Category: HTC

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Valve Is Working on VR Content, Will Reveal It Next Year

Valve Teases New VR Reveal For Next Year That Won’t Leave Anyone Disappointed

There’s already a lot of great content on the HTC Vive, and big developers are also working with the headset. As excited as we are to see the likes of Bethesda and more developing for the platform, though, everyone really wants to see what SteamVR creator Valve has in store. Excitingly, that may be coming next year.

Valve Product Designer Greg Coomer teased as much at the start of the Steam Dev Days event in Seattle, Washington today. Talking about VR in the opening keynote, Coomer stated that the company wasn’t going to reveal any new VR content today. However he also stated that when the company was ready to reveal something “next year”, nobody would be “disappointed”.

It’s the smallest of teases but, considering we’re talking about Valve, it’s enough to get us excited. The developer is behind some of the most legendary franchises in all of gaming including Half-Life, Portal, and Left4Dead, and we’d welcome any one of them in VR if not an original IP.

Valve has already released some of its own VR content, however. Earlier this year it launched The Lab, a set of smaller experiences that highlight the HTC Vive’s unique capabilities. It also continues to work on Destinations, an app for creating VR spaces.

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Social VR Platform ‘VRChat’ Raises $1.2M Seed Funding

VRChat, a social VR platform that allows users to create, publish, and explore VR worlds, have announced a $1.2 million seed investment round. Investors include HTC, Rothenberg Ventures, GREE VR Capital, and Brightstone Venture Capital.

Supporting Oculus Rift and HTC Vive, VRChat currently offers over 200 user-created worlds, everything from simple environments to some of the most complex creations currently in social VR. Unlike ready-made social platforms though that feature limited avatar selections and only a few virtual spaces, VRChat maintains a DIY vibe that tends to attract more of a Maker crowd. In fact, if you know your way around the Unity game engine, you can even design your own custom avatar and virtual environment from the ground up and share it with everyone.

VRChat most notably features a weekly round table discussion called Gunter’s Universe—something of a live podcast which regularly hosts devs, industry professionals, and fellow VR enthusiasts.

gunters universe vr chat
Gunter’s Universe

“We offer users one application with infinite social VR experiences. We empower users to create their own social VR experience, where users have the freedom to easily create their own avatars, worlds, hangouts and games, and then explore that content with their friends. We’re working hard to build that platform, and this capital helps us get there faster,” said Graham Gaylor, Founder/CEO of VRChat. “We’re excited to have a syndicate of partners on board that provide us with not only capital, but also vast strategic experience in the VR ecosystem.”

VRChat says financing will be used to fund the platform’s continued expansion and for further investment in product development, with more hardware integrations planned throughout 2017.

The post Social VR Platform ‘VRChat’ Raises $1.2M Seed Funding appeared first on Road to VR.

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VRChat Gets $1.2 Million in Seed Investment By HTC and Others

The success of the virtual reality (VR) social platform VRChat has proved itself worthy of lots and lots of investment, and HTC as well as other companies have given that funding to it.

The other companies who have also lent a hand in the seed investment worth $1.2 million (USD) were Rothenberg Ventures, GREE VR Capital, and Brightstone Venture Capital, and the funding will be put towards the expansion and of the platform.

vrchat campfire

“HTC has been at the forefront of consumer VR, pioneering several ground breaking technologies and working tirelessly to deliver the best VR experiences on the market, winning multiple awards and receiving critical acclaim from media, consumers and the industry,” said Joel Breton, VP of Global VR Content at HTC, in a press release. “With our investment in VRChat, we look to further our ultimate vision: to bring VR into the lives of people around the globe so they can experience immersive social VR in a way that fires the imagination and truly changes the world.”

“We offer users one application with infinite social VR experiences. We empower users to create their own social VR experience, where users have the freedom to easily create their own avatars, worlds, hangouts and games, and then explore that content with their friends. We’re working hard to build that platform, and this capital helps us get there faster,” said Graham Gaylor, Founder and CEO of VRChat. “We’re excited to have a syndicate of partners on board that provide us with not only capital, but also vast strategic experience in the VR ecosystem.”

For more on the latest development in VR, as well as all the news, updates, and features, make sure to check back with VRFocus.

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Report: Google’s Daydream Headset To Cost $79, Could Be Made By HTC

Report: Google’s Daydream Headset To Cost $79, Could Be Made By HTC

The first Daydream headset’s price may have been revealed just ahead of today’s Made By Google conference, and it looks like it could literally give Samsung a run for its money.

Variety is citing sources “with knowledge of the announcement” in saying that the search engine giant’s own brand of headset, which is expected to be revealed in full later today, will cost just $79. The site doesn’t confirm if this price tag will include both the headset and the motion controller required to use it, but considering that it’s essential we wouldn’t be surprised to find it bundled in. That’s just speculation on our part, however.

If true, that makes the first Daydream headset $20 less expensive than the $99 Gear VR, which doesn’t come with a controller but is instead fitted with an on-board touchpad. That would make this a serious contender to Oculus and Samsung’s mobile VR throne, especially considering Daydream headsets will work with a variety of phones across different manufacturers, and not just a line of Samsung phones. Variety states that the device could be released as early as this month.

The site also suggests that Google’s Daydream headset could actually be made by HTC. Reports have suggested that the search engine giant’s all-but-confirmed Pixel phones, which are also expected to be revealed today, are being made by the Taiwanese company, so this would be consistent if true. HTC of course also has expertise in the VR field with the HTC Vive, which runs with high-end PCs. If it’s true then don’t expect the headset to feature the HTC logo; it will still be Google’s own VR headset.

