Post Malone to Hold ‘Twelve Carat Toothache’ Concert in VR Next Week

Meta is kicking off a summer-long series of VR concerts and community activities called Horizon Block Party next week. Headlining the event is nine-time Grammy-nominated artist Post Malone, who is holding a prerecorded virtual concert on July 15th.

The Post Malone concert, which will feature tracks from his latest studio album Twelve Carat Toothache, is slated to last 40 minutes and will also feature The Kid Laroi, Fleet Foxes, and Roddy Ricch during the event.

The event will be held in both Venues and Horizon Worlds, and will loop three times on July 15th starting at 6:00 pm PT (local time here). It’s open to 18+ Quest 2 owners in the US, Canada, and UK.

If you can’t make it to the July 15th showings, Quest 2 users can also find it in the ‘Always On’ room in Venues in Horizon Worlds or on Oculus TV, where it’ll be available until September 30th. For non-VR users, a 2D version will be broadcasted on Facebook Watch through both Meta’s and Post Malone’s Facebook pages, as well as on Messenger and Instagram via Watch Together.

Unlike some VR concerts in the past, which heavily skewed to virtualizations of the artist,  the upcoming Post Malone set is slated to include a mix of practical effects and camera framing tailored for 180 display. Meta calls the 8K performance “the highest resolution and fidelity for a musical performance on the platform to date and the first major tentpole event in Horizon Worlds.”

“I’m pumped for the fans to have this VR experience of Twelve Carat Toothache,” Post Malone say in a Meta blog post. “We put so much work into this to make it as incredible as possible. Thank you to everyone who helped bring this to life.”

You can signup here to RSVP, which will also give you a push reminder when the event is about to start.

Meta Quest Gaming Showcase Returns April 20th – New Game Announcements, Updates & More

Meta announced it’s returning this year with another installment of its Quest Gaming Showcase, which means we’ll soon be getting our annual download on upcoming Quest games and updates coming this year.

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg today announced the second annual Meta Quest Gaming Showcase, which is slated to take place on April 20th at 10am PT (local time here).

Meta says we can expect new game announcements, gameplay first-looks, updates on games coming in the next year, and “a whole lot of surprises.”

Ruth Bram, Executive Producer at Oculus Studios, will be returning to present the show this year.

Last year’s showcase, which was previously called the Oculus Gaming Showcase, was mostly centered on updates to platform favorites such as Pistol Whip, The Climb, The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners, and revealed footage of I Expect You To Die 2, Resident Evil 4, and Lone Echo II.

We’re hoping this year’s show focuses more on wholly new games. You can follow along with us on April 20th by watching the showcase via Twitch, Facebook, YouTube, and Oculus TV.

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Sony Hosting an Official ‘Sword Art Online’ Exhibition in VR Through March 10th

Sony is hosting an official Sword Art Online fan exhibition in VR from today through March 10th. The event drops players into a familiar setting to celebrate the iconic anime with interactive exhibits, immersive clips from the show, and even a live performance.

Sword Art Online is easily one of the most popular anime ever to be based on virtual reality. In the show characters don so-called ‘full-dive’ VR headsets to join a VR MMORPG. But what they thought was just a fun game turns out to be a life or death struggle when they learn they have no way to log and if they die in the game then they will also die in real life.

First aired in 2012, the fictional events of the show were set in the year 2022. Here we are now, finally in 2022 for real; and while we still don’t have full-dive headsets, Sony felt the year warranted a proper VR celebration of the anime which has become one of the most iconic pieces of virtual reality media in the last decade.

Starting today and running through March 10th, Sword Art Online: EX-CHRONICLE – Online Edition is a virtual fan event hosted by Sony with cooperation from the official SAO-P Project.

The event is free-to-play, but about two-thirds of the content can only be accessed by ticket holders. Tickets to the event are priced at about $33 (¥3,800). Though it can be attended through mobile devices and non-VR too, the creators say the event is designed primarily with VR in mind.

Sony & Sony Music Group collaborated through an internal VR development group called Project Lindbergh on a custom-built app for Sword Art Online: Ex-Chronicle which works with SteamVR headsets (sorry PSVR players). The company is pitching the event as the ultimate Sword Art Online fan experience.

