Category: Penn & Teller VR

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Penn & Teller VR: F U, U, U & U Will Appear on PlayStation VR Today

Last month Gearbox Software (Borderlands 2 VR) released Penn & Teller VR: Frankly Unfair, Unkind, Unnecessary & Underhanded, a social virtual reality (VR) experience to entertain and prank your friends for PC headsets and Oculus Quest. Now, the studio has announced that it’ll be releasing the title for PlayStation VR owners today.

Penn and Teller VR

There’s no difference between the PC and PlayStation VR version of the videogame, with players having access over 12 tricks (or ‘Bits’ as they’re called). Penn & Teller VR: F U, U, U & U combines the duo’s own personal brand of magic and comedy, featuring some of their most famous tricks including the infamous ‘Bullet Catch’.

The title has both single-player and local multiplayer modes available. The multiplayer is the core of the experience, where the magician is the non-VR player while the willing participant (or unwitting friend) dons the headset to engage in some magical VR fun. For instance, there’s a digital version of ‘Whack ‘a’ Mole’ with players having to slam their hand on a table. If the magician was feeling so inclined they could place an item on the table for some hilarious consequences, a lump of goo for example or an egg.

When there’s no one around the single-player mode enables players to become a ‘willing’ volunteer in one of Penn & Teller’s acts, such as trying to escape a tank filling with water by trying to find the right keys for a series of padlocks. Or in between acts players can always relax in the Monkey Room, the actual room participants of the live shows get to see. Here players can learn more about Penn & Tellers tricks.

Penn and Teller VR

Gearbox Software announced Penn & Teller VR: F U, U, U & U back in April, with the first official debut to press taking place at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) 2019 last month. VRFocus took a look at that early showcase and spoke with Jacob Lavender, Technical Designer on Penn & Teller VR in this interview. This is the first Penn & Teller videogame from the studio, the first being Desert Bus.

VRFocus will continue its coverage of Penn & Teller VR: F U, U, U & U, reporting back with any further updates to the title.

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E3 2019 Interview: Gearbox Software Talks Penn & Teller VR

While Gearbox Software is better known for its Borderlands franchise, the studio has some quirkier titles under its belt as well, including Desert Bus VR. This was the brainchild of none other than magic duo Penn & Teller during the 90s. This week the pair are back with another virtual reality (VR) videogame (care of Gearbox) that’s a bit closer to home, Penn & Teller VR: Frankly Unfair, Unkind, Unnecessary & Underhanded. Unveiled during the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) 2019 this month, VRFocus had a chat with the studio to find out more.

Penn & Teller VR: F U, U, U & U was certainly one of the weirder and wonderful VR titles to appear during E3 week, offering their unique brand of comedy and magical entertainment. At its heart, the videogame is a local party experience where players can engage in different tricks (called Bits in the experience) being taught by Penn & Teller. There’s just one catch, the Bits allow the VR player to be pranked if they’re not careful.

Without giving too much away, one of the Bits sees the person in VR playing a form of whack-a-mole. Best played using a table to hit, while the player is happily whacking digital objects someone else (if they’re feeling devious) could put an item in play, say an egg for example, which would lead to messy and humorous results.

VRFocus tried a quick preview of the title during E3 2019, saying: “What’s impressive about Penn & Teller VR: Frankly Unfair, Unkind, Unnecessary & Underhanded is that it really plays to VR’s strengths, offering an experience that’s distinctive and a refreshing change for some of the other releases on the horizon.”

Penn and Teller VR

So what did Gearbox Software have to say about the videogame? Well, VRFocus spoke with Jacob Lavender, Technical Designer on Penn & Teller VR: F U, U, U & U to learn a little more about how the project came to be and some of its features in the video below.

The videogame itself is due out for Oculus Quest, Oculus Rift/Rift S and HTC Vive on 27th June, priced at $19.99 USD, with a PlayStation VR version due to arrive shortly after on 9th July 2019. For further updates on the experience or Gearbox Software’s VR plans, keep reading VRFocus.

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‘Penn & Teller VR’ Launches on Quest & PC VR, PSVR Version in July

Gearbox Software today released their latest VR game, a title from magic/comedy duo Penn & Teller called Penn & Teller VR: Frankly Unfair, Unkind, Unnecessary, & Underhanded. The game is available on Quest, Rift and Vive starting today, with a version for PSVR coming in July.

