sony pictures – Page 2 – Augmented & Virtual Reality Confabulation

November 27, 2018

Head Into the Spider-Verse With Sony Pictures new AR Experience

Movie animation Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse will soon be arriving in cinemas across the country, and because no film can arrive without some sort of entertaining tie-in, Sony Pictures has collaborated with 8th Wall and Trigger to create an augmented reality (AR) experience for mobile devices.

Spider-man Spider-Verse

Built using 8th Wall Web and Amazon Sumerian technology running on Amazon Web Services (AWS), Into the Spider-Verse AR is an online-only experience, meaning there’s no need to download an app. It’s designed to let users interact with Spider-Man in AR, enabling them to take pictures with the famous superhero and share them with friends.

“Spider-Man is a perfect match for AR not only because his acrobatic moves and iconic poses lend themselves well to the format, but because he’s one of the most relatable superheroes,” said Rose Phillips, SVP, Digital Marketing at Sony Pictures Entertainment in a statement. “We’re excited to collaborate with 8th Wall, Amazon Sumerian and Trigger on Spider-Verse Web AR Experience and bring it to all – and new – Spider-Man fans.”

Spider-man Spider-Verse “The Spider-Verse Web AR Experience demonstrates how established brands can dramatically enrich their customer experiences and better engage with their fans,” said Erik Murphy-Chutorian, CEO at 8th Wall. “Augmented reality allows consumers to dive deeper into the worlds of their favourite products and characters. Sony Pictures has deepened and enriched the Spider-Man experience with the innovative work they’ve produced with Trigger and 8th Wall, and powered by AWS. It’s the perfect example of how AR for the web is the best new medium for brands to make their content come to life while increasing the accessibility and interactivity of their stories.”

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is due out in theatres next month, with the story introducing Brooklyn teen Miles Morales, and the limitless possibilities of the Spider-Verse, where anyone can wear the mask. To try the AR experience for yourself, just follow this link on your mobile device. And for any further movie AR/VR tie-ins, keep reading VRFocus.

October 31, 2018

Ghostbusters World Launches Big Boss Breakout Event for Halloween

It’s finally Halloween, time for kids to run around their neighbourhood trick-a-treating while all the adults not keeping an eye on the sugar intake sit down to a scary movie – or possibly a virtual reality (VR) experience. If you are out and about then you may want to get in on the spooky fun with Ghostbusters World which recently launched this month. The augmented reality (AR) title is holding a special event just for today, where ghostly bosses become more prevalent.

Ghostbusters World

Called the Big Boss Breakout, the one-day event will have Big bosses spawning more frequently than ever before on Halloween. No matter where you are in the world you’ll be able to come across the odd spectre or two, with it being useful to team up with a few mates when those larger corporeal beings start appearing like the Stay Puft marshmallow man.

If you’ve not tried Ghostbusters World yet it’s very similar to The Walking Dead: Our World or Pokemon Go, where you need to get up and out the house to explore your neighbourhood for ghosts, capturing as many as possible. Once you’ve done so then you can start testing out the other game modes available.

There are single-player AR battles and multiplayer role-playing game (RPG) elements, players need to find hundreds of different ghosts, all with their own special attributes. These can then be used in the Story and PvP modes, which involve turn-based tactical combat. Ghosts can be levelled up in the single-player section before taking into multiplayer, helping ensure those wins.

Ghostbusters World

The PvP mode is in the Ghost Dimension which also features Gozer’s Tower and the Daily Haunt for more gameplay options.

Ghostbusters World is free to download for iOS and Android devices which are AR compatible. For further updates on the videogame from Ghost Corps and 4:33 Inc, keep reading VRFocus.

September 20, 2018

Check out the new Story and PvP Modes for Ghostbusters World

Sony Pictures Consumer Products, Ghost Corps and publisher FourThirtyThree Inc. are due to launch their augmented reality (AR) title Ghostbusters World later this year. In preparation for release new gameplay details as well as a gameplay trailer have now be revealed.

Ghostbusters World

Featuring skill-based single-player AR battle mechanics and RPG-style multiplayer mode, today’s announcement sees the new Story and PVP modes detailed for the first time. Much like Pokemon GO or The Walking Dead: Our World, Ghostbusters World is all about getting out and exploring the world around you, whilst at the same time catching a few ghosts along the way.