Image courtesy Sony

Inside the app, players will find themselves in instances of up to 20 participants exploring the exhibition which is set in venues inspired by familiar Sword Art Online scenes, like the ‘Town of Beginnings’, ‘Aincrad’, ‘Ocean Turtle’, a Rath research lab, and an interactive ‘boss battle’. You can see a breakdown of each exhibit here.

Image courtesy Sony

There will also be a “unique live performance” by artist ReoNa, the voice of several theme songs from Sword Art Online: Alicization, the third season of the show. The performance will be held for ticket holders on March 5th at 9PM PT (your timezone here). Sony says it’s using motion capture to bring ReoNa virtually into the venue for the performance.

Image courtesy Sony

Sony will also be selling unique Sword Art Online merchandise which appears to be limited to sale during the event. In addition to physical goods like posters and shirts, the event is also selling the digital avatars featured in the exhibition, giving users the ability to use them outside of the event.

3D models of the avatars used in Sword Art Online: Ex-Chronicle are being sold for use elsewhere

If you’re interested in checking out the event in VR or non-VR, see the ‘How to Play’ page for detailsSword Art Online: EX-Chronicle – Online Edition is officially available in Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Macau, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, United Kingdom, and the United States.

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Foo Fighters to Play Concert in VR for Free After the Super Bowl

On February 13th—right after the Super Bowl ends—American rock band Foo Fighters is putting on a special VR concert that promises to put Quest users in the front row.

Meta says in the announcement that the concert features multiple 180-degree cameras positioned around a custom-built stage, which will include practical effects, lighting programs, and “XR elements blended into the concert scene.”

Organizers call the Foo Fighters VR concert “a performance that shows the surreal convergence of the physical and virtual—and it promises to be unlike any show previously hosted on the Meta Quest Platform.”

The concert is being directed by music video and film veteran Mark Romanek, who is known for having directed for a host of musical talent over the years including Johnny Cash, Nine Inch Nails, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Madonna, and Taylor Swift.

“Foo Fighters love a challenge—from playing the biggest stages in the world to the tiniest clubs to making movies and miniseries… We’ve pretty much done it all,” says Foo Fighters founder and frontman Dave Grohl. “But we’ve never collaborated with Mark Romanek on a conceptual set of songs (including one being played live for the first time ever) for a worldwide audience, where everyone has the best seats in the house thanks to the most badass VR tech… until now. Join us when we cross that one off the FF bucket list!”

The free show is scheduled to take place in Horizon Venues on February 13th at 8PM PT (local time here), or directly after the Super Bowl ends. You can sign up a reminder here when it kicks off.

Alternatively, you catch the performance over the next month via an Always On room in Horizon Venues or on Oculus TV. And if you don’t have a headset, the concert will be available via Facebook Watch on both the Foo Fighters and Meta Quest Facebook Pages, Foo Fighters’ Instagram, and Messenger via Watch Together.

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How to Watch the 2022 Winter Olympics in VR

The 2022 Winter Olympics kicked off last Friday in Beijing, but did you know you can catch all of the action from the comfort of you VR headset? We’ve rounded up three sure-fire ways to get your head in the games.

NBC Olympics VR by Xfinity (Quest)

Comcast and NBCUniversal have launched an NBC Olympics VR by Xfinity app for Quest, which includes a host of 180-degree video from the games’ opening ceremony and select events, such as alpine skiing, hockey, bobsled and speed skating. Here’s a peek at what to expect in-app:

In all, the app promises over 150 hours of immersive 8K coverage which you can view with up to three other Quest or Quest 2 users for a social viewing party. There’s also a schedule and medal count available so you can keep track of everything that’s going on.

The catch: only US-based users can watch, and have to authenticate a paid TV service, be it cable, dish, or Internet TV like YouTube TV or Hulu.

Download ‘NBC Olympics App’ on Quest

Web Browser (SteamVR, Quest)

If you’re outside of the US or don’t own a Meta Quest, you’re a bit boned when it comes to immersive coverage of the Winter Olympics this year. Still, you can watch from the comfort of most headsets by using a web browser.

For Quest, you can use the built-in Oculus Browser, or download Firefox Reality if you’re already a Firefox users and want to keep your tabs synced between devices. These offer good viewing experiences of standard streaming video, which you can stretch to the size of a movie screen. Your regional provider most likely has a website dedicated to livestreaming Winter Olympics coverage, so that’s your best bet.

