NetEase reveals details about Nostos, the company’s first open-world multiplayer VR game at Gamescom

NetEase, Inc. revealed at Gamescom 2018 new details about Nostos, the company’s first open-world multiplayer VR game, and the integration of SpatialOS technology. Coming in 2019, Nostos is set in a post-apocalyptic world featuring breathtaking natural environments inspired by classic Anime style in which players can explore the mysterious world around them as it nears the end of its days.

Players will explore the vast and desolate world of Nostos where the remnants of civilization remain and, though its cities are long abandoned, the relics they leave behind may be the key to thwarting extinction for the survivors, who face new dangers as the limited resources dwindle. While exploring the mysterious ruins of Nostos across deserts, grasslands, mountains and more, players must survive its increasingly inhospitable climates and fierce enemies. But time is limited, for scattered throughout these lands are the dangerous and ever-expanding “Coralsea”, encroaching and threatening the very lands on which the people depend on for survival. Teamwork is key as players gather resources, build a clan they can trust, and fight to pull the world of Nostos back from the brink of utter desolation.

Leveraging Improbable’s SpatialOS simulation technology, the world of Nostos will have players adventuring through a massive seamless open world as they face unexpected meteorological phenomena, build new wonders and encounter intense combat, all hot on the heels of the apocalypse.

By working with this cloud-based platform, NetEase will provide players with superior physical simulations and an unprecedented virtual world experience.

The game is being produced by ShuiGe, who brings 10 years of game development experience and previously led research and development of several successful massively multiplayer online games at NetEase.

Tongue-in-cheek TSA VR simulator, TSA Frisky out today.

TSA Frisky s a tongue-in-cheek look into the world of a TSA agent. Think Job Simulator but with something that people hate dealing with at airports. The game throws you right in the middle of a busy airport security checkpoint. Dulles International Airport security is jealous of all the action you'll be getting as a new recruit. Pat-down suspicious passengers and look through unassuming luggage to find pesky contraband items. The game originally started as a student project at the Savannah College of Art and Design and looks to poke a little fun at this now common aspect of traveling. Much like the indie hit Papers Please, the game takes a serious topic and adds fun and humor while still managing to keep an aspect of the hectic tension in the gameplay mechanics.

 TSA Frisky is now available for Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, and Windows Mixed Reality Headsets on Steam for $14.99. 

"VR creates a unique platform that allows developers to create unique first-person experiences," says Remy Bustani of Out There Entertainment. "Everyone hates the security checkpoints at airports, so we thought it would be fun to experience the other side of that nightmare."
 

Players will have to earn their promotions through multiple levels of stress-inducing checkpoints and unruly travelers in order to find success in their department. Each shift players will unlock new equipment to make their jobs easier but with better tech comes higher numbers of people and less time to get through them all. 

Evil Dead Virtual Nightmare will be coming to mobile VR Devices

Following on from the successful partnership that brought ‘Evil Dead: Endless Nightmare’ to iOS and Android, indie publisher Boomdash Digital has today announced that they have brought the companies back together for an exciting new VR project.

‘Evil Dead: Virtual Nightmare’ will offer fans a truly unique opportunity to fully immerse themselves within the Evil Dead universe unlike ever before. With 360 degree sound and vision the players can roam freely around the Evil Dead world. ‘Evil Dead: Virtual Nightmare’ will offer players a thrilling experience in first person mode inside the infamous cabin and engage them taking on Deadites in the surrounding forest.

Scheduled for release in June 2018, ‘Evil Dead: Virtual Nightmare’ will be the second publishing project that Boomdash Digital has licensed from Ghosthouse Entertainment. By bringing together industry financing specialists Tasseract and continued support from Screen Northern Ireland, ‘Evil Dead: Virtual Nightmare’ will be developed in Belfast as part of the city’s growing creative scene. The deal was brokered on behalf of Ghosthouse by Striker Entertainment, Ghosthouse’s worldwide licensing agency.

“After the successful partnerships that was established for ‘Evil Dead: Endless Nightmare’, it only felt natural to bring everyone back together to collaborate on this next project. We’re excited to be working with all parties and bringing Evil Dead to the mobile VR audience. It develops further our capabilities of working with brand owners to mobilise their properties to existing and now VR audiences.” - Viktorya Hollings, Production Director at Boomdash.

ARK Park brought me closer to how I felt watching the original Jurassic Park than buying a $15 ticket to see Jurassic World.

ARK Park is now available on HTC Vive  PSVR, Oculus Rift, and Windows Mixed Reality headsets and I think it is an incredible experience for anyone who loves Dinosaurs. During a GDC event for the game I was able to meet with the development team and learned about a recent moment they had to help the life of a young boy.

