Wrestlemania XL weekend already has its first champion thanks to WWE 2K24
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WWE 2K24 review: the wrestling world gets its Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
With an excellent roster and refined modes across the board, WWE 2K24 is your new undisputed champion.
WWE 2K23 review: wrestling simulator continues its comeback story
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Pre-order WWE 2K23 now and play it 3 days before its release date
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This Week In VR Sport: NextVR Bring WWE To Viewers, VR Empowering Referees And Pizza Hut Join NFL
Every weekend 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, NextVR have released their highlights of the WWE Summer Slam 2018 for viewers to enjoy, football referees will soon be able to use VR to put themselfs into the shoes of the players and Pizza Hut team up with NFL for a number of promotions including packaging that features an AR videogame.
WWE Sumer Slam 2018 Highlights Come To NextVR App
NextVR, the entertainment platform that puts viewers closer then ever to the action has announced that their coverage of the WWE Summer Slam 2018 is now available to watch once again in the NextVR app. This VR experience gives fans a chance to be ringside to all the action and experience the thrill of each match like never before.
Now available in the app to re-watch whenever they want, fans will be able to enjoy highlights from select WWE Summer Slam 2018 matches and events and feel like they are in the ring themselves. The content can be enjoined on any NextVR compatible VR devices including Samsung Gear VR, Google Daydream, Windows Mixed Reality and PlayStation VR.
VR Could Soon Be Used By Referees To Step In Players Shoes In Football Matches
VR technology will transform the way referees oversee a football match as they will be able to put themselves into the players shoes. This is according to Dave Horrocks, a sports researcher and senior lecturer in football coaching and analytics at the University Campus of Football Business (UCFB) in Manchester, who notes that the improvements in the immersive technology and satellite tracking will see a more immersive VAR system for referees.
“In effect, it means referees will have the technology to virtually become a goalkeeper and face the corner that’s just happened on the pitch to truly see a particular incident of play from virtually any angle,” Horrocks explained talking to the Manchester Evening News.
The satellite VR system is already in use for players and is used to assess and review actions throughout training in order to improve performance on match days. By leveraging the satellite VR system, titled Mi Hiepa and a tracking system called Trac Ab, the new installment of the system would allow referees a chance to step into the players shoes and gain a better understanding of what unfold during a match.
“It will enable the referee to put himself in Neymar’s shoes and know, without any element of doubt, whether he has been kicked or fouled or not,” Horrocks said. “That means the decision he makes will not have any margin for error and will be as accurate as if he had been the player involved in the incident.”
The system is currently in development and still has a way to go but for now Horrocks is hopefully that it’s implementation will occur during the Premier League by next season or the season after.
Pizza Hut Gets AR Packaging As Part Of NFL Promotion
Earlier this week it was announced by Pizza Hut that they have become the official sponsor of the National Football League (NFL) and to mark the event, the food chain have launched a number of new programs including interactive AR packaging.
This new special edition packaging will be available in all US Pizza Hut locations during the American Football season and will allow consumers a chance to interact with it via a app for iOS or Android. Once the camera is aligned with the top of the pizza box players will be able to unlock the ‘Beanbag Blitz’ game that is a virtual variant on the game of Cornhole in which a team of two takes turns throwing beanbags through a cornhole board.
“Pizza has the power to bring sports fans together, and for years, Pizza Hut has served as a gameday centerpiece in living rooms across the country. Now, as the Official Pizza Sponsor of the NFL, we’re going to celebrate football fans all season long,” said Marianne Radley, Chief Brand Officer, Pizza Hut, U.S. “We look forward to kicking off the season with our new league and team partners to deliver fans incredible in-home experiences and quality pizza each gameday.”
This new AR experience is just one of many plans that Pizza Hut have for the NFL season which will also see prize giveaways and exclusive pizza deals planned to run over the season as well.
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.
A ‘Duke Nukem’ movie is actually in the works, and it could star John Cena
WWE star and master of stealth John Cena is reportedly in talks to star in a movie based on the Duke Nukem video game series. Duke Nukem has largely been on ice since Duke Nukem Forever released to negative reviews.
The post A ‘Duke Nukem’ movie is actually in the works, and it could star John Cena appeared first on Digital Trends.
This Week In VR Sport: NFL Clips, Wrestlemania and Sports Training in VR
Virtual reality (VR) touchdowns, sitting ringside at WWE and even training yourself to be the best lacrosse goalie possible, we have it all in this week’s round up of the world of VR sport. We always make sure to collate the best and most interesting sporting stories every week, so if you want to keep up to date with all of the latest, make sure to check back with VRFocus often. Just check below for the fascinating VR stories we have this week.
NFL Championship Game VR Broadcaster Rebranded as Maverick VR
NFL fans who access VR content might find that their favourite place to watch VR NFL clips has been rebranded. They’re still completely focused on bringing sporting content to VR fans, of course, they’re just doing it under a new name. Maverick VR, as the company is now named, has deals with sponsors such as Microsoft, Shell Oil and Red Bull, so they’re in it for the long haul.
“When we first started, we were focused on understanding and fine-tuning the amazing VR experiences that high-end VR equipment can provide for parties and events,” said Maverick VR co-founder Devin Regan. “As we’ve grown, we have refined our ability to customize and create branding opportunities within those VR experiences for our clients, and accordingly we’ve seen demand increase for our services from cities across the country. We are proud to have rebranded as Maverick VR as we expanded to providing customized VR activations for private events throughout the United States, and we look forward to wowing the crowd in Minneapolis for the 2018 NFL championship!”