On PC VR headsets, you can use a host of methods for mirroring your monitor to your headset. You can user Bigscreen (more on that below), VR Desktop, or Steam’s native desktop window mirror option. I personally like Bigscreen because it’s free, can be set to private mode so you don’t need to be social, and has a bunch of immersive theater environments to choose from.

Bigscreen (SteamVR, Quest)

When it doubt, Bigscreen saves the day for all of your video streaming needs. Since public viewing rooms oftentimes feature popular events, you won’t have any trouble finding a few people sitting down to catch almost any event of this year’s Winter Olympics.

Granted, we’re talking about standard video streams here (not immersive video), but you may find it more exciting to watch alongside fans from around the world.

The good news is you won’t need to sign in to any service besides Bigscreen since you’re essentially just watching someone else’s steam—like hanging out at a friend’s house. It’s also free, and offers the highest-quality video viewing experiences we’ve seen in VR. And if people annoy you, just mute or hide them entirely for a worry free viewing experience.

Download ‘Bigscreen’ on Quest

Download ‘Bigscreen’ on SteamVR

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Are you watching the Winter Olympics in VR this year? Let us know how in the comments section below!

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HTC is Holding a Vive Product Event Just Ahead of Facebook Connect

HTC is gearing up to hold what seems to be a new product unveiling on October 14th, or just ahead of Facebook Connect on the 28th of that month. The company says we’ll be hearing about some “big news in a small package.”

HTC announced the event on Twitter, saying it will take place on October 14th at 11 AM ET (local time here) in the company’s online event space, which is hosted by social VR platform Engage.

There’s still little indication what it might be, although we have some ideas. In February 2020, the company showed off a concept XR headset called Vive Proton, which was touted as a small form-factor device in the making, albeit in its early stages.

Image courtesy HTC

Presented in two flavors—a standalone model and a tethered model—it was suggested at the time that Vive Proton achieved its small form-factor via ‘pancake’-style optics, or the type we saw in the compact Pico VR Glasses prototype at CES 2020 right before in-person events were cancelled. Maybe a more refined version of the goggles fits into that thermos-looking thing as a protective charging case?

The company’s RSVP form for the event and tweet above also features a graphic with what appears to be the outside faceplate of Proton, although that may just be wishful thinking.

Image courtesy HTC

The graphic’s headline ‘Go with the Flow’ may hold a more concrete clue, as a new HTC trademark for a product called ‘VIVE FLOW’ was filed on August 26th, 2021, which refers to a “[h]ead mounted display for computer simulated reality, namely virtual reality, augmented reality and mixed reality.”

In any case, it’s a pretty safe bet that whatever HTC unveils it will be squarely targeted at prosumers and businesses, although we’re always happy to be wrong. There’s really only one way to find out though, and that’s to tune in on October 14th and see what HTC has in store.

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Here’s a Look at Tokyo Game Show’s Virtual Venue for Quest & PC VR

Like pretty much all big shows in 2020, the Tokyo Game Show (TGS) gaming expo was basically cancelled last year, instead offering up online coverage to bridge the gap. Although the show will be missing a physical component again this year, in addition to online coverage TGS 2021 is tossing out a virtual event for VR headset users that could be new territory for a show of its size.

TGS says the new VR venue was built in commemoration of the 25th anniversary of the show, promising visitors with “new surprises” within the self-professed “grand experiment.”

On the official TGSVR website, organizers say details will be revealed before the September 30th kickoff date, however in the Japanese language press video they gave a brief look at the venue. A large ring features discrete bits of different games and booths featuring video game characters. Check out some of the visuals from the video below (Japanese):

In the video (via translated closed captions), organizers say the venue will have three major areas, including urban, digital, and a ‘wild’ area which house 22 different booths. It will also have a social component so you can explore with friends and interact with game characters at each booth, organizers say.

The VR component will be open the general public and will be available natively on the Oculus Quest platform, SteamVR headsets, and PC/Mac for a flatscreen experience at some point. Once live on September 30th, it’s slated to be available on those platforms until October 3rd.

Here’s a look at the specs you’ll need if you’re looking to join in via PC VR headsets:

Image courtesy Tokyo Game Show

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HTC Teases Reveal of “game-changing VR headsets” at VIVECON

You can now register for HTC’s upcoming VIVECON event. The free, online event will be held May 11th & 12th, and the company is promising to reveal “game-changing VR headsets,” (yes that’s plural headsets), alongside presentations from “industry experts, strategic partners, and special guests.”

