Weihnachten 2017 wird im Zeichen von Virtual Reality stehen. Zumindest wenn man schon gespannt auf das Project Alloy von Intel wartet. Denn der Mikroprozessoren-Gigant aus dem Silicon Valley will noch dieses Jahr seine erste eigene VR-Brille auf den Markt werfen. Und die soll es in sich haben.
Das Schweizer Taschenmesser unter den VR-Brillen
Project Alloy will dabei das Schweizer Taschenmesser unter den Head-Mounted-Displays sein. Es soll kabellos funktionieren, keinen zusätzlichen Rechner benötigen und durch das Inside-Out-Tracking die Umgebung in Echtzeit erfassen können. Auch ein Preis ist bereits genannt worden: Laut Achin Bhowmik, Vizepräsident des Perceptual Computing bei Intel, wird die Mixed-Reality-Brille zwischen 599 und 899 US-Dollar kosten. Damit wäre das Headset laut Intel noch günstiger als die Oculus Rift und HTC Vive, da Project Alloy wie die Microsoft HoloLens keinen PC benötigt, sondern autark agiert.
Kein VR-Headset für B2C
Für das Inside-Out-Tracking ist neben zwei Realsense 3D-Kameras ein Chip von Movidius in Project Alloy eingebaut. Im September 2016 hatte Intel das Prozessoren-Unternehmen aus San Mateo in Kalifornien übernommen. Intel plant noch im zweiten Quartal diesen Jahres Development Kits an ausgewählte Software-Studios zu verschicken.
Ob in diesem kurzen Zeitrahmen, bis Weihnachten 2017, vernünftige Software entwickelt werden kann, bleibt abzuwarten. Sieht man sich die Entwicklung der Oculus Rift sowie der HTC Vive an, dann weiß man, dass es mehrere Development Kits gab, bis diese HMDs letztlich beim Endverbraucher landeten. Allerdings möchte Intel aber auch mit einem nicht genannten Hersteller kooperieren, der zu den führenden der Branche gehören soll. Dieser Hersteller soll den bisherigen Hardware-Entwurf in ein fertiges Produkt übersetzen.
Robo Recall ist einer der populärsten Titel für die Oculus Rift – und sogar kostenlos zum Download verfügbar. Bis jetzt hielt sich das Gerücht, dass der VR-Titel von Epic Games 10 Millionen Dollar Produktionskosten verschlungen hat. Jetzt stellte sich heraus: Das stimmt so nicht.
Lost in Translation
Das Gerücht, das beinahe von allen Medien aufgegriffen wurde, besagt, dass Epic Games genauso viel Budget zur Verfügung hatte, wie das erste Gears of War. Der Third-Person-Shooter erschien bereits im Jahr 2006 und kostete das Entwicklungsstudio damals rund 10 Millionen US-Dollar. Das Gerücht kam wohl durch ein Interview mit dem Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney zustande. Denn die Journalisten hatten wohl einen simplen Übersetzungsfehler gemacht.
Budget bedeutet nicht das Gleiche wie Funding
Der technische Direktor für VR & AR bei Epic Games Nick Whiting, der auch stark in der Produktion von Robo Recall involviert war, hat jedoch jetzt durchsickern lassen, dass das Budget doch weit weniger aufgeblasen gewesen sein könnte. Der Übersetzungsfehler der Journalisten könnte darin gelegen haben, dass „budget“ und „funding“ durch die Journalisten verwechselt wurde. Und die anderen Medien einfach alle denselben Text kommentarlos übernommen hatten. Denn de facto unterscheidet sich vermutlich das, was Oculus an Epic Games gezahlt hat, deutlich von dem, was Epic Games an Produktionskosten hatte. Und da das Spiel umsonst verfügbar ist, möchte man bei Epic Games nicht unbedingt ein Preisschild anhängen. Schließlich könnte jede Zahl einen negativen Beigeschmack haben.
