Xbox has new Ninja Turtles controllers … and they smell like pizza
Microsoft is giving away pizza-scented Xbox controllers to promote Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem.
Bigscreen to Host Live Free Screening of Academy Awards Nominated ‘Selma’
Bigscreen’s partnership with Paramount Pictures has seen plenty of blockbuster films arrive for the virtual reality (VR) platform. With everything going on in the world currently, the pair will provide a special screening of Selma over the weekend, live for US audiences.
Nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards in 2014, Selma is the story of how Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. led a three month march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama in 1965, fighting for equal voting rights for all Black Americans.
Directed by Ava DuVernay, Selma will be screened live for free this Saturday 13th June 4PM PST (7PM EST) solely for US viewers. If you can’t attend the screening, Selma will also be available to watch on-demand until 30th June for free.
“We hope this small gesture will encourage people throughout the country to examine our nation’s history and reflect on the ways that racial injustice has infected our society. The key message of Selma is the importance of equality, dignity and justice for all people,” said a Paramount Pictures representative in a statement.
Regular Bigscreen users will know the app has been making a concentrated effort to improve the amount of content available. Its newest movie studio partnership was with Funimation back in April. This saw the studio’s slate of anime’s films added to the VR platform, from classics like Akira to Attack on Titan and My Hero Academia: Two Heroes.
The Bigscreen Beta app is free to download, supporting a wide range of devices like HTC Vive, Valve Index, Windows Mixed Reality, Oculus Rift, Oculus Go and Oculus Quest. As Bigscreen continues to expand its content lineup VRFocus will keep you updated on all the latest announcements.
Bigscreen Cinema’s Partnership With Paramount Continues Adding More Content
Last month Bigscreen continued its rollout of new features for 2019 with the addition of Bigscreen Cinema, partnering with Paramount Pictures to bring a selection of its movies onto the virtual reality (VR) app. Bigscreen has now revealed what new movies will be coming in the following weeks as well as what’s being worked on.
Unlike a streaming service like Netflix where you have content on hand whenever you want it but have to pay a monthly premium for the service, Bigscreen Cinema works far more like a bricks and mortar theatre, scheduling movies every 30 minutes for a one off price and only showing them for a single week.
Which encourages users to come back and see what the lineup of movies are. The selection changes every Friday so currently this week you can see Star Trek Beyond, Star Trek: Into Darkness and Transformers: Dark of the Moon all in 3D, with Interstellar available in 2D. From 17th – 24th January will be Bigscreen Cinema’s 3D Week where Transformers: The Last Knight, Terminator Genisis, Ghost in the Shell and Top Gun are all available in glorious 3D. Prices start from $3.99 USD.
After its first month Bigscreen Cinema has beaten internal sales estimates with 3D movies making up 77 percent of those sales. Due to this success Bigscreen will be able to license more movies the company informs VRFocus.
As for what’s to come, the team is currently working on a friends system in an effort to make it easier to make new friends, invite/join rooms, and see who’s online. A drive-in theatre-style environment will be added and movie events like a horror week are also in the works. A big planned feature will be the option to rent a movie to then watch with friends in your own private room, without restricted show times.
Lastly, Bigscreen wants to add more movie studios to the list, in an effort to expand that content lineup even further whilst licensing Bigscreen Cinema in even more countries (its already available in 10).
As Bigscreen continues to progress into 2020, VRFocus will keep you updated on all the latest announcements.
Bigscreen Cinema Shows Popular Movies In Social VR For $4 To $5 Per Admission
Bigscreen Cinema is a new service selling tickets for around $4 to $5 per admission to popular movies you can view in a theatrical setting with far away friends or family through virtual reality headsets.
The new service from startup Bigscreen, originally founded by Darshan Shankar in 2014, offers a refined version of the social app tailored around a VR-enabled full cinema experience. The company is partnering first with Paramount Pictures with more studios slated to come on-board early next year offering both 3D and 2D screenings of popular movies.
Check out the trailer here:
Bigscreen is publishing its launch schedule with four new movies planned to premiere every Friday and screen for only one week. You can purchase tickets now with screenings starting every 30 minutes. The launch lineup consists of Raiders of the Lost Ark, Ghost In The Shell, Transformers: Dark of the Moon, and Star Trek. On December 20 Star Trek: Into Darkness, Terminator Genisys, Intersteller, and I Love You, Man will premiere in Bigscreen Cinema.
More movies will be announced in January.
