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'Iron Man' director's VR game lands on September 8th
On top of trying to outdo a beloved Disney classic, director Jon Favreau achieved a fascinating feat with his film adaption of The Jungle Book: Aside from its young actor portraying Mowgli, every other character and setting were built with CGI. But it seems he's still eager to make computer-created immersion. The first part of the filmmaker's next project, the fantasy VR experience Gnomes & Goblins, will be digitally released for free on September 8th.
VR game developers prefer the HTC Vive, grapple with nausea
The decision to get a high-end virtual reality headset is as much about the software selection as the technology itself. So which platform is getting the most attention from developers? Apparently, it's HTC's Vive. A UBM Game Network industry report shows that 49 percent of VR developers are targeting the Vive, while 43 percent are writing software for the Oculus Rift. And the gap gets wider when it comes to the next game from these studios -- nearly 35 percent are building for the Vive, while a little over 23 percent are aiming at the Rift.
Duel your friends 'Tron'-style in 'Project Arena' VR
Project Arena is a full-body VR game that pits two players against each other in a Tron-esque light-disc battle. It was born from Icelandic developer CCP's "VR Labs," an initiative of experimentation and iteration in which teams are free to create lots of working concepts before working out which can become full games. Project Arena has already passed the first test -- it morphed into the "project" phase this year from the concept phase last year (when it was called Disc Arena).
'Star Trek: Bridge Crew' hits VR headsets November 29th
Ubisoft has dropped the dates for three of its incoming VR games, including Star Trek: Bridge Crew. That title, set in JJ Abrams Star Trek universe, is available for pre-order and arrives on all three major platforms, the Oculus Rift, HTC Vive and Sony PlayStation VR on November 29th. It lets you take on the role of captain, engineer, tactical officer or helmsman on the Enterprise-style "Aegis" bridge. The aim is to work with your crew mates to help settle Vulcan's remaining population after the planet was destroyed in the first Star Trek reboot.
HTC switches up the Vive VR pack-in games
To help soften the blow of the HTC Vive's $800 price tag (or, lord help you, the $1200 Business Edition), the company has struck deals with studios to give you free games with each headset purchase. They just shook up their SteamVR bundle, keeping Tilt Shift but swapping out Fantastic Contraption and Job Simulator for a new duo of games. Buyers will get codes to download the titles from the Steam gaming service.
Valve is letting third-party peripherals use HTC Vive's tracker (updated)
Much like Valve open-sourced its Steam controller gamepad, it's doing something similar for the Vive VR headset's stand-out feature. The company has recently opened up SteamVR's room-scale 3D tracking system to anyone, as spotted by The Verge. Development kits include a pair of HTC Vive base stations; a "full complement of EVM circuit boards to enable rapid prototyping of your own tracked object" and 40 sensors for your tracked object that could be applied to a VR golf club or indoor drone, among other options.
Intel scientist teases depth-sensing 'horn' for HTC Vive
Intel scientist Dimitri Diakopoulos revealed a sneak peek of an interesting depth sensing camera that attaches to HTC's Vive headset. "I felt that VR needed a solid unicorn peripheral with six additional cameras," he tweeted. The device, presumably based on Intel's RealSense tech, may be designed to track your hands or keep you from bumping into things. He mentioned that each camera weighs 10 grams (0.35 ounces), and said the design maintains the headset's original balance point.
HTC's 10 and Vive boost sales, but the future still looks grim
HTC's Vive VR headset and HTC 10 smartphone sold briskly in Q2 2016, boosting revenue 27 percent over last quarter to 18.9 billion Taiwanese dollars ($598 million). The bad news is that compared to the same period last year, sales are down 42.7 percent -- not quite as bad as the 64 percent tumble last quarter, but still a precipitous drop. The company had an operating loss of 4.2 billion Taiwanese dollars ($133 million), making five straight quarters of futility.
Steam's latest weekend sale slashes VR game prices
Steam tossed some VR experiences into last month's summer sale, but this time, it's throwing a party exclusively for virtual reality enthusiasts. The gaming platform has just announced a VR weekend sale, where it's selling 175 titles for up to 80 percent off. Sure, the selection isn't as extensive, but don't forget that we've only just begun exploring the world of virtual reality. The games and experiences in the list will work with the the Oculus Rift and the HTC Vive, which, if you'll recall, was a collaboration between the Taiwanese company and Steam's creator Valve.
HTC Vive owners can finally face the void in 'Adr1ft'
It may be a few months late, but the day is finally here: Adr1ft, Adam Orth's VR orbital survival simulator, is now available for the HTC Vive. The Oculus Rift launch exclusive was originally planned to launch on SteamVR back in May, but was delayed to build an experience unique to the HTC Vive and its motion controllers. The wait may have been worth it -- the game's creator says Vive's motion controls have changed the game in dramatic and unexpected ways.
