Sony’s new headset, officially dubbed the SRH-S1 “content creation system” combines a compact form-factor with novel controllers. I got to check out the headset first-hand at AWE 2024 and came away impressed with the headset itself, even if the input and tracking still need some work.
Meta announced in 2021 its was working with Rockstar Games to bring Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas to Quest. While a recent comment made by the company over the weekend sparked renewed hope the iconic open world game was still in development, Meta was quick to delete the comment with no further explanation, which isn’t exactly confidence inspiring.
Meta announced that security patches for Quest 1 are officially coming to an end next month, marking the final phase-out of the now five-year-old headset.
Yeeps: Hide and Seek has just launched on the main Quest store. But, even before that, the game racked up some 20,000 reviews on App Lab in just a few months. More than a clone, Yeeps understands what’s special about Gorilla Tag and how to add meaningfully new elements to the experience.
Metal: Hellsinger is a very unique flatscreen game, and also has the potential to be a very unique VR game. But it’s going to take a little tuning up before launch to really make it sing.
Apple launched pre-orders for Vision Pro in a number of Asian countries two weeks ago, and customers there are seeing units ship starting today. Today also marks the next slate of regions to get a crack at pre-orders too, with shipment coming in mid-July.
Apple today launched pre-orders for Vision Pro in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, and the UK; availability is set to begin on July 12th in those countries.
The company also revealed local pricing in those regions, with the cheapest 256 GB variant fetching $5,999 (AUD), $4,999 (CAD), €3,999 (EUR) and £3,499 (GBP). The original article announcing Vision Pro’s international launch follows below:
Apple first confirmed it was launching in mainland China in late March, underlining the company’s unique access to that country’s domestic market, which behind the US and EU, is the world’s third-largest consumer market.
Notably, Meta was hoping to collaborate with Chinese tech giant Tencent to bring Quest to China late last year, however talks reportedly stalled, ostensibly making Meta’s access to that country as a non-starter. Today, Meta’s social platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, are all blocked there.
Meanwhile, Vision Pro is also coming to Hong Kong, Japan, and Singapore today, with similar trial and pre-order schemes available through the official Apple Store in those less strictly-controlled regions. The original article announcing international availability follows below:/vc_column_text]
Original Article (June 10th, 2024): Previously only available in the United States since its initial launch in February, Apple says it’s now bringing Vision Pro to mainland China, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, and the UK, which includes keyboard support for major world languages used in those countries.
Apple says users in mainland China, Hong Kong, Japan, and Singapore can pre-order Apple Vision Pro on June 13th, with earliest shipments coming June 28th. Customers in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, and the UK can pre-order on June 28th, with availability beginning on July 12th.
Apple says Vision Pro will include DingTalk, Douyin VR Live, Migu Video, Taobao, Tencent Video, and Weibo in China; apps from Yahoo! JAPAN, LIFULL HOME’S, U-NEXT, and Nikkei in Japan; and Singtel CAST, StarHub TV+, and mewatch in Singapore.
Upcoming apps also include MUBI and Soul Spire in the UK; Canal+, Foxar, OQEE, and SeLoger in France; BILD, OTTO, and ZDF in Germany; Classix and Sportsnet in Canada; and Domain in Australia.
This follows earlier reports in March that Apple would indeed be launching in mainland China in addition to a number of the countries mentioned above. In practice, this gives the Cupertino tech giant a critical reach beyond Meta, which is barred from operating its apps and services in mainland China.
Earlier this year it was reported that talks between Meta and Chinese tech giant Tencent had stalled, which may have otherwise opened up some avenue for Meta hardware to launch inside the tightly-controlled country.
Ultraleap, the company behind the Leap Motion hand-tracking module, informed staff on Wednesday that it was proposing a layoff amid a potential restructuring of the business that could see the company split in two.
Availability of Quest 2 direct from Meta seems to have dried up, as the company’s last-gen headset is now showing out of stock in nearly all regions—likely making way for what’s next.
It was first discovered years ago that Meta has been testing cloud game streaming to bring PC VR games to Quest, but the feature has yet to see the light of day (or even an official announcement). New evidence suggests the feature, codenamed Avalanche, is still in active development and may support specific games from the Oculus Studios catalog, like Lone Echo (2017).
There are a few great ways to market VR games, but there’s arguably none better than by showing real people immersed in virtual environments thanks to mixed reality capture. While Meta has its own Mixed Reality Capture tool (MRC), the company is taking a step back from development by adopting third-party app LIV as its official solution.
Indie studio Ivory Crow Games have released a new demo for Chrono Weaver, a single player game that lets you make copies of yourself to solve physics-based puzzles.
Meta’s social VR platform Horizon Worlds hasn’t been available to everyone, with the company restricting the app’s use to only a few countries. Now it’s rightfully rolling out to every region where Quest is supported.
The 2D to 3D photo conversion feature coming to Vision Pro in VisionOS 2.0 makes a novel capability meaningful for the first time.
RIVEN (1997), the sequel to iconic point-and-click puzzle-adventure MYST (1993), just got the VR treatment in its new remake. Unlike Myst, which felt a little too game-y and obtuse at times, Riven plays a lot more like a modern title, which thanks to Quest and SteamVR support, is true in every sense of the word now. Granted, you’ll need to look past some VR implementation issues which keep it from feeling like a ground-up VR native, although however you play, you’ll be exploring a fascinating world that’s both puzzle-dense and undeniably beautiful at every turn.
Sony is getting ready to release tethered PC VR support for PSVR 2 this summer, but that may be one of the last meaningful things the company does for its increasingly latchkey VR hardware.