Bigscreen Cinema is available on Oculus Quest, Oculus Rift, Oculus Go as well as via Steam for HTC Vive, Valve Index, and all Windows Mixed Reality headsets. Facebook recently dropped support for the phone-powered Gear VR on its Oculus platform and so Bigscreen dropped support for that platform as well. Shankar told us he hopes to have PlayStation VR support in the next six months.
The founder and CEO told us they are planning a friends system for Bigscreen in January that should make it easier to coordinate meetups with friends, but for now he said people can put on the headset and enter the lobby for Bigscreen Cinema to find a friend or send the friend their Room ID. If your friend buys their own ticket they’ll be able to join up in the same room, according to Shankar.
Trailers for upcoming movies and other pre-roll content may play a few minutes before the movie’s start just like a traditional theater. You can, of course, customize your avatar and its accessories and there are toys to play with or throw around during the movie, like popcorn, soda and tomatoes.
“Bigscreen also has user protection features such as a personal space bubble, muting, banning, and undisclosed features to combat trolls from disrupting the movie experience,” according to the startup.
Prices per ticket should be about $4 to $5, but varies by country, with support initially for the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Spain, Sweden, Netherlands, Australia, and Japan. You can also get a private theater to watch by yourself or just with friends, or a public cinema to watch with other movie fans.
I asked Shankar whether the new cinema feature signaled any changes planned to Bigscreen’s existing desktop-sharing service which allows people to share content playing on their computer screen with friends using a VR headset.
“Nope! No changes at all,” he wrote in a message. “We don’t know what people do on their desktops — we respect their privacy — and we don’t care since we’re not an ad-driven business. Bigscreen Cinema, Bigscreen TV, and Bigscreen Desktop features are designed to coexist well together. Our goal for the future is to enable people to hangout together in a virtual living room in Bigscreen with many virtual applications: PC desktops, a livestream from a TV channel, music from a radio station, etc. all working together.”
Will we be seeing you in Bigscreen Cinema sometime soon? Let us know in the comments what you think and if you’re excited about any of the movies.
The post Bigscreen Cinema Shows Popular Movies In Social VR For $4 To $5 Per Admission appeared first on UploadVR.
First Sonic the Hedgehog movie trailer shows Jim Carrey as Dr. Robotnik
Paramount Pictures has released the first trailer for Sonic the Hedgehog, its live-action CG hybrid film based on the famous video game series. It is uniquely terrifying, but we still want to see more.
The post First Sonic the Hedgehog movie trailer shows Jim Carrey as Dr. Robotnik appeared first on Digital Trends.
A Mission: Impossible VR Experience is Coming to VR Arcades in 2019
With virtual reality (VR) able to blur the line between films and immersive entertainment it’s no wonder that movie studios have been promoting their franchises with VR. Paramount Pictures did this way back in 2015 for the launch of Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation. This proved to be popular because last year Paranormal Activity: The Lost Soul developer VRWERX announced it was working on a new experience based on the Mission: Impossible franchise. Today, location-based entertainment company Nomadic has confirmed its role in the project.
With VRWERX now collaborating with Nomadic on the VR experience they will co-develop a location-based tactile walkaround multiplayer VR videogame which will make use of Nomadic’s untethered system. As for the standard title VRWERX had been working on for HTC Vive, Oculus Rift and PlayStation VR that’s still taking place, with the location-based experience looking to compliment the home consumer version.
“Introducing the Nomadic and VRWERX tactile Mission: Impossible VR walk-around experience marks the next generation of location-based entertainment,” said Doug Griffin, CEO and founder of Nomadic. “We’re thrilled to work with VRWERX and Paramount to bring this beloved franchise to a new form of entertainment.”
Actual details on the gameplay and what it looks like haven’t been revealed just yet, just that the title will be based on the franchise – rather than one particular movie – and that ‘participants will experience the legendary film series like never before.’ So the likelihood is that you might not be playing Tom Cruise’s character Ethan Hunt, more an agent of the Impossible Mission Force (IMF) sent out on secret missions.
“We’re excited to work with the fantastic Nomadic team to bring our Mission: Impossible VR game to their revolutionary platform”, said Alex Barder, VRWERX Co-Managing Partner. “With Nomadic, we’ll not only enable the audience to be immersed in the Mission: Impossible world, they will also be able to touch and play inside of it, heightening their immersion to levels we’ve never seen before.”
The Mission Impossible VR experience will debut in Orlando in Spring 2019, joining Nomadic’s first project Arizona Sunshine: Contagion Z. For further updates on the project, keep reading VRFocus.
