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Got an HTC Vive? Now's your chance to swim with a blue whale.
HTC's Vive virtual reality headset has finally begun shipping to enthusiasts' homes. But a high-end VR headset is only as good as its content. Which is why LA-based VR studio Wevr is making its Transport platform (think: Netflix for VR) available to users today. Interested VR heads can head to Steam or hit up Wevr's own site now to download the app. The best part? Transport will debut with three key pieces of free content: the surrealistic, deep space experience Irrational Exuberance; the shifting music video perspectives of Crown by hip hop group Run The Jewels; and underwater odyssey theBlu: Whale Encounter.
HTC starts shipping its Vive virtual reality headset
Oculus may have gotten a little head start by shipping its Rift virtual reality headset almost two weeks ago, but HTC's VR gadget is heading to customers today. The HTC Vive is heading out to folks who pre-ordered the $799 device that arrives with two location sensors and a pair of wireless controllers. The company confirmed reports of payment processing issues a few days ago, promising to send out shipments based on position in the pre-order queue. Of course, Oculus is facing shipping delays of its own due to "unexpected component shortage."
Ikea made a kitchen showroom in VR
Sometimes, a trip to Ikea can feel like an early glimpse at the apocalypse. The crowds, the screaming kids, it's all a bit much. But oftentimes a visit is inevitable in order to see what a particular sofa, bed or coffee table looks like in real life. Wouldn't it be great if you could get the same experience at home? Ikea has tried this before with augmented reality, and now it's going a step further with virtual reality. Through Steam, the company has made an app for the HTC Vive which puts you in a make-believe kitchen.
HTC Vive review: Truly immersive VR comes at a cost
The virtual reality wars have officially begun. Last week the consumer version of the Oculus Rift finally started shipping, and now HTC's $800 Vive headset is ready to roll. It's a collaboration between HTC and Valve, and it's also a showcase for Valve's SteamVR platform. In particular, the two companies are aiming for a more immersive VR experience: The Vive comes with motion controllers, and you can turn an entire room into a VR play field. More so than the Rift, the Vive shows us that interacting with virtual environments naturally is a key part of immersion. But unfortunately, you'll have to deal with additional discomfort and a higher cost to achieve that.
Oculus Rift and HTC Vive buyers face shipping headaches
Your gleaming vision of a virtual reality future may have to wait a while. Both Oculus Rift and HTC Vive buyers are facing delays and other headaches that are preventing them from getting their VR headsets as quickly as expected. In the case of the Rift, Oculus is telling pre-order customers that there was an "unexpected component shortage" that's pushing back delivery. The company is promising free shipping to these early adopters as compensation, but they won't get updated shipping statuses until April 12th -- not fun if you were previously poised to get one within days.
Orbital survival simulator 'Adr1ft' floats to Vive in May
Folks who (digitally) lined up to buy the HTC Vive have another game to add to their wishlist: Adr1ft. Publisher 505 Games announced today that the game inspired by its creator's Twitter freakout will hit HTC and Valve's room-scale VR platform this May for $20. It's already available for Oculus Rift and has been confirmed for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, albeit in non-VR form.
A 'Star Trek' Holodeck in Steam VR was inevitable
Let's face it: if you grew up watching Star Trek: The Next Generation, you probably see virtual reality as just a stepping stone toward the Holy Grail of simulation, the Holodeck. It's no surprise, then, that Reddit users illogical_cpt and Bradllez have found a way to bring the Holodeck to VR. Thanks in part to work from Psyrek, they built a Holodeck grid for Steam VR that serves as an extremely appropriate background while you're between games. It's not going to be as vast or immersive as the "real" thing, and you'll need a compatible headset (like the HTC Vive) to even give this a try. Still, it's a pleasant reminder that science fiction and reality are much closer than they used to be.
SteamVR recreates your PC desktop in virtual reality
Steam already offered (compatible) VR headset owners the ability to drag their (ugh!) two-dimensional games, kicking and screaming, into virtual reality with courtesy of its Desktop Theater mode. Now it's bringing everything your PC shows into your VR headset. The Steam Desktop overlay pulls your PC desktop into its VR Dashboard, meaning early-adopting users can change settings (or read email?) without even taking their headset off.
How HTC and Valve built the Vive
Long before the Vive was born, both software developer Valve and phone manufacturer HTC were separately looking into virtual reality. In 2012, VR was beginning to creep back into the public imagination. It started in May of that year, when id Software's John Carmack demoed a modified Oculus Rift running Doom 3. The following month, he took the Rift to a wider audience at the E3 games convention. By August, Palmer Luckey launched the Oculus Kickstarter campaign, and it broke records. Almost overnight, the Rift went from an intriguing prototype to a truly exciting reality. But while all of this was happening, Valve was already at work on its own solution.
Steam will help you play any game in VR
Sure, SteamVR is making it easy to play virtual reality games. However, you probably have a whole bunch of conventional games in your Steam library -- what about those? Don't worry, you're set. Valve has unveiled SteamVR Desktop Theater Mode, which lets you play any Steam game in VR. Ultimately, it boils down to putting your games on a big, simulated screen. What it looks like isn't clear yet, but it should work with the HTC Vive and any other SteamVR-friendly headset. The Desktop Theater is in early beta testing now, and will get a proper debut at the Game Developers Conference next week.
