The centre ground for virtual reality (VR) is not an area that has seen much activity as of yet. Oculus and Vive are both planning stand-alone VR headsets in the future, so the race is now on to stake out the mid-range market. MVR, a VR system developer is planning to use crowdfunding to help it compete with the big names.
MVR are not simply seeking to create a new VR headset. The company’s ambition is to turn existing console videogames into untethered VR experiences for the MVR headset, titled the Ascend. MVR reportedly has the capability to easily convert existing titles into VR for quick and cheap porting to the Ascend system.
The company has launched a campaign to raise £50,000 (GBP) using equity crowdfunding platform Crowdcube. MVR have said they are planning a ‘two-pronged approach’ to enter the VR market and compete with established names such as Oculus by doing two things; The first involves creating and patenting a VR system that allows users to play videogames with familiar titles from launch. The second The second is to offer developers a simple way to port existing titles into VR.
“We believe this is truly disruptive because we are inhabiting the middle market between the two tier fragmented VR world we are currently faced with,” said an MVR spokesperson in a statement, “On one side of the VR spectrum you have the low end – cheap plastic versions of Google Cardboard that can only play smartphone apps. On the other hand you have immersive but expensive wired systems that lack quality AAA games (Games with highest development budget and levels of promotion).”
A patent is said to have already been filed for a system to adapt well-known titles such as a Grand Theft Auto 5, Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 and Mirrors Edge into VR, and a working prototype is said to exist.
VRFocus will bring you further news on the MVR Ascend as it becomes available.