Category: This Week In VR Sport

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This Week In VR Sport: VR ESports In China And Australia While Its All About Football At Home

Every week VRFocus brings you a number of sports and eSports related virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) stories as part of This Week In VR Sport. This week, HTC Vive and McLaren launch their Motorsports eSports series at ChinaJoy 2018, Australia is seeing a raise in the number of VR eSports fan and Cherry Pop Games release a new update and demo for their popular title Football Nation VR.

HTC Vive and McLaren Launch Their eSports Series In China

Back in July it was announced that HTC Vive would be partnering with McLaren to put on an eSports series. Now, the first VR Motorsports eSports Competition hosted by the two companies has taken place in China alongside a new Vive Focus system update as part of ChinaJoy 2018.

Known as the McLaren Shadow Project, the competition sees participants complete in a racing videogame that shadows the real F1 team, using the Vive Pro headset, in time trial-based races. The player who is able to earn the faster time will win a place in the finals which are set to take place in January, 2019. The overall winner of the program will win a seat in McLaren’s new eSports team , an opportunity to join the McLaren eSports development programme and a unique motorsport experience.

“Already, the dramatic impact of XR on the gaming industry is transformational, which is clearly demonstrated by the new class of immersive content we are showing at ChinaJoy!” Explained Alvin Wang Graylin, China President, HTC, talking to europeangaming: “As a category, eSports is being redefined by immersive technologies, and this cooperation between HTC Vive and McLaren to hold the world’s first official VR motorsport eSport event this week is bringing the worlds of virtual and physical sports closer together than ever.”

Graylin took to Twitter to share a number of images from the competition which can be seen below. As the competition continues ahead of the finals in a few months, VRFocus will be sure to bring you all the latest.

Australians Are Embracing VR eSports

Next Tier eSports

Australia is seeing an increasing number of people join in the eSports scene as the sport becomes more popular across the country. According to IoTHub, this movement is being helped by Next Tier Esports who have helped run events at two of the biggest gaming  conventions in the Northern Territory: Geekfest and Gecon. Not only does this mean a number of PC and console gaming areas are installed at the events but also VR setups.

Geekfest – operated by the City of Palmerston Council – expected 100 attendees in 2017, but ended up with over 700. The team at Next Teir Esports were on hand to help provide attendees with a means to play and become introduced to the concept of eSports including some VR titles. In 2018, Geekfest attracted over 1,500 attendees and the numbers are only set to raise.

Though other companies are helping to bring eSports into the lime light, including Flaktest Gaming and Throwdown Esports, it is Next Tier Esports who are looking to bring VR into the mix. With an ever growing eSports presences, VR is making waves that will not only see it offering exciting opportunities for players to engage in competitive play, but also as a great entertainment resource for consumers.

Football Nation VR Releases Free Demo On PlayStation VR

Football Nation VR 2018

Lastly this week, and in case you missed it, the fun and excitement of the 2018 World Cup can continue forever as Cherry Pop Games announced that their Football Nation VR videogame got a new update alongside the release of a demo. This means that PlayStation VR owners can download the demo and get stuck into the football action before picking up the full title.

The update that was released alongside it includes a bunch of new features such as a new striker mode, allowing players to try out penalty shoot outs in head-to-head online or offline fun. New custom teams, selectable AI difficulty, updates controls, new face to ball/goal button directing player goal orientation and an updated replay system.

“Our latest content update will fill the undeniable void left by the World Cup, one of our main focuses has been to improve the players experience, it was clear to us that the player wanted more memorable footballing moments – giving players the chance to be the star player and in doing this giving you more time on the ball,” commented Gemma Jessop, Cherry Pop Games, in a statement. “This is just one one in a list of game optimisations provided in this update, including; further control improvements, varying AI difficulty levels and the launch of a free demo on PlayStation VR so you can now jump in online and play for your country for free. It’s a great introduction to the new game mechanics.”

The free demo – which includes the striker mode – is available to download now on PlayStation VR with the update coming to both Oculus Rift and HTC Vive later this month.

That is all for This Week In VR Sport. For more on immersive sport news keep reading VRFocus and remember to check back next week for another This Week In VR Sport.
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This Week In VR Sport: The Future Is VR

Time for another entry in This Week In VR Sport. Every week VRFocus brings you a number of sports and eSports related virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) stories. This past week has seen the announcement of Ronaldinho’s own VR eSports league and cryptocurrency. The Pro Football Hall of Fame gains a new VR attraction and children dominate in tournament for MLB Home Run Derby VR.

Pro Football Hall Of Fame Adds New VR Attraction

Football Hall of Fame

The Pro Football Hall of Fame has added a VR tool for quarterbacks, QBSIM, at its museum in Canton, Ohio, in advance of the Class of 2018 induction ceremonies taking place on August 4th, 2018.