“We take VR very seriously. What we have here is technology that can truly change the world. It was my great pleasure to be able to make the trip to England – bringing with me a VR headset and a copy of ARK Park to show our newest and possibly youngest fan at eight years old. The love and affection I witnessed left a lasting impression on me – and seeing Jason play the game we worked so hard on filled my heart with joy.”- Tianqi “Sky” Wu (Vice President, Snail Games)

The above video details Sky Wu's journey to share ARK Park with an autistic boy who is fascinated by dinosaurs. The boys father reached out to the ARK Park team when he heard about the game and asked for beta access. Instead Sky visited young Jason and left an impression that may last a lifetime. 

Say what you want about ARK Park but I love the game and consider it the Jurassic Park game I always wanted. When I first saw Jurassic Park I wanted to go out and pet little dinosaurs and the exploration and education modes are fascinating to me. I often found myself interacting with the dinosaurs in the game as I would my own pets. 

Based on Studio Wildcard’s best-selling ARK: Survival Evolved, ARK Park is a VR extension of that universe developed by Snail games with more than 100 dinosaurs available in the game to interact with. 

The game is not perfect by any means but still has provides some magic moments in this early stage of VR. Encountering dinosaurs and my varied interactions from riding a Triceratops to encountering silly Giant Beavers brought a big smile to my face. Its hard to say the value of a game but I would say that ARK Park brought me closer to how I felt watching the original Jurassic Park than buying a $15 ticket to see Jurassic World. 

“ARK Park – like the baby dinos in the game – is in its infancy. VR fans are now getting their first taste of this massive new addition to the ARK franchise. If you want more content in ARK Park, I can tell you one thing: It’s coming. This is an incredibly exciting time for us, and we can’t wait to show gamers what the future holds for them.”-Peter Kang (Director, Snail Games)

Survios is quickly showing that they may be the heavyweight champ of VR game development

GDC 2018 was definitely not my first rodeo at a major gaming event and I have seen my fair share of the gaming dog and pony show.  Having been to several E3's and even having been present at the controversial THQ Homefront red balloon event I've been around the block. Part of the thrill of game journalism is the rumors and I have been waiting to see who would be the VR company that people would be gossiping about months before events like they do about the Bethesda's and Naughty Dog's of the PC and console world.

Sure Oculus and HTC get articles written about them but that is mostly for the hardware side. This year at GDC, Survios showed me that they are more than a flash in the pan VR contender. Garnering acclaim for Raw Data, a VR game that was the first make 1 million dollars in sales, the team got the attention of MGM and is now moving faster at making VR HITS than any other VR development company in the space. 

The team had their latest hit game Sprint Vector on display but also set a high bar for VR gaming at GDC with their super fun entry into the VR Music space, Electronauts, as well as their first game partnered with MGM, CREED: RISE TO GLORY.

Electronauts is a VR sonic experience where users can remix, compose, jam, and perform on uniquely designed electronic instruments. My hands on demo showed an intuitive and fun platform that was easy to pick up and easy to see how much sonic potential it had. There are people in the media that are quick to say that VR is dead, experiences like Electronauts show why they may be jumping the gun. The experience of mixing was satisfying and one that is shareable in many ways. During the Unity GDC party, Electronauts Audio Engineer showed the party potential of the VR software while mixed along side a scratch DJ. 

More hot fire from the @ElectronautsVR team @unity3d #GDC2018 #GDC party. I wanna take it to #dj at #burningman pic.twitter.com/r6JK87QUKd

— CatsAndVR@GDC (@CatsAndVR) March 22, 2018

Music is one of the most fundamental social languages that exist and many have tried to tap into that in VR to help grow the ecosystem. With Electronauts, Survios may have found a winning formula that can bring more celebrity endorsements to VR. During GDC noted WWE superstar and video game evangelist Xavier Woods tweeted that Electronauts was one of the coolest musical experiences he had in along time, not just for VR but for music as a whole.

One of the coolest musical experiences that I've had in a long time. Insanely satisfying #Electronauts @Survios #GDC pic.twitter.com/Gj4m3ugEH3

— Austin Creed (@XavierWoodsPhD) March 22, 2018

Since Xavier Woods used to go by the name Consequences Creed this is a good segue into the other new title Survios had on display. The companies fourth game and first collaborative project with MGM, CREED: Rise to Glory is cinematic boxing game inspired by the latest entry into the Rocky movie universe. 

