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'Minecraft' PSVR support is coming this month
The free update isn't quite ready, so there's no firm release date yet.
What do you like about the Oculus Rift S?
When senior editor Devindra Hardawar tested the Oculus Rift S, he kept asking himself: Who really needs this VR headset? With built-in tracking, sharp resolution and a comfortable headstrap, the $399 Rift S makes a convincing argument for an entry-level VR purchase. However, it still needs to be tethered to a computer, its design and build quality aren't better than the original Rift and the identically priced Oculus Quest has higher resolution displays. That all adds up to a tough recommendation. In the end, the newest Oculus system earned a fair score of 80.
The Chinese Room made a VR parable for Google Daydream
Indie developer The Chinese Room is releasing its first-ever virtual reality game. So Let Us Melt is a sci-fi parable about a machine lost in a paradise of its own making. Exclusively available on Google's Daydream VR platform, the title sees the developer reuniting with Bafta award-winning composer Jessica Curry.
This Japanese VR arcade put me inside 'Mario Kart'
Back when Bandai Namco opened its first VR arcade in Tokyo last April, I was keen to check out its various HTC Vive-powered VR games. My first ride there would have been Gundam VR: Daiba Assault, just so I could get a taste of what it's like hitching a ride on a Gundam's hand. The problem was by the time I got to the city the following month, this pop-up store already had a three-month waiting list, and I never got around to visiting before it closed in October. Luckily, as of last Friday, VR Zone is back in new form. Not only is it now the world's largest VR arcade, but it's also moved to Shinjuku, a more accessible downtown area in Tokyo. And this time, it's staying for two years. More importantly, the arcade has added some widely anticipated games that may sound familiar to you -- namely, Mario Kart Arcade GP VR, Dragon Ball VR: Master the Kamehameha and Evangelion VR: The Soul Seat. As a bonus, Gundam VR has also been brought over from the previous site.
The co-creator of 'Rick and Morty' just founded a VR studio
Most folks know Justin Roiland as the co-creator and lead voice actor behind Adult Swim's Rick and Morty, but it's less widely known that he's obsessed with virtual reality. The entertainer was one of the first backers of Oculus' original Kickstarter, and has reportedly filled notebooks with game ideas and concepts. Now, he's is going all in on his obsession: today, in partnership with former Epic Games executive producer Tanya Watson, Roiland announced Squanchtendo Games. It's a VR game studio with, in Roiland's words, one simple goal: "We just want to make super duper games dooood."
Minecraft launches on the Oculus Rift next week
If you own an Oculus Rift and are eager to play Minecraft on it, we now know roughly when it's coming. Mojang developer Tommaso Checchi tweeted that it'll arrive to the Windows 10 Beta edition (version 0.15.6) sometime next week. We tried the highly anticipated VR version in March, and enjoyed exploring the blocky worlds in immersive, 360-degree 3D. Minecraft is one of the most highly-anticipated Oculus Rift titles, though the ultimate version might eventually be on Microsoft's AR Hololens.
VR is better when virtual objects feel real
For all the amazing experiences virtual reality enables (the illusion of flight, the exhaustion of exercise and even the emotional fatigue of trauma), it still has one major flaw: Virtual objects are intangible and have no physicality. If you want to walk through a wall, the game can't stop you. If you try to lean on a table, you'll probably fall down. It's a limitation of first-generation VR technology I'd grown to accept -- at least until I played Survios' Raw Data, a game that tricked me into pretending its completely virtual objects were real.
ICYMI: Delivery drone for humans, VR gaming and more
#fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-809076{display:none;} .cke_show_borders #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-809076, #postcontentcontainer #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-809076{width:570px;display:block;} try{document.getElementById("fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-809076").style.display="none";}catch(e){}Today on In Case You Missed It: The Ehang 184 is a Personal Flying Vehicle (PFV) that promises to deliver human cargo to its commuting destination in a way that has us intrigued and also, of course, mildly terrified. It can hold one person and fly anywhere within a 23-minute flight time radius. The person inside will use a very simple interface to take off and land, and be able to sit back and chill. Now we jsut have to wait while the at least $200,000 (but, probably more like $300,000) drone gets built, with a goal of reaching production by next year.