Former Denver Broncos general manager Ted Sundquist and his company Sports Virtual Training Systems (VTS), created the system to run wirelessly on an Oculus headset and take advantage of a tracker-laden football. Thanks to 10 years of NLF data and artificial intelligence, the team at Sports VTS have been able to build a number of VR training scenarios that offer an immersive and life-like experience.
It is reported that this is the first QBSIM to be installed outside of Sports VTS’ Colorado Springs headquarters and just in time for a key event of the year. With former NFL quarterbacks Jake Plummer and Jeff Garcia working on the project as advisers along with a number of scientific and technical consultants. Visitors to the Pro Football Hall of Fame will have the chance to try out QBSIM for themselves.

Ronaldinho Announces New eSports And Cryptocurrency Plan

Ronaldinho

Brazilian Football player Ronaldinho has announced an eSports plan which will feature the launch of his own cryptocurrency. The Ronaldinho Soccer Coin (RSC), developed in partnership with Malta-based startup World Soccer Coin, entered the initial coin offering (ICO) phase earlier this week with a total of 350 million RSCs available for sale. 

The project also sees the development of digital VR stadiums that will analyze players skills and compile a blockchain database with which to create new teams. This will form the base of the platform that will include a marketplace and betting, expanding the offering of the project and being provided by Chinese firm NEO. 

Stadiums will be developed in 300 locations around the global with facilities planned for countries in Africa, South East Asia, and the Middle East over the next three years. Stadiums in the Philippines, Vietnam, and Thailand will be operational in 2019 and an eSports tournament is planned to be held in Bangkok in July, 2019.

As the RSC, eSports league and VR technology starts rolling out, VRFocus will be sure to bring you all the latest.

Children Dominate At VR Tournament For MLB Home Run Derby VR

Finally this week, children have dominated the first-ever VR league for MLB Home Run Derby VR. Four children, all under the age of 12, reached the semifinals of the competition and were able to outlast the 3,000 people of all ages who competed as part of the league’s All-Star FanFest.

The tournament has been drawing a lot of attention not just in the number of people taking part but also on Twitch and social media. During the final round between nine-year-old Chuck Smolka and another nine-year-old, the peak concurrent viewership on Twitch surpassed 120,500 count. It was also the number one video acros the whole Twitch platform at the time and was even being watched more than the likes of Fortnite.

To power the tournament a special All-Star multi-player version of the MLB Home Run Derby VR title was developed and took advantage of HTC Vive headsets. Players had only 90 seconds to hit as many home runs as possible using a proprietary VR bat controller and swing to win this heated competition. As VR tournaments continue to become more popular, MLB’s Senior Vice President of Games and VR, Jamie Leece said: “The competition’s emotion captured the essence of true sportsmanship as opponents of all ages were cheering each other on and genuinely built an immediate connection and community amongst themselves.”

That is all for This Week In VR Sport. For more on immersive sport news keep reading VRFocus and remember to check back next week for another This Week In VR Sport.
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This Week In VR Sports: Tabletop Football And ESports Deals

Another weekend, another entry of This Week In VR Sport. Every week VRFocus brings you a number of sports and eSports related virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) stories. As the World Cup is soon to finish, why not look to the future of enjoying the sport as the University of Washington presents AR tabletop viewing. Team Gravity announce a sponsor for their VR eSports activities and IKINEMA collaborates with Globo for a unique AR broadcast.

University of Washington Use AR For Tabletop Football Viewing

Tabletop Football

Researches at the University of Washington, in partnership with Facebook and Google have released a new video and research paper that presents a future of what watching football in AR might look like. The system, which is best described as tabletop football, is an end-to-end system that creates a moving 3D reconstruction of a real match which can be enjoyed with a 3D viewer or on an AR compatible device such as HoloLens.

The system was achieved by training a convolutional neural network (CNN) with hours of virtual player data captured from EA’s FIFA videogames, which was able to provide the team behind the system with the data needed to ingest a single monocular YouTube video and output it in the result seen below.

The ten page research paper goes in depth on how the team at the University of Washington, Facebook, and Google were able to bring all the data and technology together for the end result. In theory, the system would allow viewers to watch a match, be it live or recorded, in a hybrid 2D/3D AR experience that could be enjoyed from any viewing angle. The prospect of a tabletop experience similar in vein to the recently announced Motorsport Manager Mobile 3 which is also leveraging AR technology to allow users to turn a surface into a playground.

You can see an example of the system below and read the research paper from the University of Washington here.

Broadband Provider JT Partners With Team Gravity For VR eSports

Team Gravity

VR is rapidly becoming a main player in the eSports scene and one team within the scene is Team Gravity who have recently announced that they have a sponsor in the form of broadband provider JT. The team have been competing in Echo Arena, which is a three-versus-three VR videogame, but have recently recruited a fourth member and are looking to expand into more titles in the future.

Competing on a weekly basis along with attending major eSports events, such as EL One in Hamburg and IEM Katowice in Poland, Team Gravity have seen success having recently finished first in the European Stage Finals of Echo Arena and is aiming for the World Finals as well.

“eGaming and eSports have been around for some time, but the addition of Virtual Reality takes it to a new level and is a growing global phenomenon.” Said Tim McGuinness, member of Team Gravity: “With VR, it is much more akin to playing a sport than a game; you need to train and you need to have the right mentality as you can play for up to three hours non-stop – it is a full body workout requiring great fitness, dexterity and skill.”

