We might be into November now, with the spectre of a cold winter on the horizon. (Certainly if the temperature inside my office from the last few days are anything to go by.) But even as another week ticks by there is still some virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) news connected to the field of sport. The first of which is, if you pardon the pun, a potential game changer.
Intel Acquires VOKE to Become A VR Broadcasting Player
You’d be forgiven for not expecting chip manufacturing powerhouse Intel to be a part of the VRFocus Sports rundown but that certainly is the case after announcing on Thursday that they were the latest company to acquire a VR related studio to expand their business portfolio and increase the Intel Sports Group. A relatively new part of the organization dedicated to innovating new technological solutions for broadcasting.
Founded in 2004, VOKE will be a familiar name to many VRFocus readers, and as with the likes of nextVR and Jaunt have been busy all year both growing and restructuring internally and securing partners to produce new content. Most recently VOKE looked into a new venture in India, announcing a partnership to bring the Kabaddi World Cup to VR.
Speaking in a press release James Carwana, the General Manager of Intel Sports Group welcomed VOKE into the fold: “Together, we can innovate and scale our new immersive sports business faster to bring fans the most personalized, fully immersive VR experience ever imagined and change the way networks, sports leagues and teams engage with their audiences.”
Gran Turismo Sport Will Have VR… But Won’t Have Full Support
Moving on to some sad news, it seems that racing fans who were hoping to take their PlayStationVR for a long drive with Gran Turismo Sport look set to be disappointed after Videogamer.com revealed that whilst the title will support a VR Tour Mode. According to a conversation the site had with Kazanori Yamauchi, the President of Grand Turismo Sport‘s developer Polyphony Digital, it will not be ‘fully playable’. Which would suggest some kind of limited VR racing mode or, as some other outlets are suggesting, perhaps more form of virtual flyover or VR variation of the model viewer.
Grand Turismo Sport was originally announced at 2015’s Paris Games Week, and was previously thought to be fully compatible with PlayStation VR. Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) also went on record to assure that the title would not be a mere prologue.
This is a developing story and VRFocus will bring you more in the coming days.
VRFocus will be back next week at the same time for another round-up of everything sport and VR.