Take out space pirates in 'Gunjack' on Oculus Rift and Vive
Gunjack places you in the gunner seat of a spaceship in the EVE universe, battling interstellar crafts as they attempt to infiltrate the mining vessel under your protection -- all in glorious virtual reality. It launched in November alongside the Samsung Gear VR headset, and now it's heading to Oculus Rift and HTC Vive for $10. Gunjack hits PCs for the Rift when the headset begins shipping on March 28th and it'll come to Vive later in 2016.
'Elite Dangerous' will return to Oculus Rift on launch day
Elite Dangerous has been a confirmed VR title since 2013, and has supported the Oculus Rift development kit for well over a year. But development hasn't exactly been fast-paced. At present, the giant open-world space adventure game only runs on a very outdated Oculus firmware, essentially meaning that gamers have to choose between playing Elite Dangerous or everything else. That's going to change soon though, as Elite Dangerous will officially be supported on the headset and released on the Oculus Store on launch day, March 28th. If you've already purchased Elite Dangerous through other means, Oculus says you'll be able to get the new edition free of charge. Players will be able to "migrate" their game to the Oculus Store using a free code from developer Frontier. It's not entirely clear if players will be able to enjoy the same experience directly through the launcher that shipped with the Steam version. Right now the Steam page only lists the HTC Vive as supported under VR, but that could change closer to the release date. We've reached out to Frontier for clarification.
Use your fingers to play in Vive's world with the Manus VR glove
The Manus VR glove promises to take handheld controllers out of virtual reality, allowing players to use natural hand and finger motions within immersive, digital spaces. It's compatible with the HTC Vive, taking advantage of that system's Lighthouse positional tracking tech, and pre-orders for its first-ever developer kit open in Q2 this year. The kits cost $250 and should ship in Q3.
Immerse yourself in Vive's VR with two mixed-reality videos
Fantastic Contraption launches with the HTC Vive virtual reality headset on April 5th and it promises to take advantage of the technology's coolest features. It's a full-body kind of game that challenges you to craft objects that can overcome physical obstacles to reach specific points in the world. If that description doesn't excite you, take a look at these mixed-reality demo videos featuring Fantastic Contraption developer Colin Northway and get hype.
A day with the HTC Vive
Virtual reality in your home is finally ... well, real. And I'm not just referring to VR-lite experiences like Google Cardboard or Samsung's Gear VR. I'm talking about graphically rich, forget where you are, so genuine you can almost touch it, virtual reality. After dreaming about the possibilities of VR for decades and following its most recent wave closely, it's hard to believe it's finally here. That sentiment hit me with the force of a virtual tidal wave when the HTC Vive Pre arrived at my apartment yesterday.
You can now pre-order HTC's Vive VR headset for $799
If you passed on the Oculus Rift because you're dead set on owning HTC's Vive VR headset, your time has now come. The company has just opened pre-orders for the $799 bundle (€899 in Europe and £689 in the UK), which includes the Vive headset, two wand controllers, a couple of room scale movement sensors and three VR titles.
HTC's Vive will cost £689 in the UK
At last, we have a UK price for the HTC Vive. We always knew that the VR headset would cost a little more than the Oculus Rift, given the difference in the pair's hardware. The bundled wand controllers and the external sensors for room mapping and location-tracking...it had to add up. But how much? £689.
Here's our first look at the HTC Vive consumer edition
After announcing that the consumer version of the Vive VR headset will be going on sale for $799, HTC finally let us get a close look at its hardware today at Mobile World Congress. For the most part, it looks a lot like the Vive Pre we saw back at CES, but HTC says it reworked the headband and added other tweaks to make it a lot more ergonomic. We weren't able to touch the headset (by threat of tackling), so we can't say if it actually feels any different. Pre-orders for the Vive will begin on February 29th, and it'll start shipping out in early April. Chris Velazco contributed to this report.
IBM's supercomputer will power an online, anime VR game
It's a bit odd that no one's thought to fuse the virtual-reality, role-playing game centric anime Sword Art Online into a proper VR experience before now, but that's the future we live in. No worries though, because IBM is using (Japanese) its Watson Cognitive Computing tech and SoftLayer cloud computing for Sword Art Online: The Beginning. It's a massively multiplayer VR game, of course, and perhaps other details will clear themselves up come a Tokyo-based event running from March 18th to the 20th. There, a 3D scanner will put folks' likenesses into the game for use as an avatar, Siliconera reports.
Valve uses 'Portal' robots to find out if your PC is VR-ready
In mere months we'll finally have two of the "big three" virtual reality headsets out in the market. While your bank account might be more than capable of writing the HTC Vive and Oculus Rift pre-order checks, can your PC's performance actually cash them? Valve has a test for that. The SteamVR Performance Test is just over two minutes long and takes place in a Portal-inspired non-interactive testing facility. Naturally.