With the partnership, Team Gravity will be able to look in expanded the team with more members and attending more events in the future. VRFocus will be sure to bring you all the latest on the team in the future.

IKINEMA And Globo Collaborate For Unique AR World Cup Broadcast

Lastly this week, IKINEMA and Globo Collaborate for AR World Cup Heroes. This collaboration saw the blend of the real-world with he virtual one as AR characters came to life during a special broadcast on Brazilian TV. The experience was made possible thanks to IKINEMA’s LiveAction animation software which allowed presenters to interact with the live-streamed AR characters and offer a unique viewing experience.

“It’s extremely exciting working with Globo, together we are breaking new ground by bringing in new dimensions to live TV Broadcasting, and what better time to revolutionise than for the World Cup of Russia.” Said Alexandre Pechev, IKINEMA CEO: “The IKINEMA technologies are designed to drive innovative techniques and efficiency for our customers, whilst delivering consistently believable motion – trademarks our brand is recognised the world over.”

The technology could mean that the future of sports broadcasting will see more AR characters used to deliver unique reports for viewers. They could even be used to recreate key moments within a match, adding an extra layer of character and charm to the story as the cheerful AR characters play out the action. You can read more about the special broadcast and collaboration between IKINEMA and Globo here.

That is all for This Week In VR Sport. For more on immersive sport news keep reading VRFocus and remember to check back next week for another This Week In VR Sport.
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This Week In VR Sports: Augmented Sports Continues To Grow

It is once again time for another entry in This Week In VR Sport. Every week VRFocus brings you a number of sports and eSports related virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) stories. With the World Cup in full swing it is time to look elsewhere in the world of sports to see what is going on. Ncam technologies has joined the Sports Video Group to demonstration AR solutions to sports broadcasters, Snapchat lets you go up against Serena Williams and McLaren is taking on eSports.

Ncam Technologies Partner With The Sports Video Group

Ncam Technologies, a company aimed at delivering effective and reliable real-time AR solutions, has become a corporate sponsor of the Sports Video Group. The work of the Ncam Technologies has been used in the gamification of sports, product launches and digital product placement. Joining the Sports Video Group, they will be aiming to demonstration the possibilities of AR technology for use in sports broadcasters.

“With sports viewers expecting more and more out of every broadcast they watch, only SVG can expose us to the production professionals that can bring augmented-reality technologies into the homes of their audiences,” says Morgan Beall, VP, North America sales. “Sporting-event viewers always want more information, delivered in compelling and engaging ways. As part of the SVG community, we are excited to educate fellow members and demonstrate what is possible with AR today.”

Ncam Technologies recently developed and introduced at NAB 2018 AR solutions such as Real Depth, Real Light, and Extreme.

Take On Serena Williams In New Snapchat AR Expereince

Though it is all about the football at the minute as the world cup final rapidly approaches, there was some news for the tennis fans out there earlier this week. Thanks to the work of Snapchat and Bitmoji avatars, users can experience what it might be like to go up against Serena Williams in an AR tennis match.

Thanks to the 3D Bitmoji avatars, users can launch the tennis match of a lifetime and battle against the avatar of Serena Williams in a fun AR mini-game. Players will need to move, swing and smack the ball effectively if they are wanting to have a chance at coming out on top of this match.

“Starting today, everyone can play tennis against Serena Williams…on Snapchat,” tweeted John Brennan, head of global sports partnerships at Snap, Inc. “Tap on the front-facing camera to activate an interactive 3D Bitmoji Lens and see how many points you can score against the GOAT.”

This is the latest addition to Snapchat’s AR offerings as the company continue to embrace the technology and find new ways to bring it to consumers in a fun and engaging way. VRFocus will be sure to keep you up to date on all the latest from Snapchat in the future.

Formula 1 Team McLaren Partner With HTC Vive For eSports Series

Earlier this week it was announced that HTC Vive are partnering with McLaren for an eSports series called Shadow Project. The project is an expanded version of the ‘World’s Fastest Gamer’ event, which was held in 2017. The winner of Shadow Project will land a spot on McLaren’s new eSports racing team and have the chance to even become part of the world famous Formula 1 team as a simulation driver.

Shadow Project will expand the titles that are included within the lineup by bringing smartphone titles like Real Racing 3 next to the likes of Forza Motorsport, iRacing and rFactor 2. It will be owned by McLaren which offers an interesting branding and marketing opportunity for the company and for eSports as a whole. HTC Vive and Dell’s Alienware hardware solutions will offer a reliable base for the event to run on with partners such as Logitech G, Sparco, EA and Microsoft also having been involved at some point.

With VR-enabled racing titles now able to be brought into the event line up it offers a unique experience that will offer views and participation the chance to enjoy immersive titles within an eSports scene.

That is all for This Week In VR Sport. For more on immersive sport news keep reading VRFocus and remember to check back next week for another This Week In VR Sport.
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This Week In VR Sports: World Cup Developments And ESports Matches

As the events of the World Cup continue it is time for another entry of This Week In VR Sport. Every week VRFocus brings you a number of sports and eSports related virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) stories. Keeping to the theme of the beautiful game there are two stories on the World Cup this week including download numbers for the BBC World Cup VR App and a VR penalty kick experience. Elsewhere, the Onward Invitational eSports event has been continuing and a number of matches are now available to watch including one with the developers.

