conference was held that brought together a collection of virtual reality headsets and simulations that focused primarily on military applications. The event was called I/ITSEC (Interservice/Industry Training, Simulation and Education Conference) and was touted as the “world’s largest modeling, simulation, and training conference”.
Attendees to one of the longest running VR meetups around, the Silicon Valley Virtual Reality event, had an extra special treat in store for them this thanksgiving as Oculus dropped by with their latest feature prototype, the Crescent Bay. This video captures some of the demo recipient’s reactions.
With Samsung’s Gear VR now out in the wild, yet more developers will be inspired to get started with mobile VR development. While there are many parallels to regular mobile development, there’s also unfamiliar challenges to tackle. To help new developers get a head start, we asked E McNeil, developer of the Gear VR launch title, Darknet, to share what he’s learned.
Version 2 of the ’80s inspired NewRetroArcade is out, now offering an even wider selection of ’80s and ’90s emulated titles. The developers, DigitalCyberCherries, haven’t just swapped a few cabinets in the reminiscently dingy virtual arcade though, but have actually added support for yet more emulators including SNES, NES, and MAME to their already impressive list of vintage video games.
See Also: Review: ‘NewRetroArcade’ is a Must-play Homage to Video Game Culture Old and New
Every arcade cabinet is now up and running, including Street Fighter 2 (1991) and Out Run (1986), which were originally blocked by conveniently placed bar stools. A few other favorites like Metal Slug (1996) and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1989) also make an appearance among the many new titles gracing the neon-lit gamer’s den.
DigitalCyberCherries has also added a PAL version SNES console in the corner (replete with pizza grease smudges) that gives you an even greater chance to relive the 16-bit glory days with titles like The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (1991), Earthworm Jim (1995), and Star Fox (1993) to name a few.
The developers have made a concise choice in the new version of their NewRetroArcade tech demo: the team has decided to not sacrifice the nostalgic coziness of the arcade in favor of packing in both new and legacy titles from the preceding version—potentially expanding the hall’s modest footprint and ruining the vibe. Instead, the yet unmasked band of DigitalCyberBanditos have side-stepped the issue by allowing direct access to all of the games in a single emulator mode that serves up a solitary iteration of the ROM and corresponding platform of choice.
Whether it be on Nintendo, Super Nintendo, Game Boy, or the host of arcade titles emulated with MAME, NewRetroArcade still doesn’t ask for any quarters (or tokens), however many gamers would gladly feed in the dollar bills just to have the chance to upgrade the demo to multiplayer mode. Even the ability to post high-scores would be a welcome addition in the arcade, which admittedly can become a little lonely.
Considering the top-notch level of detail paid to this brilliantly realized space, we’re hoping DigitalCyberCherries has more up their collective sleeves.
Everyone’s got their favourite, retro-gaming experiences. What do you want to see in the next update?
Jaunt VR are seemingly working overtime to make up for their months running in stealth mode. A veritable flood of content is ushering forth from the company that’s specialising in producing and distributing stereoscopic 3D, 360 videos for VR. They’ve just released a further 4 mini-experiences, available for download now.
There’s something magical about flying, an almost legendary energy that taps into the fundamental will of all humans to be free — to control our own destiny in the face of certain peril. That’s how I imagine it to be anyway, because like most of us, I’ve been an airline coach-jockey my entire life, where courage is in dealing with the mundanities of confronting a space neither sufficient for my own legs, nor my Palmer Luckey-esque fits of hand flailing that subsequently result from having to block out a whole cabin’s worth of decade-old touch screens displaying Will and Grace or some such nonsense.