Kosten von rund 3,8 Millionen US-Dollar
Fest steht: An Robo Recall waren 15 Mitarbeiter beteiligt, die ein Jahr in Vollzeit an dem VR-Shooter gearbeitet haben. Lediglich einige wenige Aufgabenbereiche des Designs und der Audioverbesserungen wurden ausgelagert. Man schätzt, dass die Spiele-Entwickler bei Epic Games rund 70.000 – 130.000 US-Dollar verdienen. Wenn man dies auf 150.000 US-Dollar aufrundet, dann würden 15 Vollzeit-Mitarbeiter rund 2.25 Millionen Dollar für ein Jahr gekostet haben. Nimmt man die restlichen möglichen Kosten dazu, könnte man auf kopulierte 3 Millionen Dollar kommen. Mit sonstigen Kosten, würde man aber insgesamt nicht über 3.8 Millionen Produktionskosten kommen. Und damit wäre das Spiel in der Entwicklung also deutlich günstiger gewesen als die bisher veranschlagten 10 Millionen.
Polish indie videogame studio 10Ants Hill has announced their new virtual reality (VR) table tennis game for the HTC Vive – Racket Fury.
The game has a futuristic sci-fi setting, where robots battle each other for supremacy over a table tennis table. 10Ants Hill used professional table tennis players in order to get motion capture for the animations, aiming to make them as realistic as possible.
Racket Fury has a single-player campaign that pits the player against 16 progressively more difficult opponents, the developer says each opponent has its own temperament and style of play to make it more interesting. The online multiplayer game mode allows players to go one-on-one against other Racket Fury players from around the world.
10Ants Hill were previously involved in creating Cmoar Cinema, an application for the HTC Vive and Oculus Rift that allows VR users to watch videos in a virtual cinema environment. The studio also worked on Cmoar Rollercoaster, the mobile VR rollercoaster simulator.
The developers anticipate Racket Fury entering Steam Early Access in April 2017 and will be exclusive to HTC Vive. 10Ants Hill hopes that feedback gathered during the Early Access phase will allow them to improve the game and add more gameplay features.
If table tennis is the sport for you and you can’t wait until April for its arrival, 10Ants Hill will be launching a closed beta for Racket Fury, which it encourages HTC Vive users to signup for.
You can watch the first teaser trailer below. VRFocus will bring you further information on Racket Fury and other 10Ants Hill VR titles as we get it.
Despite its major role in the growing VR space, HTC’s overall business continues to struggle financially, posting significant losses over the last two years. Working to turn things around with a restructuring of assets and priorities, the company is facing the sale of a smartphone factory in Shanghai. The proceeds from the $91 million sale will largely funnel toward the company’s Vive VR business, according to China Daily.
On Wednesday, HTC’s board made the decision to sell the factory to Shanghai Xingbao Information Technology as part of an effort to return the company to financial stability. According to HTC, the sale of the nearly 1.3 million square-foot factory and the land on which it’s built will not have an impact on the company’s staff or planned production capacity, reports China Daily.
While HTC’s smartphone business has seen major challenges in the last several years, VR—though still a tiny fraction of the company’s overall business—has been seen as a bright spot since its introduction in 2015. That year the company formed a wholly owned subsidiary, HTC Vive Tech Corporation, to codify and grow its virtual reality efforts which have been ramping up in 2016 following the launch of the Vive system in March.
According to Android Authority, HTC sold another factory in 2015 for $183 million, though it continues to own and operate three key factories in Taoyuan, Taiwan. Android Authority summarizes the latest factory sale and the last few years of HTC’s financial struggles:
Established in 2009, the facility mainly produced phones for the Chinese market. At its height in 2011, it churned out two million mobile devices every month, but starting in 2013 most of its assembly lines went out of production due to decreasing demand. Rumors about a sale of the Shanghai facility first emerged in August 2015, but HTC denied it planned to offload it.
Facing dwindling sales, HTC has been cutting workforce and closing down production lines for the past five years. The company outsourced much of its production to contract manufacturers like Compal Electronics or Wingtech.
Though HTC hasn’t announced official sales figures for the Vive, the company has said that it’s selling the $800 system at profit, and recently introduced financing options in an effort to make the system more affordable.
Big news for Disney fans. Today, we’re taking you inside the world of Beauty and the Beast with Lumiere’s Dress Rehearsal—an interactive VR experience now...