BBC World Cup VR App Downloaded Over 325K Times

BBC VR World Cup 2018

Getting to the topic of the FIFA World Cup 2018 right away, it has been revealed that the BBC World Cup VR app has been downloaded over 325,000 times. The app allows views to enjoy a wide range of content from the event in immersive VR and put themselves closer to the sport then ever before. The number of downloads, though tiny in comparison to non-VR viewing of the World Cup is still an impressive number on its own. It shows that there is a growing audience for the media even if there is still a long way to go.

All of the 33 World Cup games from the BBC, including the final, are to be available via the BBC Sport VR 2018 FIFA World Cup app. According to the figures, as reported by Broadcast, non-VR viewings of the World Cup have passed more than 40 million live and on-demand request for the BBC’s coverage across BBC Sport and BBC iPlayer.

It will be interesting to see if the number of downloads for the VR app continue to grow as the World Cup continues or if we have already hit the peak. VRFocus will be sure to let you know should the BBC reveal more data.

Onward Invitational Matches Available To Watch

As VR videogames continue to become more common in the eSport’s scene the VR League and ESL have been putting select titles into the limelight. Recently, during the Onward Invitational, eSport team Stack Up went head-to-head against the Onward development team, Downpour Interactive in a heated multiplayer match. Since it’s airing the whole match is available to watch YouTube and can be seen just above.

The other matches from the Onward Invitational are becoming avaiable to watch on the same YouTube channel as well with a number already up at the time of writing. This includes Mob Squad versus Globocherm,SMC Tactical versus Globochem and Mod Squad versus Beginners.

The Onward Invitational is ongoing so for all the latest from the VR League, keep reading VRFocus.

Test Your Penalty Shoot-Out Skills In New VR Experience

The Straits Times

Finally this week, another piece of World Cup goodness. If you have been thinking you could do a better job then some of the players when it comes to penalty kicks there is now a VR experience that will let you prove it. The Straits Times has created a lightweight VR penalty shoot-out challenge for fans of the World Cup and lets them pick from the 32 countries taking part and try to lead them to victory.

Needing to score the as many kicks as possible, players will start from the bottom and work their way up through the rounds until they are in the finals. As you progress so to do the other teams, with a performance comparison available at the end of the experience to see how they fared. The experience is designed for mobile devices but can also be enjoyed on a computer using a mouse. You can try it for yourself here.

That is all for This Week In VR Sport. For more on immersive sport news keep reading VRFocus and remember to check back next week for another This Week In VR Sport.
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This Week In VR Sports: It’s All About The Beautiful Game

With the weekend here  it is time for another entry of This Week In VR Sport. VRFocus brings you a number of sports related virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) stories every weekend and this time it is all about the football. Cherry Pop Games have released highlights from their virtual world cup, Coca-Cola teams up with Swiss Striker Shaqiri for an AR experience and Supponor are using VR and AR to display multiple adverts at stadiums.

Football Nation VR Release Highlights From Round 1 Of VR Football Nation Tournament

Football Nation VR by developer Cherry Pop Games announced back in May that they would be hosting a virtual world cup tournament in celebration of the actual world up that is currently taking place in Russia. Now that a number of matches have been played Cherry Pop Games have published some of the highlights from the exciting virtual matches. This includes the highlight video above from the match between Tunisia and England with a few more available to watch on the companies YouTube channel.

For those unaware, the first VR Football Nation Tournament is running until 21st July and will see one team taking the final spot as the world’s best virtual football team. Currently the tournament is still in round 1 until the 28th June at which point only 16 of the 32 teams will go forward to play off against eachother. This will then go down to 8 teams on 5th July, 4 teams on 12th July and the final match taking place on 21st July.

Football Nation VR, known formerly as VRFC: Virtual Reality Football Club, is available now for PlayStation VR, Oculus Rift and HTC Vive.

Coca-Cola Kicks-Off The World Cup With AR Installation Staring Swiss Striker Shaqiri

Those looking to take part in a unique, large-format AR experience in Switzerland can do so at Zürich’s main train station in partnership with Coca-Cola. The new installation is part of a campaign to celebrate the FIFA World Cup and the popular drinks continued support of football. Lucky fans will be able to experience firsthand what it’s like to play alongside Switzerland’s Xherdan Shaqiri on-screen.

Participants will be able to witness a show of skill from Shaqiri before being invited to get involved and play a few shots against the Swiss star. At the end of the experience the user is promoted to take a photo with the digital Shaqiri along with having the chance to enter a giveaway to win a FIFA World Cup official match ball.

The interactive AR campaign installation has been created by Top-Sport and market leading DOOH creative services film Grand Visual. You can see a video of the experience above to get an idea of how it plays out for those able to attend in person.

Supponor Deliver Targeted Advertising Thanks To Virtual Signage

Supponor

On site adverting at sports stadiums are seeing a transition from using static advertising on billboard to electronic displays, offering advertising more creative freedom with how to approach their audience. It was recently reported by Sportsvideo that the English Football Association’s partnership with augmented reality company Supponor would see the technology used during key matches.