HTC has been teasing an upcoming VR headset over the last month, and has now confirmed it will be revealed during next month’s Vivecon event. Interestingly, it seems the company may even reveal more than one headset, based on the description provided on the Vivecon website.

Keynote Event: We debut what’s new. Take a front-row seat at the VR event of the year as HTC VIVE unveils game-changing VR headsets, software, and platforms to take your experience to another level.

While the full schedule hasn’t yet been posted, it appears that the keynote will happen on May 11th at 9AM PT (see your timezone here). Registration for the free event is available now; HTC says it will email registrants additional details (likely the full event schedule and where to watch) closer to the event.

Little is known so far about what headset the company will reveal, save for some teasing photos that HTC shared earlier this month:

Some additional teasing, like the company tweeting “let’s get down to business” alongside one of the photos, suggest that the headset may be enterprise focused.

In early 2020 HTC revealed Vive Proton, a prototype compact standalone VR headset. However, we’ve heard little about Proton since then, and the designs revealed don’t seem to bear much resemblance to the newer teaser photos. Granted, it’s likely that the Proton designs could have significantly changed given that we’re more than a year removed from the initial reveal.

Beyond the headset (headsets?) reveal, HTC indicates that the event will cover several categories of XR: collaboration, training, health, design, LBE / arts, and development.

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HTC Announces VIVEcon Event on May 11th & 12th, Teases Headset Reveal

Following subsequent teases of an unannounced Vive headset, HTC today announced an event called VIVEcon, set for May 11th & 12th. While there’s no details so far on what the event will entail, the company is clearly teasing the reveal of its new VR headset.

Following subsequent teases of a new headset, HTC today announced the “Vivecon 2021” event, but posted no additional details beyond the name, date, and a headset teaser, in a photo posted to the Vive twitter account.

Image courtesy HTC

While Vivecon is presumably some online event dedicated to HTC’s Vive VR business, it seems the company hasn’t released any information other than the name of the event and the dates.

The bottom half of the photo clearly looks to be the front of the VR headset the company began explicitly teasing last week, and it seems entirely logical that HTC plans to reveal the headset in full at the event.

HTC has previously held a regular event called the Vive Ecosystem Conference, though it isn’t clear if Vivecon is a rebranding of that event or something entirely new.

In early 2020 HTC revealed Vive Proton, a prototype compact standalone VR headset. However, we have heard little about Proton since then, and the designs revealed don’t seem to bear much resemblance to the teasers we’ve seen, unless there have been some significant changes (which is entirely likely given that we’re more than a year removed from the initial Proton reveal).

Whatever HTC has up its sleeve, it looks like we’ll be waiting until mid-May to find out.

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AWE 2021 Returns With In-person Conference Planned for November

With nearly all major XR events cancelled in 2020 due to the pandemic, it’s been a somewhat odd year for the industry. With vaccines starting to roll out in the US, AWE has set a hopeful November date as one of the first XR conferences to return to an in-person event—but offering a money-back guarantee in case things don’t pan out.

AWE is a long running XR-focused conference held annually in Santa Clara, CA. Like many other industry conferences, AWE 2020 had to be moved to an online event last May due to Coronavirus concerns.

With a hope that vaccines will be widespread by later this year, AWE is planning to return to an in-person conference from November 9th to 11th at the Santa Clara Convention Center. As in prior years, the conference primarily consists of speakers & sessions along with an expo hall with booths for demos & networking.

Backing the conference’s enthusiasm that the pandemic situation will allow for a safe in-person event by November is a handful of sponsors already signed on to support the event, including Nreal, Qualcomm, Unity, Meta, PlugXR, 8th Wall, Lenovo, Mad Gaze, Zappar, and others, along with some 80 exhibitors.

AWE says it has also expanded its refund policy, allowing full refunds up to 30 days before the event, or a 50% refund within 30 days of the event. The conference is offering discounted ‘Super Early Bird’ passes through March 31st, starting at $400.

As for running a safe conference, the event’s Health and Safety Guidelines page indicates that attendees will be screened for temperature and masks will be required “for all participants at all times,” among other measures. A vaccine requirement is not mentioned.

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