Lots of new stuff released for HTC Vive on Steam this week, but not all of it is particularly noteworthy or earth-shattering. The biggest highlight is likely Paranormal Activity: The Lost Soul, a made-for-VR horror title that’s based within the iconic film franchise’s expanded universe. If that’s not your cup of tea, there’s plenty else to pick from.
We also have a top list of the absolute best HTC Vive games — which is updated every few months with the latest and greatest options.
New Steam Releases
War of Castle VR, from Lemonvr
Price: $15.99 (Currently Discounted)
In this VR MOBA game you’ll do battle against your enemy’s forces as you try to take down their tower. There is a large number of weapons and enemy types in the game, but it lacks the creativity needed to really make this genre excel in the VR space. It boils down to Plants vs. Zombies, more or less.
Recommendation: Pass on this one, doesn’t feel like the best adaptation of the genre for VR.
VR Sports, from SAT-BOX
Price: $12.99 (Currently Discounted)
In this latest mini-game collection, SAT-BOX and Degica Games attempt to deliver the definitive VR version of the Wii Sports experience. We’ve already got basketball, baseball, archery, bowling, soccer, clay shooting, and boxing, with ping pong and kart racing to come.
Recommendation: This VR Sports game takes the breadth over depth approach. Simple fun, but not groundbreaking.
Paranormal Activity: The Lost Soul, from VRWERX
Price: $39.99 (Currently Discounted)
Make no mistake: the horror genre and VR feel like the perfect match, that is, as long as you enjoy having your skin crawl and hair stand on end. While licensed games don’t exactly have the greatest track record, the immersive power of VR has the potential to side step many of the issues — that’s where Paranormal Activity VR comes in.
Recommendation: It’s still in Early Access, so some improvements are in store, but it’s a solid starting point. Not quite as long as some hoped, but still a solid horror game.
Carlos III y la difusión de la antigüedad, from Future Lighthouse
Price: Free
Charles III of Spain and the antiquity tells the story of how Charles III funded the excavations that discovered the ancient cities of Herculaneum and Pompeii, spreading the knowledge acquired throughout Europe and America.
Recommendation: It’s beautiful, so definitely recommended for art and history buffs.
The Ancient Remains, from Outhouse Games
Price: $9.99
Roguelikes are gaining a lot of traction in VR as of late, with The Ancient Remains as the latest example. It’s only about 10 minutes long right now in Early Access, but has promise with this strong foundation of mechanics. The catacombs are procedurally generated as you search for lost relics and treasure.
Recommendation: If you love roguelikes, this could blossom into something solid. As of now, hard to recommend based on existing content alone.
Super VR Trainer, from Jorge Moreno Aguilera and David Erosa
Price: $19.99
With Super VR Trainer we’ve got another small collection of mini-games — but this time they’re not all sport themed. There’s a hospital-based zombie shooter, a light blade game, an archery game against skeletons, basketball, hover board gliding, and a puzzle game.
Recommendation: Feels unfinished, which wouldn’t be as big of a deal if it was still in Early Access, but it’s launched now. Hard to recommend paying for this in the face of better free options.
Recommendation: It’s a buck, grab it if you like these kind of games.
Overload, from Revival Productions
Price: $24.99
6DOF (six degrees of freedom) shooters are making a bit of a comeback with the dawn of VR, with Descent: Underground, StarBlood Arena, and now Overload. It’s only single player and still in Early Access though, so don’t expect a full or complete game yet.
Recommendation: Certainly packs the production values to be worth a purchase for fans of the genre.
IronWolf VR, from Ionized Studios
Price: $19.99 (Currently Discounted)
Take control of a deep sea submarine with an entire crew in cooperative multiplayer. Single player is supported as well, but playing this online with other people in VR is the way to go. You don’t have to love subs and naval warfare to enjoy it, but it certainly helps.
Recommendation: It’s like FTL, in co-op, but underwater. Even in Early Access we recommend this one.
Quizality, from UV Games,
Price: $4.99 (Currently Discounted)
This is a trivia game played entirely in VR, which is fine, except you can’t explore the environments and it’s only single player.
Recommendation: Hard to see the value with the current list of features.