The partnership was put to the test during the England warm-up match again Costa Rica in Leeds on June 7th, with Supponor having provided virtual signage insertions. Spectators at Elland Road saw different LED banner ads scrolling on the barriers around the field than those watching at home. Even viewers of the broadcast feed were subject to different ads depending on their location and the devices they were watching the match on.

The technology to virtual adjust the advertisements that viewers and spectators see all on the same surface/display not only increases the number of advertising opportunities, but also also for more targeted adverts.The technology and partnership with Supponor is expected to grow and be used further in the future which is sure to shape the way stadium advertising is used.

That is all for This Week In VR Sport. For more on immersive sport news keep reading VRFocus and remember to check back next week for another This Week In VR Sport.
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This Week In VR Sports: Coca-Cola Planes, eSports Dreams, And AR Games

As the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) 2018 comes to a close, it is time for another entry of This Week In VR Sport. VRFocus brings you a number of sports related virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) stories every weekend and this week, there are some goodies. Byond have created a virtual tour of the FIFA World Cup Trophy Tour by Coca-Cola, Sprint Vector and Oculus step up their eSports scene and ePlay Digital launch their Big Shot AR app into beta.

ByondXR Powers FIFA World Cup Trophy Tour by Coca-Cola Experience

FIFA World Cup Trophy Tour by Coca-Cola

ByondXR have recently launched a 360-degree tour of the official Coca-Cola/FIFA World Cup Trophy Tour. This immersive VR/AR experience is designed to give viewers an interactive fly through and an up-close-and-personal view of the Coca-Cola plane, which has embedded relevant media and social content found within.

The team are ByondXR have built the immersive experience, which is designed to be used high-end VR headsets such as the HTC Vive, to help promote the World Cup and offer viewers something they might not be use to. Though the FIFA World Cup Trophy Tour by Coca-Cola was taken to more than 50 countries ahead of the tournament in Russia, plenty of people would have missed out on it. This is why the experience is a perfect fit for VR/AR, allowing viewers that feeling of being that in person without even needing to leave their house.

“The core of this digital and social campaign has been to develop content and capabilities to help enable the storytelling across the entire FIFA World Cup campaign in new engaging ways,” said Eran Galil, CTO at ByondXR. “This experience allows us to do that all the way through to the final whistle.”

ByondXR uses the latest in advanced technology to empower brands, agencies and retailers to allow them to engage with their customers in exciting ways, using interactive AR/VR/360-degree experiences. Offering an immersive suite, companies can quickly deploy virtual stores and XR experiences across mobile, web and AR/VR headsets.

Sprint Vector Kick Off ESL Qualifiers

Sprint Vector coverart

Fast paced VR racing title Sprint Vector have announced the start of their ESL qualifiers for those looking to become a VR eSports star. Ever Friday throughout this month, ESL will be hosting an open online qualifier for Sprint Vector players around the world through Oculus Home and Steam.

There are reasons to care about this though, as the Oculus-sponsored VR League will feature over $2,000 (USD) in prize money from the online qualifiers and a share of $25,000 (USD) in the finals. Elsewhere, Community Cup champs will be given their own Oculus Rift and Oculus Touch setup and a chance to complete in the finals for $25,000 (USD) prize pool, which is available thorough Steam.

If you are looking to enter the VR League and Community Cups then you can do so via the official website.

VRFocus’ Senior Staff Writer Peter Graham reviewed Sprint Vector saying: “There’s very little to dislike in Sprint Vector. Sure there will be times when that competitive edge over takes you, getting annoyed when you fudge a jump but that’s to be expected. The single-player has enough to get you started with a few hours of gameplay, yet it’s the multiplayer that’ll have you coming back for more. Here’s hoping that Sprint Vector draws in enough of a crowd to sustain it, rather than becoming another multiplayer focused experience that gets forgotten about. Which would be a shame, because from where VRFocus is standing Sprint Vector is another hit for the studio.”

ePlay Digital Release Big Shot AR Into Beta

Big Shot AR

ePlay Digital announced back in early May their new AR sports app that would allow players a similar experience to that of Pokémon Go. The company have now announced that the beta for Big Shot Basketball would take place during the Las Vegas, 2018 NBA Summer League. This meant that those who attended the event, along with a few other select locations across North American, were able to try the mobile videogame out ahead of the 2018/2019 NBA season.

“This is going to be a big summer for ePlay and for augmented reality,” says Trevor Doerksen, CEO of ePlay Digital. “We are advancing the state-of-art for sports and mobile technology and look forward to seeing hundreds of thousands of fans of all ages enjoying the magic that our augmented reality platform creates.”

The company have been working with 7-time NBA champion, Robert Horry and a group of talented young basketball players in the run up to the launch of Big Shot AR by having them wear the titles logo throughout the summer. Though the beta launch has already happened earlier this week, there is still much work to be done to bring the title up to a full launch later this year.

