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Virtual reality shooter 'Gunjack' is ready for Samsung's Gear VR
Just in time for today's launch of Samsung's consumer Gear VR, developer and publisher CCP is making Gunjack available for the headset. The virtual reality game, powered by Unreal Engine 4, is an arcade shooter that takes places in the EVE sci-fi universe. Once you strap in, you'll play the role of a gun turret operator, with the goal being to protect your mothership from some menacing pirates. In an interview earlier this year, Gunjack's producer told us that the title was different from Valkyrie, CCP's upcoming VR dogfighting simulator, as it required to be developed from the ground-up and with mobile gaming in mind. If you have your shiny new Gear VR all set up, you can grab Gunjack right now from the Oculus store for $10.
Samsung's consumer Gear VR is available now for $99
We knew it was coming, but now it's finally here. Samsung's newly improved virtual reality headset, the Gear VR, is launching today in the US for $99. This iteration of the Gear VR is, without a doubt, the most consumer-ready VR headset to date. One of its downsides is that it only works with Samsung's latest smartphones, such as the Samsung Galaxy Note 5, Galaxy S6, Galaxy S6 Edge and Galaxy S6 Edge+ -- but that's great news for people who own handsets. As you may recall, Samsung's Gear VR is powered by Oculus software, and services like Hulu have already announced compatibility with the device. If you're Stateside, you can grab the Gear VR now from retailers including Amazon and Best Buy. As for worldwide availability, an Oculus spokesperson says that will be announced "soon."
Samsung's improved Gear VR is available for pre-order
Samsung said its improved, cheaper Gear VR would arrive sometime in November, and it's clearly making good on its promise. Best Buy has started taking pre-orders for the virtual reality headset -- plunk down $100 and you should get your Gear VR on November 20th. It's not quite as low-cost as it sounds, since you'll need one of Samsung's 2015 flagship phones (such as a Galaxy S6 variant or the Galaxy Note 5) to make it work. Still, it might be worth the investment if you've been itching to try modern VR at home.
Oculus Social Alpha delivers group watching to virtual reality
Oculus announced a "multiplayer mode" for its Cinema app was on the way, and today it has arrived. Currently available in the Oculus Store for any of Samsung's Gear VR devices (make sure you update your Oculus Video app too) the Oculus Social Alpha lets up to five people watch a Twitch or Vimeo stream in a virtual home theater setting. As seen in earlier previews the viewers are represented by head-tracked avatar disembodied avatars. When I tried it, the effect was slightly disconcerting, but the video stream on the screen looked just about as good as Twitch can, and the heads turned and represented each viewer realistically enough that conversation wasn't awkward.
The first NBA game of the season will be streamed in VR
NextVR has announced that it'll stream tonight's opening game of the NBA season to all of its users in virtual reality. If you have a Gear VR (and compatible handset), then you'll be able to watch the Warriors take on the Pelicans as if you were court side. It's early days for the technology, so virtual viewers will only have one viewing angle during the event, although it'll switch to another for the pre-game ring giving ceremony. In an interview with Wired, NextVR's Brad Allen revealed that users will also be limited to a 180-degree view. Instead of being able to turn around and see the audience around you, you'll be shown the NBA, Turner and NextVR logos. Viewers will also be listening to the sounds of game as if they were there, rather than listening to a commentator, although that could well change with future broadcasts.
AuraVisor takes on Gear VR, no phone required
Most current virtual reality headsets fall broadly into one of two categories: high-end options (Vive, Oculus Rift, PlayStation VR etc.) that connect to a console or PC, and glorified phone holders (Samsung Gear VR, Google Cardboard et al). AuraVisor offers a third way: the freedom of an untethered headset, but you leave your phone in your pocket -- everything is built-in to the visor. It's a fairly logical solution to the fast-growing problem of family-friendly VR. Using your phone in a headset is quick and dirty, but it comes with compromises on compatibility and comfort. Not to mention the ever-present risk of your fun being interrupted by all the other things your phone does (email, calendars and myriad other notifications). AuraVisor put VR into a single, Android-based device that could provide a Gear VR-like solution to everyone, minus the anxieties of using a phone.