Ghostbusters World allows players to battle and capture hundreds of ghosts from all dimensions of the franchise, fighting them in the streets with their proton packs before capturing them in a trap. Capturing as many as possible is important as players will then need them in the story more or when completing challenges in the Ghost Dimension. Each ghost has their own stats and abilities, with each one able to level up to take on bigger enemies.

The Ghost Dimension features the PVP Ghost Arena to battle other players as well as Gozer’s Tower and the Daily Haunt. Like the Daily Haunt, Story Mode is a turn-based tactical RPG where you choose four of your ghosts to battle it out. The mode also features cut-scenes and a script.

Ghostbusters World

Of course no Ghostbuster videogame would be complete without the Stay Puft marshmallow man, which players can take on together in the Raid mode.

Ghostbusters World uses Google’s ARCore and Apple’s ARKit to bring its spectral world to life, with the title now in soft launch in select countries for Android devices. To check head to the Ghostbusters World official site and see if the Google Play link works.

When Ghostbusters World fully launches worldwide VRFocus will let you know.

January 18, 2018

Sony and Survios Partnership to Bring Jumanji: The VR Adventure to VR Arcades

When Sony Pictures released Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle back in December the film also had a corresponding virtual reality (VR) experience created for it, Jumanji: The VR Adventure, co-produced by MWM Immersive (formerly Madison Wells Media’s Reality One) and Sony Pictures Virtual Reality (SPVR). Today, SPVR has announced a new distribution deal with Raw Data developer Survios, bring the title to new audiences in Asia and throughout the world.

Jumanji 2

Under the agreement, Survios will expand distribution of Jumanji: The VR Adventure to its global network of VR arcades reaching more than 36 countries on six continents. Audiences will enter a magical, fully interactive 3D jungle where they can control their favorite movie characters as they build a team and set out to lift the curse of Jumanji while outwitting evil henchmen and evading dangerous wildlife.

“SPVR is leading the way to build a new, multi-tiered distribution model for virtual reality. For the first time, with Jumanji: The VR Adventure, we are enabling audiences around the world to experience VR in locations and in-home on a variety of channels that are accessible to them,” said Jake Zim, senior vice president, virtual reality, Sony Pictures Entertainment in a statement.

Jumanji: The VR Adventure debuted at 50 VRX Networks VR kiosks in movie theaters and shopping malls across the United States and UK in December. This continues Sony Pictures Entertainment’s plan to develop VR experiences based off its motion pictures and franchises. These have included Passengers: Awakening VR Experience, THE VOID’s launch of Ghostbusters: Dimension, Can You Walk The Walk at IMAX VR locations and Spider-Man: Homecoming VR.

Jumanji_The_VR_Adventure

“We’re thrilled the success of Jumanji is translating into more demand for the virtual reality experience around the world. We are in the business of taking great IP like Jumanji to attract more fans to immersive content and excited to expand the reach of our work to a wider audience and continue to grow the reach of this new storytelling medium,” said Executive Producer of MWM Immersive Ethan Stearns

It’s not just VR arcades that Jumanji: The VR Adventure will be coming to. Fans at home will be able to enjoy the experience with the title arriving today on Steam and Oculus Store this month, followed by PlayStation VR in February. For any further updates keep reading VRFocus.

January 18, 2018

Sony’s Jumanji: The VR Adventure Is Drawing Attention For The Wrong Reasons

Sony Pictures released Jumanji: The VR Adventure on Steam today, but the game’s attracting attention for the wrong reasons.

We haven’t gone hands-on with the game ourselves but, at least on a visual level, Jumanji looks unfinished, as you can see in the below trailer. It’s based on the recent rebooted movie that stars Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, Karen Gillan, Jack Black, and Kevin Hart. In the trailer below, blurry versions of those characters navigate an even blurrier environment with the help of the player, who appears like a god above the film’s tropical island setting.

And here’s an especially ugly screenshot of the game. Pay particular attention to how the white cloud of smoke on the right makes it look like the leopard is farting. A nice little touch, that.

These aren’t exactly the kind of production values you’d expect from a top Hollywood studio. As if it didn’t look bad enough already, Twitch Streamer XatomUK managed to capture some gameplay with hilarious results.

Not since Rollercoaster Dreams have I been so entertained.

It might be lacking visually, but Sony plans to bring the game to both the Rift and PSVR in the near future, too. Beyond that, the company partnered with Raw Data developer Survios to push the game to 36 VR arcade locations around the world. On Steam it costs $4.99.