Update (June 27th, 2019):  Penn & Teller VR: F U, U, U, & U  is now available for $20 on Steam (Rift, Vive) and the Oculus Store for Quest and Rift (link incoming).

Both Penn & Teller and Gearbox intend on using the game to help fight the anti-vaccine movement; the studio is donating to support UNICEF’s Immunization program through an initial $10,000 by Randy Pitchford, President, CEO and Co-founder of Gearbox Software. An additional $10,000 donation will be made for every 100,000 sales of Penn & Teller VR: F U, U, U, & U.

The original article follows below:

Original Article (June 19th, 2019): Cleverly abbreviated to Penn & Teller VR: F U, U, U, & U, the game takes you through more than 10 “cruel magic tricks” that Gearbox says will “leave your loved ones screaming and you cackling maniacally.”

While Penn Jillette initially couches it as a way to conquer your fears, Jillette says the only fear you really have to overcome is the fear of “wasting money on a frivolous collection of VR games.”

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Image courtesy Gearbox Software
Image courtesy Gearbox Software
Image courtesy Gearbox Software
Image courtesy Gearbox Software
Image courtesy Gearbox Software

The version for Quest, Vive, and Rift is set to release on June 27th. The PSVR version arrives slightly later on July 9th.

The game is currently available for pre-order on Oculus Quest for $20.

This isn’t the first VR game from the dynamic comedy/magic duo. Gearbox Software helped bring the old cult classic mini-game Desert Bus from the never-released Sega CD game Penn & Teller’s Smoke and Mirrors (1998) to life in VR back in 2017, dutifully named Desert Bus VR.

Check out the trailer for Penn & Teller VR: F U, U, U, & U below:

The post ‘Penn & Teller VR’ Launches on Quest & PC VR, PSVR Version in July appeared first on Road to VR.

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Fool and Prank Your Friends With Penn & Teller VR: F U, U, U & U

After an initial tease back in April, Gearbox Software has finally released details regarding its next virtual reality (VR) project, a collaboration with famous magical duo Penn & Teller. Called Penn and Teller VR: Frankly Unfair, Unkind, Unnecessary & Underhanded (or Penn & Teller VR: F U, U, U & U for short), the soon to be released title is all about magic tricks and having some fun pulling pranks on friends along the way.

Penn and Teller VR

Penn & Teller VR is a local party style experience based around 12+ tricks (or ‘Bits’ as they’re called in the videogame). These Bits aren’t simple magic tricks to perform and learn, oh no, they do in fact help you prank your friends if you see fit.

Just like any good magical show, there’s the magician (you) and the audience (your friends), where you’re able to test your telekinetic powers, or even guide your soon-to-be-ex-friends as they perform The Most Dangerous Act in Showbiz. It’s not all about pranking your friends though, as there are single-player elements like being chained inside a tank filling with water, from which you have to escape.

“When a new mind-blowing technology comes out, the first thing Teller and I think is, ‘How can we use this to help people play tricks, cheat, and prank’,” said Penn Jillette, the larger and louder half of Penn & Teller. “Luckily for us, (and maybe less luckily for the world), Randy Pitchford, the big cheese at Gearbox, is our buddy, and worked as a professional magician. We are the same soulless motherhubbards. So, we’ve found a way for people to use VR as a tool to monkey with their so-called ‘friends.’ It’s what we do, and we’ve done it.”

Penn and Teller VR

“In our collaboration, we became animated by advances in the transformative medium of virtual reality and are now excited for fans of magic, pranks, tricks, video games, and VR to be able to experience an entirely new kind of interactive experience,” said Randy Pitchford, President, CEO and Co-founder of Gearbox Software. “With Penn & Teller VR: F U, U, U, & U, you’ll have the tools and technology to feel what it’s like to *be* magicians like Penn & Teller.”

There’s not long to wait for Penn and Teller VR: Frankly Unfair, Unkind, Unnecessary & Underhanded. It’ll be available for Oculus Quest, Oculus Rift/Rift S and HTC Vive on 27th June, priced at $19.99 USD. While a PlayStation VR version will arrive on 9th July 2019. For further updates from Gearbox Software, keep reading VRFocus.