Enjoy 360 Action in Mission: Impossible – Fallout’s new Ad Campaign
If there’s one thing an action packed film franchise like Mission: Impossible needs is an ad campaign to match. Back when Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation launched the PR train went into overdrive with a VR installation at London’s Victoria Station. With Mission: Impossible – Fallout due for release Paramount Pictures has teamed up with OmniVirt for a 360-degree advertising campaign.
The 360 video advert takes viewers behind the scenes as Hollywood star Tom Cruise performs several stunts. Viewers sit right next to Cruise while he pilots a helicopter through narrow passageways and provides commentary on the experience alongside the film’s director, Christopher McQuarrie.
The footage gives a much more realistic sense of the dangers faced by Cruise as he performs his own stunts, aiming to get that authentic look and feel that can’t be achieved via stunt doubles and green screen effects.
“We continue to see top-tier film studios use 360° VR in their marketing efforts to help bring their story alive. For the Mission: Impossible campaign, bringing viewers behind the scenes to see how stunts are performed using 360° video makes for a visceral, exciting experience. We’re thrilled to work with Paramount Pictures as it positions itself as an innovative leader in this kind of storytelling,” says Brad Phaisan, CEO of OmniVirt in a statement.
OmniVirt is a 360-degree, virtual reality (VR) advertising company that’s been employed by global brands for a number of different ad campaigns. These have included a 360-degree promotional video for Disney’s Aladdin stage show, a Pitch Perfect 3 AR Ad Campaign for Universal Pictures, as well as partnering with companies like EasyJet and Jaguar.
To see the 360-degree video of Mission: Impossible – Fallout then follow this link. The video can be controlled via a mouse, the WASD keys or the arrow keys. If you happen to be on mobile then you can use a headset like Google Cardboard for a more immersive experience. For any further updates from OmniVirt, keep reading VRFocus.
Intel Give VR Update At CES 2018, Reveal Intel Studios
When you think of virtual reality (VR) the chances are you think of the main hardware manufacturers. The likes of Facebook owned Oculus with their Oculus Rift head mounted display (HMD), of HTC and the Vive – and now by extension the HTC Vive Pro. for console VR the PlayStation 4’s headset the PlayStation VR – sometimes referred to as the PSVR and the mobile VR stakeholders Google and Samsung with their Daydream View and Gear VR smartphone-based HMDs respectively.
One company you would probably not think of immediately is Intel. Yet, Intel had a very productive 2017 when it came to immersive technologies and whilst they may not be one of the hardware gatekeepers – they actually cancelled their own all-in-one effort before launch and shuttered their augmented reality (AR) brand – they have certainly been amongst the headlines. A fact we’ve discussed recently on VRFocus.
They’ve been involved in the Academic Purpose VR bundle, being involved in the hosting of VR videogames and arranging tournaments at a number of gaming and eSports events, in particular the VR Challenger League. Have spoken positively about their thoughts for VR’s future, collaborated on a mixed reality (MR) tool, and an awful lot more. So it is only natural that when the time came for their keynote address at this year’s International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) that VR would certainly be a part of it.
Whilst time was, understandably, taken to address some of the security concerns raised by the “Spectre” and “Meltdown” security vulnerabilities are being addressed. Intel CEO Brian Krzanich also gave an update as to where Intel were with regards to their VR ambitions.
They began with the reveal of Intel Studios, a brand new, dedicated state-of-the-art studio powered by Intel’s own True View technology creating the world’s largest volumetric stage. The company also announced they already have their first major partner for the stage in the form of Paramount Pictures, itself experimenting with bringing its properties to both VR and AR over the last year.
Krzanich also gave an update regarding Intel’s partnership deal with the Olympics to provide 5G, VR and 360-degree technology up to 2024. Revealing that the upcoming Olympic Winter Games for 2018 in PyeongChang were to be the largest scale VR event to date. With thirty events being captured for broadcasters and footage also being broadcast live.
“If you are impressed by what you see at CES this week, stay tuned,” Said Krzanich his closing remarks to the keynote. “We are still discovering new ways to apply the power of AI and data. These discoveries will impact nearly every sector of innovation, and Intel is at the forefront of this revolution, bringing to life the promise of data-driven experiences through autonomous driving, AI, 5G and VR. At Intel, we not only see a world of infinite possibilities where technology makes our lives easier, we see a future where technology makes the world a better place.”
VRFocus will bring you updates regarding these developments as they are revealed.