Sony Pictures Virtual Reality has previously published games across all three major VR headsets such as the Spider-Man: Homecoming VR Experience which, while not exactly brilliant, at least looked a lot better than this. It was developed by MPC VR, which worked on other tie-in VR experiences like The Martian VR and the Suicide Squad VR experience. Frankly, we’d expect better of both.

Tagged with: Jumanji: The VR Adventure, Sony Pictures

October 12, 2017

‘Settlers of Catan’ movie gains traction after negotiations with Sony

Gail Katz, who acquired the Settlers of Catan rights in 2015, will act as producer. Blaise Hemingway, whose credits include the upcoming Playmobil movie, will pen the screenplay.

The post ‘Settlers of Catan’ movie gains traction after negotiations with Sony appeared first on Digital Trends.

June 23, 2017June 24, 2017

Holo Introduces Holograms Of Real People to Your Pictures And Videos

8i continues to blaze a trail through the immersive industry with its capture technology, cultivating partnerships with companies such as L’Oreal and even enabling legendary astronaut Buzz Aldrin to give us an in-person explanation on how we’ll colonize Mars.

VidCon is a celebration of online videos from the viewers to the creators and 8i took to the annual conference to share that it is making the technology available to consumers by way of a new app called Holo, which allows them to take pictures and record video in what they term as 3D holograms.

To simultaneously promote the new technology and an upcoming film, 8i partnered with Sony Pictures to give users a hologram of Spider-Man from the Homecoming film to add to their pictures and videos. Holo adds the holograms to your image or video while you’re in camera view and they’re not just static, augmented overlays. Spider-Man, for example, can flip, facepalm, and pose for a selfie.

“People are creating, augmenting and sharing content like never before directly through the cameras on their phones,” says Steve Raymond, CEO of 8i, in the press release for the new development. “With Holo, we’re introducing a new way to create and express yourself using holograms of real people combined with the AR capabilities of smartphones. Until now, it’s never been possible to direct your own videos using recognizable characters and celebrities and we’re seeing lots of creative storytelling from Holo users.”

The partnership with Sony is just the beginning of their desire to have exclusive content available for the app. Holo currently includes content from Cosmopolitan (Magic Mike dancers) and holograms of various go90 stars and, if the app permeates throughout social networks, more big ticket partnerships are sure to sprout up in the future. Holo is available for free on the iOS Store for iPhone and on Google Play Store for Android devices.

Tagged with: 8i, Sony Pictures

June 22, 2017

Dell Team up With Sony to Create Spider-Man Homecoming VR World

The upcoming movie Spider-Man: Homecoming is one of the most anticipated of the year, seeing the masked superhero finally take his place in the Marvel Cinematic Universe after Marvel Studio struck a deal with Sony Pictures for use of the character. Sony are still getting something out of the deal, however, since the studio form a large part of not only the marketing but also the creation of The Spider-Man: Homecoming VR experience alongside Dell Computers.

The Spider-Man: Homecoming VR experience was developed by experience virtual reality (VR) content creators CreateVR and produced by Sony Pictures Virtual Reality and created on Dell Precision workstations. The VR experience offers players the chance to become Spider-Man and see the world from his viewpoint. Players will have the opportunity to hone their web-shooting, swing from virtual buildings and chase down the film’s villain, the Vulture.

Fans of Spider-Man in the US will be able to get a preview of the VR experience at some selected Cinemark theatres through America, where Dell will be powering the experience using their high-end VR-ready PC products. Dell workstations were also providing the power for the visual effects studio, Sony Pictures Imageworks, which used roughly 1000 Dell Precision workstations and more than 4000 Dell servers to create the visual effects used in the film.

“The computing power of Dell Precision workstations, coupled with thousands of PowerEdge servers, enables rapid creative iterations and allows us to put the best picture on screen,” said Erik Strauss, executive director, Software Development at Sony Pictures Imageworks.

“We are proud that Sony Pictures Imageworks looks to us, and solutions such as the Precision rack 7910 workstations, to deliver the reliable performance for incredible visual effects that make films like Spider-Man: Homecoming possible,” said Rahul Tikoo, vice president and general manager, Dell Precision workstations. “Our collaboration with Imageworks goes beyond this film; we’re making sure to not only equip them with what they need today but to deliver the transformative solutions they might need for the future of immersive storytelling.”

VRFocus will continue to bring you news on developments within the VR industry.