Big Shot is of course a series of sports and entertainment titles that will feature AR, fantasy sports, eSports streaming, selfies, 3D, and other advanced mobile videogame features. ePlay Digital have compared the app to being the “Pokémon Go for sports”. The first of these titles is the aforementioned Big Shot Basketball app with future titles planned to be based on NFL, NHL, soccer, and MLB.

That is all for This Week In VR Sport. For more on immersive sport news keep reading VRFocus and remember to check back next week for another This Week In VR Sport.
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This Week In VR Sports: Coca-Cola Planes, eSports Dreams, And AR Games

As the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) 2018 comes to a close, it is time for another entry of This Week In VR Sport. VRFocus brings you a number of sports related virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) stories every weekend and this week, there are some goodies. Byond have created a virtual tour of the FIFA World Cup Trophy Tour by Coca-Cola, Sprint Vector and Oculus step up their eSports scene and ePlay Digital launch their Big Shot AR app into beta.

ByondXR Powers FIFA World Cup Trophy Tour by Coca-Cola Experience

FIFA World Cup Trophy Tour by Coca-Cola

ByondXR have recently launched a 360-degree tour of the official Coca-Cola/FIFA World Cup Trophy Tour. This immersive VR/AR experience is designed to give viewers an interactive fly through and an up-close-and-personal view of the Coca-Cola plane, which has embedded relevant media and social content found within.

The team are ByondXR have built the immersive experience, which is designed to be used high-end VR headsets such as the HTC Vive, to help promote the World Cup and offer viewers something they might not be use to. Though the FIFA World Cup Trophy Tour by Coca-Cola was taken to more than 50 countries ahead of the tournament in Russia, plenty of people would have missed out on it. This is why the experience is a perfect fit for VR/AR, allowing viewers that feeling of being that in person without even needing to leave their house.

“The core of this digital and social campaign has been to develop content and capabilities to help enable the storytelling across the entire FIFA World Cup campaign in new engaging ways,” said Eran Galil, CTO at ByondXR. “This experience allows us to do that all the way through to the final whistle.”

ByondXR uses the latest in advanced technology to empower brands, agencies and retailers to allow them to engage with their customers in exciting ways, using interactive AR/VR/360-degree experiences. Offering an immersive suite, companies can quickly deploy virtual stores and XR experiences across mobile, web and AR/VR headsets.

Sprint Vector Kick Off ESL Qualifiers

Sprint Vector coverart

Fast paced VR racing title Sprint Vector have announced the start of their ESL qualifiers for those looking to become a VR eSports star. Ever Friday throughout this month, ESL will be hosting an open online qualifier for Sprint Vector players around the world through Oculus Home and Steam.

There are reasons to care about this though, as the Oculus-sponsored VR League will feature over $2,000 (USD) in prize money from the online qualifiers and a share of $25,000 (USD) in the finals. Elsewhere, Community Cup champs will be given their own Oculus Rift and Oculus Touch setup and a chance to complete in the finals for $25,000 (USD) prize pool, which is available thorough Steam.

If you are looking to enter the VR League and Community Cups then you can do so via the official website.

VRFocus’ Senior Staff Writer Peter Graham reviewed Sprint Vector saying: “There’s very little to dislike in Sprint Vector. Sure there will be times when that competitive edge over takes you, getting annoyed when you fudge a jump but that’s to be expected. The single-player has enough to get you started with a few hours of gameplay, yet it’s the multiplayer that’ll have you coming back for more. Here’s hoping that Sprint Vector draws in enough of a crowd to sustain it, rather than becoming another multiplayer focused experience that gets forgotten about. Which would be a shame, because from where VRFocus is standing Sprint Vector is another hit for the studio.”

ePlay Digital Release Big Shot AR Into Beta

Big Shot AR

ePlay Digital announced back in early May their new AR sports app that would allow players a similar experience to that of Pokémon Go. The company have now announced that the beta for Big Shot Basketball would take place during the Las Vegas, 2018 NBA Summer League. This meant that those who attended the event, along with a few other select locations across North American, were able to try the mobile videogame out ahead of the 2018/2019 NBA season.

“This is going to be a big summer for ePlay and for augmented reality,” says Trevor Doerksen, CEO of ePlay Digital. “We are advancing the state-of-art for sports and mobile technology and look forward to seeing hundreds of thousands of fans of all ages enjoying the magic that our augmented reality platform creates.”

The company have been working with 7-time NBA champion, Robert Horry and a group of talented young basketball players in the run up to the launch of Big Shot AR by having them wear the titles logo throughout the summer. Though the beta launch has already happened earlier this week, there is still much work to be done to bring the title up to a full launch later this year.

Big Shot is of course a series of sports and entertainment titles that will feature AR, fantasy sports, eSports streaming, selfies, 3D, and other advanced mobile videogame features. ePlay Digital have compared the app to being the “Pokémon Go for sports”. The first of these titles is the aforementioned Big Shot Basketball app with future titles planned to be based on NFL, NHL, soccer, and MLB.

