Virtual Reality

The best things to do with your new HTC Vive, Oculus Rift, or PlayStation VR

by @thedextriarchy Dec 25, 2016, 11:45am EST

So you’ve been lucky enough to get a tethered VR headset for Christmas: Now what? VR headsets are still very new platforms, and you’ll probably be a little short on really high-quality games and apps for the near future. But that doesn’t mean...

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PlayStation VR now supports YouTube

by @thedextriarchy Dec 21, 2016, 4:52pm EST

YouTube’s VR video collection just added a major new platform: Sony’s PlayStation VR. As spotted by UploadVR, users across Reddit, Twitter, and other sites say that Version 1.09 of YouTube adds PSVR support, although it’s apparently rolling out...

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IMAX’s VR theaters aren’t coming this year after all

by @thedextriarchy Dec 20, 2016, 4:04pm EST

The first IMAX virtual reality theater, originally slated to open by the end of the year, is now expected in 2017. The IMAX VR Center in Manchester was supposed to be the first of a half-dozen such theaters to launch in 2016, offering VR...

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Oculus just made Gear VR way more social with voice chat and virtual living rooms

by @nickstatt Dec 16, 2016, 12:00pm EST

Oculus wants people to think of virtual reality as more than a solitary, gaming-centric experience. To that effect, the company today is launching two new features for the Samsung Gear VR headset that it hopes will encourage users to interact with...

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Samsung says a new Gear VR is coming soon, and it’s working on its own HoloLens

by @thedextriarchy Dec 16, 2016, 9:15am EST

Samsung Electronics vice president Sung-Hoon Hong says that Samsung is working on two new virtual and augmented reality systems: a successor to its Gear VR mobile headset, and a mixed reality device similar to the Microsoft HoloLens or Magic Leap....

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WordPress blogs now support 360-degree videos in virtual reality

by Jacob Kastrenakes Dec 15, 2016, 10:00am EST

All blogs hosted by WordPress.com are getting the ability to host VR content today. The site is launching support for 360-degree photos and videos, which will be viewable on desktop, mobile, and through actual virtual reality headsets. The...

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Five big questions about Oculus’ CEO shakeup

by @thedextriarchy Dec 14, 2016, 10:58am EST

Yesterday, virtual reality company Oculus announced that its CEO Brendan Iribe — part of the founding team and one of VR’s most prominent evangelists — is stepping down. Iribe isn’t leaving the company altogether, and he framed the decision as...

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Oculus’ CEO is stepping down to lead its new PC virtual reality group

by @thedextriarchy Dec 13, 2016, 1:33pm EST

Oculus CEO Brendan Iribe is stepping down to lead a newly established internal PC virtual reality division, leaving the Facebook-owned company’s top leadership position open. Oculus announced today that it will be internally dividing into two...

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Xbox One games arrive on Oculus Rift with new streaming app

by @tomwarren Dec 12, 2016, 12:32pm EST

Microsoft is releasing its Xbox streaming app to the Oculus Store today. It’s a simple streaming app that lets Xbox One owners stream games to the Rift VR headset, via a Windows 10 PC. Originally unveiled in June last year, it’s taken 18 months...

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What’s the right price for a VR game? Nobody seems to know

by @thedextriarchy Dec 11, 2016, 2:00pm EST

The last time I clearly remember saying a non-VR game was “worth the price,” it was 2013. The game was The Swapper, and I remember because game developer Jon Blow went on a Twitter rant about the turn of phrase soon after, which may or may not...

Bridge is a new headset that lets you mix virtual objects with the real world

by @sokane1 Dec 9, 2016, 11:00am EST

A fresh take on mobile VR and AR, powered by your iPhone

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I finally know what it’s like to get dumped by Natalie Portman and murdered by Kristen Stewart

by @Megan_Nicolett Dec 8, 2016, 2:10pm EST

The New York Times has produced a special VR-based video package as part of its annual Great Performers series. In addition to showcasing stellar performances from the likes of Ruth Negga, Don Cheadle, and Trevante Rhodes, it has a greater gift to...

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HTC is launching its own VR game and app studio

by @thedextriarchy Dec 8, 2016, 9:04am EST

HTC is launching a new development and publishing studio for virtual reality experiences. Vive Studios, as it’s called, will release both games developed at HTC and ones from external studios. Its first title, from an internal studio called 2...

Cracking the elaborate code

by Ben Popper Dec 7, 2016, 10:06am EST

To get to the Panoptic Studio at Carnegie Mellon University, you take an elevator down four flights to a dingy sub-basement. Inside room B510, a series of metal cross beams enclose a massive, otherworldly structure: a geodesic dome. Each of the...

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Nine great Oculus Touch games you should try (or watch) right now

by @thedextriarchy Dec 7, 2016, 8:28am EST

If you ordered the Touch controllers for Oculus’ Rift virtual reality headset, you’re probably either eagerly anticipating their arrival, or already pulling them out of the box for some motion-control gaming. But what should you play? Oculus has...

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Paul Bloom on why VR empathy projects won’t save the world

by @chengela Dec 6, 2016, 3:06pm EST

Can we save the world through empathy? For the past year, that idea has been a source of public debate as people try to figure out who deserves empathy, who doesn’t, and how to cultivate more of it to solve our problems. Technology has been a key...

Oculus Touch review: the Oculus Rift is finally complete

by @thedextriarchy Dec 5, 2016, 10:04am EST

When the Oculus Rift reawakened our fascination with virtual reality in 2012, it was largely a visual medium. People imagined their average VR experience as a more exciting and immersive version of a traditional game or movie, something that gave...

