Category: MLB

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‘MLB Home Run Derby’ Swings for the Fences on Main Quest Store After Long Stint on App Lab

Major League Baseball’s batting simulator MLB Home Run Derby VR (2018) has left App Lab and is now available on the main Quest Store, which also comes alongside a few updates to the game.

Previously launched on PC VR in 2018 and on Quest via App Lab in 2021, MLB Home Run Derby VR lets you swing for the fences from the batter’s box of all 30 MLB ballparks.

Here’s how the MLB describes it:

Utilizing advanced motion controls and realistic batting mechanics, players will feel the rush of every swing as if they’re really at the ballpark. Whether you are a seasoned baseball aficionado or a casual fan, MLB Home Run Derby VR is sure to be an enjoyable experience for all!

The official launch on the main store also brings with it a few new features, including expanded player progression system, online clubhouse and trophy room, new achievements and quest system, online multiplayer, and Meta avatar and notification system integration.

While the official launch has also expanded the game’s leaderboard system—letting players now sort by score, longest home run or fastest exit velocity—the studio says it will be releasing more leaderboards and competitive enhancements later this year.

You can get MLB Home Run Derby VR on Quest and SteamVR, priced at $30. Check out the trailer below:

The post ‘MLB Home Run Derby’ Swings for the Fences on Main Quest Store After Long Stint on App Lab appeared first on Road to VR.

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Oakland Athletics Adopt VR Headsets For MLB Pitcher Visualizations

The Oakland Athletics are using VR headsets to prepare for MLB games, with hitters able to watch virtual visualizations of a pitcher’s throw before playing against them in real life.

According to MLB.com, the application and programming is done by WIN Reality VR, and allows players to simulate at-bats against virtual pitchers, designed to emulate the velocity, pitch movement and release point of real-life pitchers. For players like Matt Olsen from the Oakland Athletics, this allows them to examine a pitcher’s throw in VR before playing a game against them.

If you’re going up against someone for the first time, being able to watch a simulation the match is a huge advantage. This is exactly what Olson did before he went up against the Tigers starter José Ureña last week.

“I haven’t used it as much during the season but I like to do it on guys I haven’t seen before because it gives you a decent idea of what their motion is like and how their stuff moves,” Olson said, speaking to MLB.com. “I’ll try to watch mainly the dudes that I haven’t seen before to see what the ball looks like coming out of their hand.”

Olson also said he plans to use VR again this week before his matchup against Tigers starter Casey Mize. It’s not just Olson either — others are also apparently dipping their toes into VR training. “I know some guys have it on their own and they do it at home,” Olson said. “I can’t say exactly how many guys are using it. I know some guys aren’t on it and some guys are. It’s kind of like a personal preference thing.”

Manager Bob Melvin said that the team would continue to use VR as an option for training, as it allows the players to get “as close a look as you possibly can” to the other team ahead of a game, especially if it’s a first matchup.

You can read more over at MLB.com.

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MLB VR Viewing App Coming To Oculus Quest

A little MLB VR action is heading Oculus Quest’s way, though not in the way you might expect.

The MLB VR viewing app is due to hit the standalone headset soon. Rather than an interactive game, the app offers a sort of enhanced viewing experience for MLB fans. You can watch games live on a virtual screen from inside, while also being treated to additional statistics and some pretty interesting 3D visualizations of hits as they happen. You will, of course, need an MLB.TV or At Bat Premium subscription to take advantage of all this.

There are some elements that don’t require said subscriptions, though. You can watch older games in their entirety, dating back to the 2015 Regular Season, for example, and there’s also a collection of 360 degree videos that take you behind the scenes of the MLB experience.

Viewing MLB games in VR has been possible for a few years, though this is the first time it’s available on Quest. Sadly this doesn’t include any playable game of its own kind. MLB did release its own game, Home Run Derby, on PC VR headsets a while back, but there’s no sign of that showing up on Quest.

A coming soon page for MLB VR is now listed on the Oculus Quest store, though it doesn’t include a release date. We’d hope it will be launching within the next few weeks, though.

Back in 2017 Intel cut a deal with MLB to broadcast games in VR, starting that June. Perhaps the end of that deal is why we’re only seeing this app emerge on Quest now.

The post MLB VR Viewing App Coming To Oculus Quest appeared first on UploadVR.