That is all for This Week In VR Sport. For more on immersive sport news keep reading VRFocus and remember to check back next week for another This Week In VR Sport.
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This Week In VR Sports: Virtual Data Offers New Opportunities

It’s time for another entry of This Week In VR Sport as one again VRFocus brings you a number of sports related virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) stories. This week there is a theme of data being used to drive new experiences with Formula E and Virtually Live offering the chance to race against drives in real-time. FOX Sports reveal their Fifa World Cup VR offering and Beyond Sports announces the end of a successful seed funding round.

FOX Sports Unveils VR Options for 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia

FOXS SportsAhead of the upcoming Fifa World Cup in Russia, FOX Sports have revealed a number of different options for viewers to enjoy all the coverage of the event. With 64 matches to enjoy over the event period, there will be plenty to watch and enjoy. Across the FOX Sports App and FOXSports.com, the ‘World Cup Everywhere’ will be the main focus on Match Center, Highlight Machine and Team Channels. For fans of VR though, FOX Sports will be making all 64 matches available in multi-angle, social VR.

Introduced at last season’s Concacaf Gold Cup, FOX Sports will once again team up with LiveLike on bringing a social VR offering to viewers. This includes custom suites and three immersive, multi-angle VR feeds from each of the 64 matches.

FOX Sports’ Highlight Machine, presented by Adidas, will deliver all the highlights to viewers with a one-of-a-kind technology ensuring viewers get the best highlights from each match. By leveraging cognitive highlight and artificial intelligence (AI), users will be able to create their own highlight reel by year, team, player, matches or play type, with the ability to share the highlight to social media.

Elsewhere, viewers will be able to enjoy coverage of matches both before and after each match, views of matches from a ‘tactical view’ camera position high above one of the goals, a birds eye view of matches and around 448 additional hours of coverage across the length of the event on a number of FOX Sports platforms.

Beyond Sports Closes Seed Round Investment

Beyond Sports

Dutch based AI and visualization company, Beyond Sports, which offers VR, AR and MR products to the sports sector announced earlier this week that it had secured $2.36 million (USD) in seed round financing. Driven by their passion for sports and science, the company works to offer solution that use real match data to create virtual simulations of real sports matches, allowing viewing from any perspective, including a players point of view. The technology is designed for use by athletes, coaches, and clubs for training and review purposes with broadcasters able to leverage the technology to offer immersive experiences for fans.

The funding was leg by industry investors including David Blitzer, Seth Bernstein, Alan Goldfarb, Art Wrubel, Eric Aroesty, Scott Krase, Joshua Press and Matt Harris as well as Triple IT, a Dutch based technology company. The money will be used by Beyond Sports to grow its product development team and expand into additional sports and the healthcare markets, primarily within North America.

‘‘Our proprietary visualization engine has been successful in bringing cognition mapping, tactical training and immersive experiences to the forefront of the sports industry. Clubs, leagues, broadcasters and fans are benefitting from player tracking data in unique ways through our VR and AR based solutions” says Jeffrey Saunders, CEO of Beyond Sports.

As Beyond Sports bring to grow their business and expand their product, VRFocus will be sure to bring you all the latest.

Complete Against Drivers In Real-Time Thanks To Formula E And Virtually Live

Formula E Ghost Racing

The ABB FIA Formula E Championship has announced a partnership with Virtually Live to create a world’s first in eSports by offering fans a chance to race against Formula E drivers in real-time. This opportunity is being made possible thanks to a new ground-breaking live ghost racing application which will be able available across multiple platforms, start with mobile and PC, with full VR integration coming in the future.

By using cutting-edge telemetry and Virtually Live’s proprietary technology platform, allowing a race to be recreated digitally in real-time. The action mirrors the position and order on the track precisely, with options available for fans to clip and share their experiences, achievements and near-misses on social media. This also means they can post their times after a race and claim fame and glory in the ghost racing scene. The new experience allows fans the chance to live the thrill of the race while competing against their favourite drivers.

Markus Tellenbach, CEO of Virtually Live, said: “Having partnered with the ABB FIA Formula E Championship since season two, providing CGI content of races to the world feed and to fans on the VR App Stores – we’re delighted to have signed a strategic long-term partnership with Formula E to provide the world’s first live ghost racing app. Combining the worlds of exciting street racing and gaming, with our innovative immersive technology, Virtually Live and Formula E are defining a new era in esports and engaging and building the fan base. The ghost racing app will allow fans to consume Formula E throughout the year on multiple platforms and share their experiences on social media. We therefore look forward to seeing fans of all abilities – whether a casual gamer on their mobile to an ambitious driver in VR – pitting their skills against the Formula E drivers and their friends. We would like to thank the FIA and Magneti Marelli for their assistance and vision in supporting the partnership.”

You can sign up to be one of the first to play this new title over on the Formula E website and in the meantime you can see it in action in the below video.

That is all for This Week In VR Sport. For more on immersive sport news keep reading VRFocus and remember to check back next week for another This Week In VR Sport.
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This Week In VR Sports: Higher Resolutions All Around

VRFocus is back once again to bring you another entry of This Week In VR Sport. With a number of sports related virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) stories, this week has a theme of looking to the future at bigger, better and more immersive quality content. The BBC reveal their plans to provide Ultra HD and VR coverage of the Fifa World Cup 2018, UAE deliver the first real-time, 360-degree VR broadcast and NextVR release a new high-resolution format alongside highlights from the NBA Finals.