Passengers: Awakening VR Experience, from MPC VR
Price: $9.99
Hang out on the massive Avalon spaceship from the sci-fi movie Passengers. Chris Pratt even recorded original dialogue for the experience and it features some truly breathtaking views and cool areas to explore. The puzzle solving is a little tedious.
Recommendation: A step above most movie tie-in VR experiences, recommended for fans of the film. More info.
Heaven Forest NIGHTS, from Fabio Ferrara
Price: $0.99 (Currently Discounted)
Once you’re done yelling the final word in this experience’s title, you can embark on a slow-paced, atmospheric journey through a beautiful forest. It explores topics such as: what is the meaning of death?
Recommendation: Cheap little experience, some nice visuals and themes. Grab it up and give it a go one night when you’re feeling philosophical.
Panzer Panic VR, from HandyGames
Price: $9.99 (Currently Discounted)
This is a relatively standard tank combat game, similar to the like of Battlezone. While it’s a bit limited in terms of content, the core gameplay is definitely entertaining.
Recommendation: If you don’t have a PSVR to play Battlezone, this is a capable replacement for the price.
VRCURATOR, from Lobaki
Price: $4.99 (Currently Discounted)
Find it tough to communicate with and give direction to people while they’re in VR? Then this is for you. It acts like a walkie-talkie of sorts that connects you to their VR experience so they can hear and communicate without removing the HMD or headphones.
Recommendation: A pretty niche product but it works great if you have the need.
Warpaint, from Adam Thompson
Price: $9.99
Command an army and launch catapults at your enemies in this turn-based strategy game. The gimmick here is that you can also paint your miniature dwarves for additional customization.
Recommendation: Neat premise with varied multiplayer, but a bit shallow overall. Grab it on sale if you love RTS games.
Arch Virtual HQ, from Arch Virtual
Price: Free
This is a bit weird, as it’s essentially just a virtual tour of this company’s office space along with a few product demos. Not sure if they will find any potential clients or partners via Steam, but hey, maybe they will.
Recommendation: Probably just pass on this.
Tales of Escape, by OnSkull Games
Price: $4.99
You might want to sit down for this one: it’s yet another Escape the Room VR game. Shocking, I know. However, this one is actually a multiplayer experience, which gets major bonus points for doing something a bit different.
Recommendation: If you’ve got enough friends with Vives, give this a go.
Violent killer VR, from 威震天科技
Price: $2.99
Visually, this game actually gets the job done. Textures are nice and the overall design is quite pleasant to look at, but it’s just not a very inspired shooter.
Recommendation: Good price, but hard to recommend since you likely own several much better games.
Welcome Home, Love, from A Trifle Odd
Price: $7.99 (Currently Discounted)
You arrive back at your humble abode only to find a note from your partner and a series of puzzles to uncover the surprise. Lots of voiced dialogue and lots of areas to explore. It’s not exactly too inspired or impressive, but it’s an ambitious VR adaptation of the “walking simulator” genre of games.
Recommendation: A bit shoddy in terms of production values, but a decent time killer if you’re low on stuff to play. Maybe wait for a bigger sale either way.
A-Tech Cybernetic, from XREAL Games
Price: $24.99 (Currently Discounted)
A-Tech Cybernetic has a weird name and a weird description. XREAL Games says that it is “a visibly beautifully elaborated sci-fi game taking place at external and internal venues.” That doesn’t make any sense so let us clear it up for you: you get to punch aliens in the face. And then, if the punch doesn’t take care of them, you get to shoot them. Varied combat methods and a few solid weapons make this wave shooter a random, but fun experience.
Recommendation: Did we mention you get to punch aliens in the face? It’s far from original, but packs a lot of quality alien shooting and punching.
Metal Assault, from BitBerg
Price: $4.99
Metal Assault is the first episode in a series of VR shooter experiences from BitBerg. It’s a 30 minute challenge that will pit you, your wits, and your guns against waves of mutated enemies
Recommendation: Wave shooters aren’t exactly new ground for VR and this one is especially limited to a paltry 30 minutes. This would have been better positioned as a free demo. It’s not very steep but even $5 feels like a little much for this.
Masters of Chess, from Mobile Fusion Apps Ltd.