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Leap Motion lets you use real hand motion in a mobile VR headset

by @thedextriarchy Dec 5, 2016, 8:00am EST

Hand-tracking company Leap Motion is announcing a new platform that will bring its tech to mobile phone-based virtual reality headsets. The Leap Motion Mobile Platform uses two miniature cameras, embedded in a face plate, to detect finger motion...

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Reminder: you can play Battlefront’s cool X-Wing VR mission next week

by @thedextriarchy Dec 3, 2016, 9:00am EST

Sorry, it's not the Death Star trench run

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Here are the 53 launch titles that will be available for the Oculus Touch controllers

by @cgartenberg Dec 1, 2016, 4:29pm EST

The Oculus Rift’s motion controllers come out on December 6th, and Oculus just announced the list of over 50 Touch-compatible games and apps that will be available on the Oculus Store at launch. There are 53 launch titles in all, ranging from...

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Google’s Daydream View VR headset is now available in crimson red and white

by Chris Welch Dec 1, 2016, 4:29pm EST

Starting today, Google’s Daydream View VR headset comes in two new colors: crimson (dark red) and snow (white). Both are available for immediate purchase from the company’s online store, are scheduled to ship by December 8th, and are priced at $79...

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An Assassin’s Creed VR experience is coming to theaters in four US cities

by @thedextriarchy Dec 1, 2016, 9:00am EST

Virtual reality is still a difficult sell, so some of the industry’s most promising plans involve putting it in places people already congregate — including movie theaters. From December 2nd to January 1st, AMC theaters in Austin, Los Angeles, New...

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You can actually buy Zotac’s VR backpack PC now

by @cgartenberg Nov 29, 2016, 5:30pm EST

Zotac released the VR Go today, joining MSI in the relatively small club of companies that are actually shipping wearable VR backpacks. For those who are unfamiliar, VR backpacks are wearable gaming computers meant to allow for untethered...

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MIT's new method of radio transmission could one day make wireless VR a reality

by @cgartenberg Nov 28, 2016, 11:33am EST

If you want to use one of today's major VR headsets, whether the Oculus Rift, the HTC Vive, or the PS VR, you have to accept the fact that there will be an illusion-shattering cable that tethers you to the small supercomputer that's powering your...

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Steam is about to take over PC gaming all over again — this time, with VR

by @thedextriarchy Nov 23, 2016, 12:01pm EST

For years now, Valve’s Steam service has dominated PC gaming. Not every title is on its store, and markets like GoG and Itch.io have carved out their own niche. But it’s still probably the best-known way to find and play games on any computer —...

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Get $100 off the HTC Vive during Black Friday

by @thedextriarchy Nov 21, 2016, 10:40am EST

If you’ve been biding your time to get an HTC Vive, you can save $100 on one later this week. On Black Friday and Cyber Monday, HTC is dropping the Vive’s price at all online and retail stores, including Amazon and the official Vive site. That...

Inside Sansar, the VR successor to Second Life

by @thedextriarchy Nov 18, 2016, 2:36pm EST

The door is bright red, perched at the top of a mossy stone staircase in the middle of a floating island. When I approach, a mysterious tune begins emanating from it, as if playing from the other side. Right now, it’s just a simple prop, and there...

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Daydream Nation

by @thedextriarchy Nov 18, 2016, 1:47pm EST

It’s a couple of weeks before the Daydream View headset launches, and at Google’s Mountain View headquarters, the team has filled a room with pieces of its past. The tables are littered with fabric swatches, molded foam shells, and things that...

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The creators of The Walking Dead are bringing immersive theater into virtual reality

by @bcbishop Nov 17, 2016, 1:00pm EST

The immersive theater series Delusion has been scaring audiences in Los Angeles since 2011, and now the creators of The Walking Dead are bringing the show to virtual reality. Robert Kirkman’s Skybound Entertainment announced today that it will be...

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Virtual Reality

The best things to do with your new HTC Vive, Oculus Rift, or PlayStation VR

PlayStation VR now supports YouTube

IMAX’s VR theaters aren’t coming this year after all

Oculus just made Gear VR way more social with voice chat and virtual living rooms

Samsung says a new Gear VR is coming soon, and it’s working on its own HoloLens

WordPress blogs now support 360-degree videos in virtual reality

Five big questions about Oculus’ CEO shakeup

Oculus’ CEO is stepping down to lead its new PC virtual reality group

Xbox One games arrive on Oculus Rift with new streaming app

What’s the right price for a VR game? Nobody seems to know

Bridge is a new headset that lets you mix virtual objects with the real world

I finally know what it’s like to get dumped by Natalie Portman and murdered by Kristen Stewart

HTC is launching its own VR game and app studio

Cracking the elaborate code

Nine great Oculus Touch games you should try (or watch) right now

Paul Bloom on why VR empathy projects won’t save the world

Oculus Touch review: the Oculus Rift is finally complete

Leap Motion lets you use real hand motion in a mobile VR headset

Reminder: you can play Battlefront’s cool X-Wing VR mission next week

Here are the 53 launch titles that will be available for the Oculus Touch controllers

Google’s Daydream View VR headset is now available in crimson red and white

An Assassin’s Creed VR experience is coming to theaters in four US cities

You can actually buy Zotac’s VR backpack PC now

MIT's new method of radio transmission could one day make wireless VR a reality

Steam is about to take over PC gaming all over again — this time, with VR

Get $100 off the HTC Vive during Black Friday

Inside Sansar, the VR successor to Second Life

Daydream Nation

The creators of The Walking Dead are bringing immersive theater into virtual reality

You can now fly around Google Earth in virtual reality

EA's CEO on why your life is about to be a video game

Apple working on Google Glass-style AR glasses, says report