“In all the VR experiences we build, we aim to make our players feel empowered, and REED: RISE TO GLORY™ accomplishes this in a very cinematic and active way," said James Iliff, Survios co-founder and Chief Creative Officer. “We’re throwing players into iconic boxing arenas, trading blows with the top fighters from the franchise, all while experiencing the thrills and showtime dramatics of the ultimate Hollywood-style boxing exhibition. With our new Phantom Melee Technology™, the game provides an authentic immersive experience that truly makes you feel like a boxing world champion." 

With CREED, Survios had one of the only VR games to have a line at GDC and created a immersive spectacle with a boxing ring that reminded me of E3. The ring did add an extra level of immersion and offered a great view of the experience for spectators and people in line. The game was one of the best VR boxing experiences I have played and only the fact of my limited playtime kept it from being the best. The visuals are very well done and though not completely realistic they are also not cartoony. Lets just say if their was a realistic Rocky Balboa comic book this is what it would look like. In fact I swore that I heard Rocky grunt at me during the training portion only to find out that there was no audio for him yet. The game feels like a boxing training simulator and it was a pretty good workout as well. After playing a few rounds I got a chance to interview some of the team.

Since this is the fourth game from Survios I asked producer Kim Marlis about what lessons from the previous games did they apply to CREED: RISE TO GLORY.

"We utilized all the tech from previous games and made it work with what we are trying to accomplish with CREED. We also looked back at all the pain points of previous games so we don't have to go through them again. At Survios we like to learn from our past experiences and become better. We are taking all the useful data from our previous games and applying them to CREED."

The bell has rung for the final rounds of @MGM_Studios' CREED: Rise to Glory™ 🥊 Thanks #GDC18 for such an awesome #CreedRTG debut--we'll see you back in the #VR ring soon! pic.twitter.com/uGzGlnpyWu

— Survios (@Survios) March 23, 2018

Seeing how fast Survios has moved since having a hit with Raw Data, they seem very poised to keep getting better. If they continue at this rate they may very well be the VR company people associate with quality VR. I think there is a saying that goes like a rising tide floats all boats or something to that effect. My point is that the success of the Survios team is a success for VR as a whole. Once VR grows just a bit more Survios looks to be the team to get the name recognition like the  Naughty Dog's of the world. I wish the team the best and hope by writing this I can get an invite to that eventual Survios E3 party featuring Dr. Dre, Michael B. Jordan, and Wiz Khalifa. :)

Archiact's Evasion showcases at GDC 2018 how much improvement the Vive Pro adds to the VR experience.

Last October I had my first hands on with Archiact's upcoming bullet hell FPS Evasion. Evasion is an intense VR Bullet Hell game designed to immerse players in high intensity co-op multiplayer combat. Designed from the ground up as a VR FPS action game, Evasion has some of the best VR locomotion that I have encountered in a game.,

Heading to GDC 2018 I was very excited to see what improvements have made to the game. The latest demo showed off the Warden and Engineer class, implemented a new tutorial mode, and showcased new physics to the game. The biggest change was that this time I played the game in the Vive Pro. The resolution change has made things look vibrant. With the HTC Vive Pro, HTC has increased the resolution of the dual-OLED displays to 2880 x 1600. The rumored increase in resolution is said to be over 70%.

Playing Evasion in the Vive Pro was a great experience as the added resolution made for a much tighter and faster game play experience. This was my first time using a Vive Pro and the difference in resolution was dramatic. The additional pixel density increase allowed me to spend time looking at what my co-op partner was doing in the distance and in turn play more strategic. 

Evasion has an excellent locomotion system and the frantic co-op gameplay never gave me any motion sickness or framerate drops. The demo I played was very polished both in art and gameplay and is an amazing showcase piece for the Vive Pro.  If someone had said this was a Destiny VR prototype I would have believed them, instead this is a nice addition to the VR FPS landscape.  I had a chance to learn more about the game at GDC when I chatted with Evasion's Senior Producer, Jennifer Dowding .

Coming to HTC Vive and Oculus Rift in Fall 2018 you can wishlist the game now on Steam. https://store.steampowered.com/app/68...

Catan VR is available on both Rift and Gear today, will be a Go launch title, and you can play as a CAT!

Asmodee Digital and virtual reality game developer Experiment 7 today announced the release of Catan VR, a new virtual reality experience which invites you to play a game of Catan on the island of Catan itself. CatsAndVR has been a long time fan of the work of Experiment 7 from their work on their Magic Table platform and the D&D table top game Dungeon Chess

Developed in conjunction with original Catan creators, father and son Klaus and Benjamin Teuber, Catan VR elevates the title with vibrant in-game environments and cross-platform online play that bring the tabletop to life, no matter where you and your friends are.