Price: $7.99
This is chess in VR. You can play chess in VR with this game. You can play against other players online, locally (using a monitor vs. VR feature) or against AI. Chess is the game that you will be able to play.
Recommendation: Do you want to play chess in VR? If you do then get this game.
World Builder, from Guruji VR, Inc.
Price: $9.99 (Currently Discounted)
World Builder, as the name would suggest, lets you build “worlds and landscapes” in VR. There is any easy pick up and play UI and plenty of effects to choose from like rain, fog, fire, etc.
Recommendation: This would actually be a good experience to try out (at a reasonable price) if you’ve ever wanted to try your hand at designing VR worlds before putting down major cash on Unity or Unreal courses and assets.
Galactic Core: The Lost Fleet, from Portal Studios VR
Price: $14.99 (Currently Discounted)
What’s that? You say you want another wave shooter in VR? Well alright! Here’s Galactic Core: The Lost Fleet. At least this one offers some sense of depth by providing a class system and some very light progression elements.
Recommendation: Wave shooters are being done to death but there’s enough graphical power and interesting gameplay here to justify a $10 or less purchase if you feel so inclined during a sale.
Atramentum VR, from Craplabs
Price: $8.99 (Currently Discounted)
Slow-paced horror puzzle game. It’s a lot like an Escape the Room game, except the environments are larger with a bit more exploration. Nice and spooky, but clearly a small indie project.
Recommendation: There are plenty of VR horror titles out there, but it’s worth a look if Paranormal Activity is too pricey for your taste.
Clash of Vessels VR, from Druid Technologies
Price: $3.99 (Currently Discounted)
Feels a bit like battleship, but the way you were imagining it in your head when you were little. The graphics are quite nice for what this is and do a nice job of visualizing naval warfare.
Recommendation: There’s no multiplayer, but it’s cool if you’re a fan of military strategy games.
Hover Skate VR, from Hyper Light Studios
Price: $11.99 (Currently Discounted)
Do you remember Tech Deck Fingerboards? I used to collect these things and would construct elaborate, tiny little skate parks that I’d grind and flip my way around using my fingers as feet. Hover Skate VR is kind of like that, mixed with Tony Hawk, except you use your entire hands as feet instead of just your fingers.
Recommendation: Tons of features (like auto GIF capture, hundreds of tricks, lots of locations, and good customization) make this an easy recommendation.
New Viveport Releases
Buzz Aldrin: Cycling Pathways to Mars, from LIFE VR
Price: Free
Chances are that you will very likely never meet Buzz Aldrin, the second person to ever walk on the Moon. But a hologram that chats with you in VR while exploring Mars is just about the next best thing.
Recommendation: It’s free, definitely grab it. Available on Viveport and on Steam.
Oculus Rift is playing a bit of catch up this week, as one of the most celebrated titles on the HTC Vive finally officially arrives on the rival headset. Overall, though, it’s a pretty quiet week on both Rift and Gear VR but we wouldn’t worry; Rock Band VR is set to literally make some noise next week.
Finally making its way from Vive to Rift with full Touch support, Raw Data is a highly polished co-op wave shooter set in a sci-fi universe. Use guns, swords and special powers to tear androids to pieces, zipping around the room with teleportation that makes you feel like a ninja. There’s also cross-platform play with Vive owners.
Recommendation: Don’t miss this one. A must-buy for fans of action games and co-op multiplayer.
Disney Movies VR, from Disney
Price: Free (Gear and Rift)
Disney’s 360 degree content hub, featuring videos from franchises like Star Wars, makes its way over from PC-based VR to mobile. While immersive videos might not be your thing, the virtually recreated Disneyland parks are a sight to behold and something anyone could check out. There’s also a new Beauty and the Beast experience to celebrate the live-action film’s release!
Recommendation: Should be installed by all Disney fans.
Cursed Sanctum, from Arabian Art Studios
Price: $2.99 (Gear)
An interesting first-person interactive adventure that looks well-polished for a simple Gear VR piece. Taking on the role of the brilliantly-named Grom, you search for an evil demon. This is definitely something Gear VR owners should look into.
Recommendation: This one came out of nowhere but has a great price point and is worth checking out if you want to dust off the mobile headset.