Hulu's virtual reality app will launch alongside Gear VR in November
Oculus and Samsung's first fully-fledged virtual reality product, the Gear VR, is set to launch in November for $99. A host of apps have been announced to work with the new hardware, and now we have confirmation that Hulu's VR app will be ready to go when the Gear VR launches. As reported by CNET, Hulu head of distribution Tim Connolly says that the company's app is "ready to go" for the Gear VR launch. As for what that app will offer, traditional 2D content will be available, but the company is also experimenting with "enhanced" 2D content -- like watching Seinfeld in Jerry's apartment, for example.
I ordered 'VRoom Service' in a Marriott hotel
Virtual reality is a strange activity to offer in a hotel. If you're halfway around the world for a vacation or a business trip, you're usually there to go outside for one reason or another. Sightseeing, attending meetings, that sort of thing, not slapping a headset on and losing yourself elsewhere. But then, Marriott isn't like most hotels -- many of its branches in the UK are in the business of selling luxury, no expense spared accommodation. Here, guests want a special stay, and like an expensive cruise, that means increasingly elaborate activities and facilities. If it's done correctly, VR experiences could be a glamorous and unique add-on, just like ordering a back rub or late-night room service. Or at least, that's the thought process behind Marriott's new "VRoom Service."
CNN will live stream the Democratic debates in VR
CNN has announced that it's going to live stream the full Democratic presidential debate in VR on October 13th. The move comes after the success of VR highlight clips that the channel made available following the recent Republican debate. As with the previous event, the network has teamed up with NextVR, letting users of Samsung's GearVR to experience the hot, political action as if they were sat in the Las Vegas audience. CNN hasn't revealed if it's planning to ask Bernie Sanders to leap towards the camera to make the whole thing more immersive, but a little part of us can hope, right?
Oculus VP: 'Our number one goal is to make developers successful'
2015 is the year of virtual reality. That's been the consistent messaging coming out of Oculus VR's executive leadership since early this year. And with this week's announcement of a $99 Gear VR headset -- a mobile VR solution co-produced with Samsung -- and the promise of a retail Rift headset coming in early 2016, Oculus finally appears ready to make good on that promise. But although all the pieces of the VR puzzle seem to be coming together -- and the recent press has been (mostly) glowing -- there are still a lot of unknowns. Namely, will the average consumer, once properly introduced, buy into VR? I sat down with Nate Mitchell, Oculus VR's VP of Product, at the company's Connect 2 developer conference in Los Angeles to find out more about Gear VR's potential as a gateway to the Rift, what consumers can expect to come bundled with that first retail headset and whether we'll get to use it with Sony's PlayStation 4.
The new Gear VR is Samsung's public bet that VR is consumer-ready
When Samsung announced the newest edition of its mobile virtual reality headset Gear VR, created in partnership with Oculus, it was less about hardware innovation and more of a statement: VR is consumer-ready. Yes, the headset's overall weight has been significantly reduced and its touchpad's been redesigned for easier access. But it's the combination of its $99 price point, range of compatible (and current) Samsung smartphones and multimedia content like Netflix that could finally usher this new medium into households everywhere. "Virtual reality that's accessible to consumers is still very young and so it was all about developing the ecosystem," said Jim Willson, director of immersive products and VR at Samsung, of GearVR's watershed moment. "We had to make sure there was enough content, both in terms of video content ... and on the gaming side."
'Oculus Arcade' brings 'Pac-Man' and other classics to Gear VR
Oculus Arcade offers classic games from Sega, Midway and Bandai Namco, all playable in the Samsung Gear VR. Oculus announced the nostalgia fix during its Oculus Connect 2 conference, where it also announced the new, $99 Gear VR. The new Gear VR will be available in time for Black Friday in November. Oculus also showed off a slew of new games coming to Gear VR, including Land's End (from the Monument Valley team), Gunjack and the new VR Adventure Time game. The company also briefly showed off Netflix and Twitch running in Gear VR.
Samsung's new and improved $99 Gear VR ships this November
When Samsung released its revised mobile virtual reality headset, the Gear VR, earlier this year, it did so with the label "Innovator Edition" still attached since the hardware wasn't quite consumer-ready. Today, at the Oculus Connect 2 developer conference in Los Angeles, Samsung's VP of Mobile, Peter Koo announced a new Gear VR priced affordably at $99 and ready to ship in the United States in time for Black Friday this November and worldwide shortly after.