Previous reports have also suggested that the device could be named Daydream View. This is just one set of many Daydream compatible phones and headsets we’re hoping to see in the coming weeks and months, however. Google might set the standard, but we’re looking forward to seeing what partner companies Samsung and Huawei bring to the table with their own devices.

Made By Google gets underway at 9AM PT / Noon ET / 4PM GMT / 5PM CET / 9:30PM IST. Here are five questions we’re hoping will be answered during the event.

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Viveport – HTC’s Online App Store Is Now Available To VR Users’ Globally

Today every company wants to explore virtual reality, and Taiwanese tech giant HTC is no exception in that case. This notion becomes quite clear from the fact that after launching its virtual reality app store called the Viveport in China in the beginning of this year, HTC has finally released it globally on Friday for all the VR enthusiasts. This clearly shows that HTC is working effectively when it comes to providing unique VR experiences to users.

With the worldwide release of Viveport, it now becomes easier for the users to purchase incredible VR applications at great discounts for HTC Vive headset.

In fact, with this launch HTC has made a commitment to sell a variety of titles in just $1 for the next two days starting September 30. The titles which come under this deal include Firebird – La Peri, which is an excellent virtual reality experience based on french artist Paul Dukas’ classical music as well as ballet.

firebird-la-peri

Firebird – La Per, which allows users to play a role of a prince who struggles to capture the “flower of immortality” is actually a $10 VR experience, but under this deal users can get it in just $1.

Apart from Firebird – La Per, a virtual reality experience called Mars Odyssey can also be availed by users in only $1 till this exciting deal runs. If you talk about the actual price of Mars Odyssey, it’s worth $8, but if you get it within these two days it won’t cost you more than $1.

In addition to that, HTC is also offering VR experiences like Stonehenge VR, The Music Room Mini, and the Blu in only $1.

Viveport comes with a wide range of virtual reality compatible applications for different categories. And considering the fact that it effectively connects with HTC’s Vive Home VR hub, it eventually makes it possible for HTC Vive users to buy compatible applications. Though a lot like this was possible on Steam earlier, but Viveport is expected to provide much better experience to users.

In short, this newly launched VR app store by HTC can offer tremendously stunning experience to users as it not only contains games but also offers a range of creative apps, VR edutainment titles, and 360-degree virtual reality content.

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Got an Idea for a HTC Vive Accessory, then Enter HTC’s Competition to Win a Headset

The kit for the HTC Vive is comprehensive and functional, with Valve and HTC supplying everything required to immerse yourself in virtual reality (VR) worlds. But what if budding VR enthusiasts think of ways to improve the experience even further. Well HTC is running a competition to encourage just that called the ‘VIVE Accessory Design Contest’

HTC is challenging anyone to come up with an accessory for either the head-mounted display (HMD), controllers, Lighthouse base stations or all three. After entries are submitted, the Viveport community will then vote on their favourites. The three entries that accrue the most votes will each win a HTC Vive. And as an added bonus for the entry with the most votes, the design will then be 3D printed by HTC Vive team.

HTC Vive mixed image

So for budding inventors or designers is to think of an accessory that would compliment the VR system, it can be entirely practical or completely of-the-wall, whatever it takes to get noticed really. The one stipulation in the first stage is that entrants must be able to upload an image of the design.

You’ll then need to register on the HTC Vive forums before heading to the contest page to enter. After which you can then promote your design via social media to get those votes up.

There’s a big PDF of rules and regulations on the contest page but the basics for entry are that entrants need to be 18 or over and live in the following countries: United States, Canada (excluding Quebec), United Kingdom, Germany, France, Sweden, Netherlands, Australia, New Zealand, China, Taiwan, South Korea, Switzerland, Norway, Poland, Austria, Belgium, Russia, Thailand, Singapore, India, Mexico or Japan.

The Vive Accessory Design Contest runs from now until 7th, November 2016, with the last submissions being uploaded to the Viveport Community by 30th, October 2016.

VRFocus will continue its coverage of the contest, reporting back with any further updates.

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Investment Deals in VR and AR Have Grown and Will Continue to, According to Market Reports

Here at VRFocus we know that there’s no way that virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) investments are going to slow down any time soon, and in one of the latest reports put together by eMarketer there is nothing but reinforcement of this fact.

According to the report, the number of deals and the amount invested in VR/AR companies worldwide overall as a result of them is pretty staggering when you have a look at the growth. To give you an idea, in the space of one year from the first quarter of 2015 compared to Q1 2016, the numbers went from 31 deals making $144 million, to 42 deals with the result of $1,077 million.

HTC Vive CV1

Digi-Capital gives a lot in term of analysing VR and AR markets, and from its latest analysis from July of this year, it is said that $2 billion in VR and AR investments in the next 12 months are to come, with another $849 million in aquisitions. What also helps is the investment of time and effort, as well as money, with news such as HTC creating the Virtual Reality Venture Capital Alliance with Colopl and others.

However, predicting the forecast of VR and AR markets is a difficult thing to do as it is still an emerging market, but this isn’t something to worry about in the slightest, according to the report. “Though Deutsche Bank did not alter its underlying assumption from September 2015 that mobile VR users worldwide will outpace desktop VR users, its latest forecast from March 2016 included substantially increased estimates for the total number of users for both platforms and provided more granular data about daily active users and device-specific users.”

There’s no doubting there will be a constant feed of investment and market reports as we see VR and AR flourish each and every day.

For more on the latest developments in VR and AR investments, as well as all the news, updates, and features in the world of VR, make sure to check back with VRFocus.