Power Rangers Zords Rising VR, from Lionsgate
Price: Free (Gear)
Go, go! The Power Rangers movie is launching soon and you’re not a blockbuster production these days if you don’t have a VR experience to boot. These one lets you ride in the Ranger’s gigantic mechs. Dragon Zord unconfirmed.
Recommendation: It’s free, so it just depends if you want to be advertised to or not.
New Steam Releases for Oculus Rift
Paranormal Activity: The Lost Soul, from VRWERX
Price: $39.99 (Rift, Currently Discounted)
Make no mistake: the horror genre and VR feel like the perfect match, that is, as long as you enjoy having your skin crawl and hair stand on end. While licensed games don’t exactly have the greatest track record, the immersive power of VR has the potential to side step many of the issues.
Recommendation: It’s still in Early Access, so some improvements are in store, but it’s a solid starting point. Not quite as long as some hoped, but still a solid horror game.
The Ancient Remains, from Outhouse Games
Price: $9.99 (Rift)
Roguelikes are gaining a lot of traction in VR as of late, with The Ancient Remains as the latest example. It’s only about 10 minutes long right now in Early Access, but has promise with this strong foundation of mechanics. The catacombs are procedurally generated as you search for lost relics and treasure.
Recommendation: If you love roguelikes, this could blossom into something solid. As of now, hard to recommend based on existing content alone.
Super VR Trainer, from Jorge Moreno Aguilera and David Erosa
Price: $19.99 (Rift)
With Super VR Trainer we’ve got another small collection of mini-games — but this time they’re not all sport themed. There’s a hospital-based zombie shooter, a light blade game, an archery game against skeletons, basketball, hover board gliding, and a puzzle game.
Recommendation: Feels unfinished, which wouldn’t be as big of a deal if it was still in Early Access, but it’s launched now. Hard to recommend paying for this in the face of better free options.
Overload, from Revival Productions
Price: $24.99 (Rift)
6DOF (six degrees of freedom) shooters are making a bit of a comeback with the dawn of VR, with Descent: Underground, StarBlood Arena, and now Overload. It’s only single player and still in Early Access though, so don’t expect a full or complete game yet.
Recommendation: Certainly packs the production values to be worth a purchase for fans of the genre.
Quizality, from UV Games,
Price: $4.99 (Rift, Currently Discounted)
This is a trivia game played entirely in VR, which is fine, except you can’t explore the environments and it’s only single player.
Recommendation: Hard to see the value with the current list of features.
Passengers: Awakening VR Experience, from MPC VR
Price: $9.99 (Rift)
Hang out on the massive Avalon spaceship from the sci-fi movie, Passengers. Chris Pratt even recorded original dialogue for the experience and it features some truly breathtaking views and cool areas to explore. The puzzle solving is a little tedious.
Recommendation: A step above most movie tie-in VR experiences, recommended for fans of the film. More info.
Heaven Forest NIGHTS, from Fabio Ferrara
Price: $0.99 (Rift, Currently Discounted)
Once you’re done yelling the final word in this experience’s title, you can embark on a slow-paced, atmospheric journey through a beautiful forest. It explores topics such as: what is the meaning of death?
Recommendation: Cheap little experience, some nice visuals and themes. Grab it up and give it a go one night when you’re feeling philosophical.
Panzer Panic VR, from HandyGames
Price: $9.99 (Currently Discounted)
This is a relatively standard tank combat game, similar to the like of Battlezone. While it’s a bit limited in terms of content, the core gameplay is definitely entertaining.
Recommendation: If you don’t have a PSVR to play Battlezone, this is a capable replacement for the price.
VRCURATOR, from Lobaki
Price: $4.99 (Currently Discounted)
Find it tough to communicate with and give direction to people while they’re in VR? Then this is for you. It acts like a walkie-talkie of sorts that connects you to their VR experience so they can hear and communicate without removing the HMD or headphones.
Recommendation: A pretty niche product but it works great if you have the need.
March needs to end fast. There’s a host of great PlayStation VR (PSVR) games in store for April, including Starblood Arena and Statik, as well as the months to follow, but the few weeks left we have of this month are looking completely barren. If you’re in the EU then there’s nothing for you this week, and US fans are being thrown a very slim bone. Hold tight, PSVR believers; salvation is on the way.