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Life In 360°: The Boys From The Bay

Friday is here, and while the weekend will as always bring our weekly look at the virtual reality (VR) news for sport we’re going to finish off Life In 360° for this week with a look at America’s national pastime. 

Life In 360° / 360 Degree VideoThe Baseball Almanac once described baseball (among other things) as “a spirited race of man against man, reflex against reflex. A game of inches. Every skill is measured. Every heroic, every failing is seen and cheered, or booed. And then becomes a statistic. In baseball democracy shines its clearest. The only race that matters is the race to the bag. The creed is the rulebook. Color merely something to distinguish one team’s uniform from another. Baseball is a rookie. His experience no bigger than the lump in his throat as he begins fulfilment of his dream. It’s a veteran too, a tired old man of thirty-five hoping that those aching muscles can pull him through another sweltering August and September.”

Today on Li360 we’re heading back to San Francisco and to AT&T Park, home of The Orange and Black themselves, the San Francisco Giants. Founded back in 1883 as the then New York Gothams, the Giants recently took fans behind the scenes for a 360 degree tour of the Giants Clubhouse.

Former Giants pitcher Jeremy Affeldt gives the rundown on the facilities in the Clubhouse. It’s a nine minute video, so pretty hefty and covers everything from the dressing room to the laundry room and kitchen.

Check it out below. VRFocus will be back with more Life In 360° on Monday.

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Major League Baseball to Crown First Virtual Champion

Back in April, Major League Baseball (MLB) launched a new virtual reality (VR) app called MLB Home Run Derby VR, which let baseball fans feel what it was like to step onto the diamond and play in virtual games. Now players will have a chance to claim a place in history as the first ever Home Run Derby VR Champion.

Fans who are attending the GEICO All-Star Fanfest or Play Ball Park between 13th-15th July, 2018 will have the opportunity to qualify for the inaugural MLB Home Run Derby Championship competition, which will be help on 16th July.

A special All-Star version of Home Run Derby VR featuring Nationals Park will be used for all qualifying and championship competitions. Fans will have 90 seconds to try and hit as many home runs as they can, using a specially designed VR bat controller which combines the Vive Tracker with a real baseball bat.

The championship tournament will be held at GEICO All-Star Fan Fest starting at 2pm (ET). It will feature the top 32 home run hitters from the previous days of qualifying in a bracket-style competition. All three hours of the tournament will be streamed to multiple platforms, including Twitch, YouTube, Facebook and Mixer. Commentary will be provided by MLB Network Alexa Datt, videogamers Realshelfy and Fuzzy along with nine-times MLB all-star Fred Lynn. During the broadcast viewers can expect special prize giveaways.

The grand prize winner will receive the honour of being the first ever MLB Home Run Derby VR Champion, and will also be given a custom Tiffany & Co official Derby trophy along with a grand prize package that includes four tickets to the 2018 MLB All-Star Game presented by Mastercard, a custom 2018 All-Star Game jersey, a Commemorative Louisville slugger bat, an official on-field cap and a years subscription to MLB TV.

For future coverage of developments regarding VR in sports, keep checking back with VRFocus.

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HTC Announces Strategic Partnerships With MLB & McLaren Formula One Team

At the Vive Ecosystem Conference (VEC) in Shenzhen today, HTC announced new VR initiatives in partnership with Major League Baseball (MLB) and McLaren Racing, the Formula One racing team.

Looking to take advantage of the growing baseball trend in China, HTC is partnering with the American baseball league to bring two MLB fan engagement initiatives to China, including the Chinese-language reality TV show Perfect Pitch to the Tencent video network, and a Baseball Park roadshow to 10 major cities across the country.

HTC also announced a long-term strategic partnership with Formula One team McLaren to jointly produce VR products and VR/AR content. McLaren and HTC will co-launch a special edition McLaren-branded Vive headset.

McLaren is also slated to release a VR eSports racing competition with HTC as an official VR partner, using HTC Vive Pro as their official device for the competition. The competition is said to “search the world for people who will ultimately become part of the McLaren racing team,” the companies say in a press release.

The announcement comes on the heels of a few important updates coming to HTC Vive Focus, the company’s standalone 6DOF headset set for international release soon.

Update (11:40 AM ET):  Added information on the special edition McLaren-branded HTC Vive headset, announced on McLaren’s blog, and Vive Pro as the official headset of McLare’s VR eSports competition.

The post HTC Announces Strategic Partnerships With MLB & McLaren Formula One Team appeared first on Road to VR.