Feel The Need For Speed As BigScreen Partners With Paramount To Bring Top Gun 3D To Users
Whilst there’s plenty of software, videogames and services for virtual reality (VR) there aren’t as many services as dedicated to the idea of the virtual desktop as that from the team at Bigscreen. Since it first came onto the scene back in 2016 the company has diligently been improving the software which supports both the HTC Vive and Oculus Rift on PC. Whether you want to use your computer in VR, play a videogame, mess about with virtual objects, hang out with your friends in a movie theatre, a virtual forest or any other location
Over 2017 the improvements have continued. April saw a patch that began to pave the way for an inevitable version 1.0, as well as made a number of significant performance increases. September saw the Avatar Update, which along with a number of changes to how users could represent themselves whilst using the app also saw the rollout of a number of design changes. October saw a number of new environments added to the service, both ‘professional’ and ‘casual’ in their tone. October also saw the developer Bigscreen, Inc generate a sizable $11 million (USD) in additional investment.
Now though Bigscreen are set to round of 2017 with quite the coup as they have announced a team up with movie studio Paramount Pictures in order to bring the film Top Gun to the service’s virtual cinema. And not just any version of Top Gun but Top Gun 3D. There’ll be multiple showtimes available for those who have the need… the need for speed, starting on December 29th at 6:00PM EST there’ll be “multiple showtimes” over the course of a twenty-four hour period. Bigscreen owners will be able to see the film for free.
“Bigscreen’s virtual reality platform offers a new way for fans to experience films in their homes.” Commented Bob Buchi, Paramount Pictures’ President of Worldwide Home Media Distribution. “We’re excited to be a part of this experiment using cutting-edge technology to give fans a new entertainment option.”
It is though likely at this point you’re asking the question of why the decision to broadcast the film in VR in 3D.
“Why 3D movies? The first time we watched a 3D movie in Bigscreen, we were blown away.” Explain Bigscreen in a recent update blog. “It didn’t feel gimmicky. Nobody got headaches. Subtle hints of depth greatly enhanced the immersion. 3D TVs never took off, but this is different, and you need to experience it to believe it. Unfortunately, there’s no easy way to watch 3D movies since online video streaming services only provide 2D content. It’s a tedious process to load BluRay discs and watch in Bigscreen. By working directly with movie studios like Paramount, we can provide amazing 3D movies directly to our users, without any additional configuration or hardware.”
As for why it’s not on-demand? There’s a social aspect to going to the cinema that Bigscreen don’t want to lose.
“We want to curate events with amazing 3D movies and video content that people love. Events give VR users a reason to put on the headset every week at a specific time, bringing a critical mass of people online at the same moment and making our social VR events feel alive.”
If a success it is likely that future tie-ups will be possible. VRFocus will keep you informed of these as we move into 2018.
Play as Bumblebee in Paramount’s new Transformers AR Experience
To coincide with the release of Transformers: The Last Knight on 4K Ultra HD Paramount Home Media Distribution has today unveiled a free augmented reality (AR) experience for iOS app users.
Created by Viacom NEXT using Apple ARKit, Cade’s Junkyard AR Experience incorporates content from the latest film in the blockbuster series, with players controlling the actions of Bumblebee.
The app has been designed to appear as the virtual junkyard of protagonist Cade Yeager (Mark Wahlberg), with players able to create their own junkyard before going on a rampage, using Bumblebee to blow everything up, whether that’s in full robot mode using his guns or racing around in vehicle form.
“This augmented reality experience gives fans the chance to interact with the Transformers universe in a new and exciting way,” said Howard Hsieh, Vice President, Worldwide Digital Business Development, Paramount Home Media Distribution in a statement. “The Transformers films appeal to a vast and diverse audience and we’re excited to give fans the opportunity to get in the driver’s seat and take BUMBLEBEE for a ride.”
“With ARKit, we can seamlessly bridge virtual and physical worlds to create immersive experiences that bring storytelling to life,” said Chaki Ng, Senior Vice President of Viacom NEXT. “We‘re thrilled to help break this new ground at Paramount with the iconic Transfomers franchise.”
Cade’s Junkyard AR Experience is free to download from the App Store until February 20, 2018. Users can also order Transformers: The Last Knight on 4K HDR through the app. Additionally, the Transformers 5-movie Collection will also be available on 4K HDR for purchase exclusively on iTunes beginning today.
The app is Paramount’s first foray into AR, but not the first in terms of immersive entertainment. Earlier this year, in conjunction with Oculus Studios, REWIND, Dreamworks and HERE BE DRAGONS, the companies created the Ghost in the Shell experience to tie-in with the movie.
For the latest AR experiences on iOS 11, keep reading VRFocus.