If you missed last week, you can see those new releases here. Also, UploadVR has launched the ‘UploadVR PS VR Community’ on PlayStation 4! Join up, find other gamers to play with, and engage in discussions with them.
Also, don’t forget to check out our list of the 9 Best PlayStation VR Games if you need any extra inspiration.
Leave the Next, from Kaio Interactive
Price: $12.99 (US Only)
You might not think that VR needs its own Flappy Bird, but Kaio Interactive clearly disagrees. Leave the Nest is a full 3D take on the smartphone smash hit in which you’ll use the PlayStation Move controllers to imitative flapping with wings and then duck and dive out of the way of incoming obstacles.
Recommendation: We’d recommend passing here. However, there’s nothing else out this week so if you simply have to play a new PSVR game, this is your only bet.
Today, Disney is announcing a new virtual reality experience for the HTC Vive, Oculus Rift with Touch, and Gear VR.
To coincide with the release of its latest live action remake, the legendary studio is giving you a front row seat to one of Beauty and the Beast’s most iconic scenes. Lumiere’s Dress Rehearsal puts you at the master’s table and invites you to witness the titular candelabra’s full culinary performance. Lumiere’s Dress Rehearsal is being made available through the Disney Movies VR app that can be downloaded now for free on Oculus Home for Rift or Gear VR and Steam for the HTC Vive respectively.
According to an Oculus blog post accompanying the release:
“This unforgettable VR experience puts you in the dining room of Beast’s enchanted castle, as Lumiere prepares for a special feast in Belle’s honor. Swirling napkins, spinning plates, and dancing flatware surround you as everyone’s favorite candelabra—voiced by Ewan McGregor—belts out Be Our Guest in classic Disney style.”
Lumiere’s Dress Rehearsal also utilizes the Oculus Touch controllers and Vive wands to allow for interactivity during the dinner ware’s production. According to Oculus, in this experience you can “grab plates from mid-air and use your hands to interact with the spellbinding world around you.”
According to its description, The Disney Movies VR app is a “fully-immersive experience where you visit themed worlds, including Disney, Marvel and Lucasfilm” in which you can “interact with some of your favorite characters in their natural environments.”
Disney Movies VR is updated semi-regularly with new experiences, most of which tie into an upcoming or releasing Disney film. Even if it is just a glorified ad, Lumiere’s Dress Rehearsal should still be a true thrill for any fan of Disney magic and Beauty and the Beast in particular.
Although, no amount of technology can make Ewan McGregror’s warbling French(?) accent quite as good as Jerry Orbach’s nostalgic baritone. Bless his heart. He’s trying his best. But when it comes to this song, Orbach will always have the high ground.
Two companies in the market of producing accessories for virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) systems, Flexpoint Sensor Systems and CaptoGlove, have formed a strategic partnership to create a consumer ready, wearable gaming motion controller.
Flexpoint, known for producing custom flexible sensors called Bend Sensors for use in data gloves, including a ‘build-it-yourself’ kit that comes with five Bend Sensors, a PCB board and connectors, has received a mass production order from CaptoGlove to go into its device. Just like Manus VR, CaptoGlove will be utilising Flexpoint’s Bend Sensors in a wearable VR motion controller designed for gaming that translates human hand movements into accurate digital inputs.
CaptoGlove and Flexpoint both expect demand for this type of product to be on the rise as the VR/AR industry continues to grow. CaptoGlove COO Mauro Bettiol said in a statement: “Our product is engineered with quality in mind: from software to hardware. When we decided to scale our production and maintain the quality standards very high, we partnered with Flexpoint.”
Paul Sexauer, Flexpoint VP Sales & Marketing, added: “To be a strategic partner with such a ground-breaking technology leader in a rapidly burgeoning marketspace is an honour. We are especially pleased as this represents the largest order we have received in one of our targeted market segments. This is a relationship we look forward to continuing to build.”
The partnership between the two companies is part of a deal for CaptoGlove and Flexpoint to provide VR/AR systems to other businesses and military as well as directly to consumers.
VRFocus will bring you further updates on CaptoGlove and Flexpoint as they come in.
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