BigScreen adds audio sharing to fulfill its 'Virtual LAN' promise
BigScreen launched in beta back in April as a software solution to run conventional apps or films on a "screen" within VR for HTC Vive and Oculus Rift headsets. But one of its coolest features, sharing your digital monitor with friends, was hampered by the program's inability to send along any accompanying audio. Today, BigScreen is fixing that, adding the ability to hear exactly what your friend is listening to in a setup the team calls "Desktop Audio Streaming."
PhD student uses a robot to make VR feel more real
Between the HTC Vive and the Oculus Rift, we've come a long way towards being able to step in to virtual worlds -- but touching those false realities is a different matter. Solving this means finding a haptic technology that can adapt to needs of a constantly changing virtual environment. One PhD student's solution? Use a robot arm.
New in our buyer's guide: All the phones (just the good ones)
It took us a while, but now that we've reviewed the Moto Z, we think we're done testing flagship phones until the iPhone 7 or next Galaxy Note come out (whichever arrives first). With that in mind, we can now confidently say that the following phones belong in our buyer's guide: the Samsung Galaxy S7, the HTC 10 and the iPhone SE. (Sorry, LG, maybe next year.) While we were at it, we also inducted the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive VR headsets, since we likely them more or less equally. And, in the less-expensive realm, we added the Roku Streaming Stick in the A/V category. Head over to our buyer's guide hub for all the details on these and many more. That's it for now, but stay tuned -- who knows what we'll add after the next gadget-reviewing frenzy.
'Star Wars' VR experiment comes to HTC Vive on July 18th
You don't have to wait much longer to live out you dreams of wielding a lightsaber in virtual reality. HTC and Lucasfilm have revealed that Star Wars: Trials on Tatooine, their VR gaming experiment, will be available on July 18th through Steam. And it's free as long as you have an HTC Vive, so it won't cost more to role-play a Padawan. The no-cost move isn't surprising (this isn't an in-depth game), but it's welcome if you've been hoping to find a new showcase for your headset.
NVIDIA's 'VR Funhouse' carnival game just launched on Steam
A few months ago, NVIDIA showed off a new virtual reality tech demo designed to showcase what its new graphics technology could do for VR. Today, it's releasing that demo to the public: VR Funhouse is a free, virtual reality carnival with collision-based haptic feedback, advanced physics simulation and a ton of other NVIDIA graphics technologies designed to make fire, hair, water and particles all look more real. All you need to play is an HTC Vive and a really, really powerful computer.
'Fruit Ninja VR' is now available for the HTC Vive
Fruit Ninja on mobile is fun, but we're sure some of you would prefer slashing oranges, apples and watermelons like you would a real sword katana. We hope you have an HTC Vive then, because the virtual reality version of the fruit-slicing game is now out on Steam for the headset. The VR version transforms Vive controllers into traditional Japanese swords in game, which you can use to show a bunch of succulent fruits who's boss.
HTC's Vive business is now run by a new subsidiary
HTC has seen its share of ups and downs and CEO shuffles in the past few years. Now, with its virtual reality division looking strong on the back of the HTC Vive release, the Taiwanese company may be prepping to spin off that lucrative business into its own wholly-owned subsidiary called "HTC Vive Tech Corporation."
Play 'Fallout 4' in VR next year
Bethesda is building a version of Fallout 4 for the HTC Vive headset, and it'll be ready next year. "If you thought that survival mode was an intense way to experience Fallout", Bethesda marketing chief Pete Hines said at the company's E3 press conference, "you ain't seen nothing yet." The company is showing off a small section of gameplay at E3. It's also got Doom in VR, which offers "a virtual tour of hell." It sounds a lot like an environmental demo, rather than an actual game. We'll bring you impressions of both once we've had a chance to check them out.
The first 'Star Trek' VR game arrives this fall
If you're a Star Trek fan, the odds are that your dream game (outside of a Holodeck) involves helming a starship as if you were really on the bridge. Well, you're about to get your wish: Ubisoft has teased Star Trek: Bridge Crew, the sci-fi series' first-ever virtual reality game. The title is set in JJ Abrams' Star Trek universe, and has you taking on the captain, engineer, helm or tactical stations of the remarkably Enterprise-like starship Aegis as it resettles what's left of the Vulcan population. Think of it as a very sophisticated VR version of Spaceteam -- you have to coordinate with the rest of your crew to explore the galaxy and fight off enemies.
VTime lets you hang with friends in VR, whatever the hardware
As virtual reality goes more and more mainstream, there are still scant few options where you can just get your friends together and, you know... hang out in a VR world. Like, on the side of a cliff perhaps. Enter: vTime, which just rolled out an updated version for Gear VR, Google Cardboard and Oculus Rift.