Maverick VR are planning a few immersive NFL experiences that will be an unforgettable VR experience for customers and football fans.
WWE Highlights Coming to VR, Thanks to NextVR
If you’re a World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) fan then if you can’t see it in person, seeing it in VR is definitely the next best thing. Well you’ll be happy to hear that WWE content is coming to a head-mounted display (HMD) near you very soon, thanks to NextVR.
“It’s something you can’t see or experience on television, WWE and VR is a match made in heaven.” said NextVR’s Vice President of content Danny Keens. He also described the test footage as “by far the most compelling VR content I’ve seen.”
Currently the plan is to roll out the WWE content on NextVR’s own platform, but WWE aren’t ruling out the possibility of it coming to WWE Network as additional content.
VR Lacrosse Training Coming from Father and Son Duo
A high school lacrosse coach and his software developer son have teamed together to create a comprehensive lacrosse goalie VR training videogame. Players are placed in the goal and have to return various shots of various velocities and trajectories.
Doug Nelson, the father, wanted to make an application any athlete could use; “Our decision was to make the systems we design affordable for every athlete. Obviously, the barrier to entry right now is the cost of the hardware… Those prices will continue to drop. In the meantime, we believe the answer is for the sport organizations (elite team, middle school, high school, college, etc.) to buy the hardware to be shared among their athletes.”
VRWorld reports that the Nelsons will soon be moving into other sports to improve their training software, and are pursuing a patent on their technology.
If the Nelsons or anyone else have anything further to share when it comes to the world of VR and sport, you’ll be sure we’ll report, so keep reading VRFocus.
WWE Locks-up With NextVR To Allow You To Be The King Of The (Virtual) Ring
If you’re a regular visitor to VRFocus (and if you are, both thank you and hello) you’ll be very well aware that we have a thrice weekly weekday series where we look into everything to do with 360 degree video. Called Life in 360 it’s a window into the ways both professionals and amateurs, businesses and individuals use 360 degree video. Sometimes it is to sell a product, sometimes it is to tell a story. Sometimes it is a special occasion, a holiday in either the calendar of vacation sense. Sometimes it is educational – something simply instructive, or an actual lesson to be taught. Other times it is purely entertainment.
In terms of the latter of these, one organisation that has cropped up on a number of occasions has been World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), this is equally true of our regular Saturday feature This Week In VR Sport. This is because for some time now WWE have been both experimenting with virtual reality (VR) tech and openly questioning when it would be the right time for the company to make the next leap in its already impressive production. Would it be saved for a WrestleMania extravaganza, rolled out during its regular series of pay per view (PPV) events or would it be something that would be slipped into its regular broadcasts like Raw and Smackdown? They’ve been testing here and there for some time, and after a partnership in 2015 with Samsung the broadcast giant has revealed it is teaming up with another name familiar to regular readers: NextVR.
Announced in Variety, NextVR will be bringing their considerable experience to broadcasting in VR to WWE and will be working alongside its television broadcasting team to supply and rig 10-12 cameras throughout the arena to provide a definite virtual broadcast for wrestling fans the world over. Cameras will even be in the ring, secreted (in some fashion) in the turnbuckles.
“It’s something you can’t see or experience on television, WWE and VR is a match made in heaven.” Enthused NextVR’s Vice President of content Danny Keens, explaining that NextVR was drawn to WWE after its efforts with boxing produced the goods. As for how that would translate to ‘the squared circle’, Keens claimed to Variety that what they’d actually shot so far by way of test foot age was “by far the most compelling VR content I’ve seen”. Which considering the range and scope of NextVR’s activities to date is quite an endorsement.
As for where the VR footage will be used for now highlights will be free of charge on NextVR’s own platform. But WWE isn’t ruling out the possibility that it will, at some point make its way to the WWE Network as additional content. According to the WWE’s Chief Revenue and Marketing Officer Michelle Wilson the fans will tell them what they want next, be it VR or even augmented reality (AR). If there’s the demand, she says “We will be there.”
VRFocus will be following further developments with the tag team of WWE and NextVR and will bring you more news regarding this and other sports and entertainment uses of immersive technology in the near future.
WWE is NextVR’s Newest Partner, Steaming Wrestling Highlights Globally for Free
NextVR, the company delivering live events in VR, and pro wrestling company WWE announced a new partnership to bring highlights from select WWE special events to VR headsets this year.
The special VR highlights will clock in around 10 minutes in length and will be available for free to fans globally on a new WWE channel within the NextVR app. The app can be downloaded for Samsung GearVR, Google Daydream, PlayStation VR, and Windows Mixed Reality headsets.
NextVR maintains a number of channels including NBA basketball, NFL football, boxing, and live concerts. The company puts special emphasis on delivering high-quality 180-degree captures which can be streamed live or watched on demand.
“We are always looking to create compelling content across platforms, and we are excited to partner with NextVR to bring our fans closer to the action than ever before,” said Michelle Wilson, WWE Chief Revenue & Marketing Officer. “As the technology behind virtual reality continues to evolve, this is a unique opportunity for us to partner with NextVR, a leader in this space, to provide new experiences to our passionate fans around the world.”
We got a chance to see a few new implementations coming from NextVR, including higher-quality video and a new 6DoF positional tracking. We’ll be bringing you those impressions later today, so check back soon.
The post WWE is NextVR’s Newest Partner, Steaming Wrestling Highlights Globally for Free appeared first on Road to VR.