BBC To Show World Cup 2018 In Ultra HD & VR

BBC VR World Cup 2018

Ahead of the upcoming Fifa World Cup 2018 in Russia, BBC Sport have announced that they will be able to enjoy the event in Ultra HD and VR in new trials of the technology. This will include a fully immersive stadium experience which will be put the viewer into their own hospitality box thanks to the power of head-mounted displays (HMDs). All 33 matches that will be broadcast by the BBC will be available to watch for free on the BBC Sport’s VR 2018 World Cup application. 29 of those matches will be shown on BBC One in Ultra HD as well.

The Ultra HD experience will be access through a high-speed internet connection and will be made available on a first-come, first-served basis. The HD stream will be available to watch from BBC iPlayer as soon as programme coverage beings but users will be limited to “tens of thousands of people”. Those wanting to have the optimum viewing experience are encouraged to have a 40 megabit per second (Mbps) internet connection.

Matthew Postgate, BBC chief technology & product officer, said: “From the very first tournament on TV in 1954 and England’s finest hour in 1966, to the first colour World Cup in 1970 and then full HD in 2006, the BBC has brought major live broadcasting breakthroughs to UK audiences throughout the history of the World Cup. Now, with these trials we’re giving audiences yet another taste of the future.”

The VR app will be made available in the coming weeks for iOS and Android devices along with a release on Samsung Gear VR, Oculus Go and PlayStation VR.

UAE Creates History With Live VR Telecast Of Football

Arabian Gulf League

By taking advantage of the latest technology and a dedicated 600 Mbps connection, video feeds from camera rigs of up to five cameras were captured and stitched together into one single 360-degree video in real time, being distributed to viewers with low-latency. This achievement was made possible by Spanish broadcaster and producer Mediapro, UAE telco Etisalat and, most importantly, the UAE Pro League Committee (PLC) and premiered at the final of the UAE Arabian Gulf Cup at Hazza bin Zayed Stadium in Al Ain.

Viewer were able to download the Etisalat’s AGL VR Seat Experience app, which is available on both iOS and Android, and immersive themselves in a virtual VIP seat where they were able to take in the full excitement of the match. The broadcast of course required a lot of planning and work on the day to ensue that the five camera wre stitched together into a single 360-degree video in real time.

Ammar Hina, TV Broadcast and Production Director at PLC, recalls: “We at PLC launched our strategy two seasons ago. Part of this strategy was to work more intensively on technology to redefine the audience experience of live football. The idea for broadcasting in VR also came two seasons ago.”

The project started back in 2017 were the team was tasked with designing the workflow to allow for this broadcast to take place. One of the biggest roadblocks for the event was the bandwidth required. For the VR requirement and the multiple camera rigs that were being used a strong connection was needed. The end result was a dedicated connection with a minimum of 600 Mbps that was offered by Etisalat, a long-time partner of PLC.

Humaid Sahoo, CEO of E-Vision, the broadcasting arm of Etisalat, said: “We are delighted to partner with the Pro League Committee to unveil the region’s first virtual reality app to broadcast live football matches, enabling our consumers to experience the thrill of the games from the comfort of their homes.”

The premiere of this solution was a success and the parties plan to use it more in the future. VRFocus will be sure to bring you all the latest on this story as it develops.

NextVR and NBA Digital To Feature The 2018 NBA Finals

NextVR NBA FInals

Lastly this week, NBA Digital and NextVR will give fans a chance to see the highlights of the 2018 NBA Finals featuring the Golden State Warriors vs. the Cleveland Cavaliers for free, available on-demand in VR. Alongside this, NextVR are also making a new high-resolution format publicly available that will deliver the most realistic and immersive VR experience to date.

The day following each game of the Finals, fans will be able to access the highlights in the NBA Finals channel within the NextVR application and see the key moments from the games in stunning VR. The new high-resolution format will deliver increased resolution and sharpness to head-mounted displays on all existing VR platforms, with higher-end displays such as the HTC Vive Pro realizing the most dramatic impact for fans’ viewing pleasure.

“Improving fidelity and realism is critical for the success of virtual reality media. This upgraded format adds detail, sharpness and enhanced 3D depth to our broadcasts, greatly increasing realism and overall sense of presence,” said David Cole, NextVR co-founder and CEO. “While all users will see an immediate improvement, this only scratches the surface of the capabilities of this format and our technology platform. More advanced headsets slated to ship in the future will take even greater advantage of this new VR broadcast technology.”

Fans using the NextVR app on headsets such as the HTC Vive Pro and Samsung Odyssey will be able to enjoy the most visually stunning VR experience to date, with other platforms seeing a range of benefits from the new high-resolution format. The NextVR app is available now on Oculus Go, PlayStation VR, HTC Vive, HTC Vive Pro, Windows Mixed Reality, Samsung Gear VR, and Google Daydream.

That is all for This Week In VR Sport. For more on immersive sport news keep reading VRFocus and remember to check back next week for another This Week In VR Sport.