Oculus Connect 2 virtual reality event will stream live in VR
Tomorrow when the folks at Oculus show off the latest developments in their plan for VR world domination at the Oculus Connect 2 event, a select few will be able to experience remotely just as if they were there. If you have a Samsung Gear VR you can download the Next VR app and get your 360-degree immersion, just like I experienced with the first live stream several months ago. One day we'll all put on headsets and take a virtual trip to press events like Oculus and OnePlus, but since that's not universally available yet, we will be there liveblogging all the action. Assuming you have a compatible Samsung phone and one of the plastic Gear VR headsets, the app will be available before the keynote speech starts at 1PM ET tomorrow. (If you're not VR ready yet, yes there will be an old-school 2D live video broadcast as well.)
360-degree video puts you in a bombed-out Syrian war zone
A new 360-degree, 4K video lets you see the destruction of Syria's civil war firsthand on any virtual reality (VR) headset. It was shot by Syria's Smart News Agency between May and July in the city of Jisr al-Choughour, at the nation's northeastern frontier near Turkey, according to Le Parisien. The city of 40,000 is in near-complete ruins and most of the residents have fled after it was taken by rebels affiliated with al-Qaeda. The video (below) was captured by a six-camera rig mounted on the photographer's head, then stitched together at Okio Studios in Paris.
Marriott wants you to take a VR vacation in its hotel rooms
You've just checked into your hotel after an all-day marathon of running across airports to avoid missing connections; eaten a ton of crappy, overpriced airport food because you missed a connection; are dead tired and just want to go to sleep. But maybe after your travel nap you want to see something new without putting pants on and leaving your room. Well, if you've checked into certain Marriott Hotel locations you can summon a Samsung Gear VR for 24 hours of your stay and do just that with a new pilot program. It's called VRoom Service (get it?) and is a joint deal between the Korean tech juggernaut and the hotelier. The draw here is what the pair are calling "VR Postcards" which is a fancy way of describing video experiences wherein people talk about their feelings regarding travel, according to Fortune.
'Gunjack' producer on making virtual reality work for mobile
"Mobile VR doesn't have to mean [physically] moving around, but rather something you can access as easily in a café or a plane as you can at home. It was a choice made from day one: to create a fun and accessible experience by being static." JC Gaudechon, executive producer at CCP, the Icelandic developer famous for the massive space MMO EVE Online, is speaking about Gunjack, a demo turned fully fledged game for Gear VR, Samsung's mobile virtual reality headset. Gaudechon has spent the last six months shifting the project into a downloadable Gear VR title as CCP's betting big on the second coming of VR. With its upcoming blockbuster Valkyrie dogfighting sim, the studio's positioned as a major launch partner for both the Oculus Rift and Sony Morpheus headsets next year. But Gunjack is not Valkyrie. Built from the ground-up for mobile, it required a totally different approach from its better-known stablemate. It required learning how to make VR work on the smallest scale.
For $200, Samsung's latest Gear VR headset is a no-brainer
If you're the owner of a new Samsung Galaxy S6 or S6 Edge, an extra $200 will get you Samsung's Gear VR Innovator Edition, one of the first virtual reality headsets available to the public. Like others following the Oculus Rift story, I assumed that all VR headsets still presented issues like nausea and lag and weren't yet consumer-friendly. But I wanted to see for myself what the fuss was all about, and since I already have an S6 Edge, I decided to splurge on one. In a few short days, my prejudices have melted away: The Gear VR isn't perfect, but it already does plenty of things, and does them well.
Samsung's Gear Indie channel highlights independent VR filmmaking
Gear VR owners are about to get a whole new channel of 360-degree video content: Samsung just announced Gear Indie, an independent film channel for its Milk VR video platform. Over the next few weeks, Samsung will be hosting a showcase of 13 curated independent virtual reality films, including a time-lapse of the Mohave Desert, an experiment in first-person stop-motion animation, a comedy short about teleportation (Teleportaled, pictured above) and even a "virtual pet" simulator filmed at the San Diego Humane Society.
'Oculus Cinema' will let friends watch movies 'together'
If you've ever peered into a VR headset, you'll know it can be a pretty lonely experience -- much like going to an empty cinema in the real world. VR heavyweight Oculus will kill these two birds, with a forthcoming "multiplayer" mode for its virtual movie theater app Oculus Cinema. The update for the app lets friends enjoy films at the same time, and see them next to you in the same virtual cinema. Features like this are part of the push to make virtual reality a little bit more social, something Oculus-owners Facebook has been eager to do ever since it snapped up the virtual reality hardware company.