Catan VR is on the Oculus Store today for $14.99 and on Samsung Gear VR for $9.99. Catan VR will be available on Oculus GO soon. 

We had the opportunity to go hands on with Catan VR and came away very impressed with the UI of Catan VR. The VR adapation maintains the tactile, social fun of board gaming while adding to the experience with expressive in-game avatars, crisp voice communications and two intuitive control schemes: touch controls and gaze controls.

Speaking to the managing director of Experiment 7 Demetri Detsaridis and the creative director Geoffrey Zatkin gave me some great insight into how much the team has put into development of this game.  Catan VR has 6 different AI types all with different play styles. This  allows for different strategies and resource management styles. As a Catan player that generally tries to go for the Longest road it is great to see that one of the AI types plays that way as well. 

The team loved the AI in the XBox 360 version in Settlers of Catan VR so much that the actually bought the rights to use it from the state of Rhode Island.  Originally developed by Big Huge Games, and acquired by the state of Rhode Island during the 38 Studios fiasco, Experiment 7 went on to use this AI as a foundational tool kit along with notes from the developer of the tabletop game to create a virtual world around Catan. 

“Catan is about exploring new frontiers,” said Catan creator Klaus Teuber. “What better way to express that than by venturing into the exciting new world of virtual reality? The immersion made possible by this platform captures the boundless opportunity of taking that first step onto undiscovered lands.”

The above 360 video will give an idea of the layout of Catan VR but still you really have to play the game to see how good of an adaptation of Settlers Of Catan this is. As a fan of the game I hope people go out and purchase the game so we can eventually get Catan expansions and eventually that Catan cat game I want.

Ahead Of SXSW, TheWaveVR announces updated creation tools and exciting VR music experience partnership for "Ready Player One"

TheWaveVR, the creator of the world’s first social VR platform and community for VR music and visual arts experiences, has announced it will bring to life the amazing dance club scene from the upcoming theatrical release of Steven Spielberg’s new action adventure “Ready Player One” at South by Southwest® (SXSW®) Conference and Festival.

With special live VR DJ guest performance by Tye Sheridan, who stars in “Ready Player One,” in theaters March 29, the experience will allow anyone to virtually step inside a scene inspired by The Distracted Globe zero-gravity dance club in the film. In partnership with HTC Vive™, TheWaveVR designed the dance party as an immersive experience for SXSW, including specially designed avatars, iconic 80s visuals and music, plus the ability to fly to the music in zero-gravity. Sheridan will DJ his set virtually using the new Vive Pro VR headset.

“This is a big moment for VR. ‘Ready Player One’ is essentially taking VR performances and features we’ve been delivering to our community and propelling them into the mainstream for anyone to see just what VR is capable of,” said Adam Arrigo, TheWaveVR CEO and co-founder. “We were really inspired by the visuals of this scene, and wanted to let people experience this idea of a futuristic dance club first hand. It was such a natural fit, since we’ve been building the tech platform that already makes it possible.”

TheWaveVR activation will be live at the Ready Player One Experience with VIVE VR at SXSW on Friday, March 9, 2018 at 9:00 pm CT. The experience will be launching for anyone on TheWaveVR’s free app on Steam in the U.S. beginning Thursday, March 15 at 9:00 p.m. CT.

The team also announced updates to its Wave Builder tool, which allows anyone to create their own VR venues, parties and shows. Using an ever expanding library of content from Google’s Poly API and custom visual tools from TheWaveVR, users can upload any 3D model of a scene or venue, perform as the DJ at their own shows, and throw parties for any number of friends or others in the community.

Now users can easily search for specific 3D Poly objects and build a unique VR experience for their friends. For example, a user could host a concert in a French cathedral or throw a bachelorette party in a Las Vegas club. Users can also create tunnels and vortexes, while also utilizing user-interface improvements like easily traveling to different shows and parties from the main menu or checking out which party a friend is located at and easily transporting there.

“The Wave Builder breaks down any barriers between audience member and artist,” said Adam Arrigo, TheWaveVR CEO and co-founder. “It provides meaningful context for VR created art, either spatially, by letting users arrange it, or socially, by letting users share their creations or scenes with other people in real time. This is a major step for us as we build the platform for artists to create and share this new type of content which is native to VR.”

TheWaveVR also officially kicked off its Resident DJ program, which allows anyone to apply to throw regularly scheduled parties, using their own music, on TheWaveVR platform. The program will offer the TheWaveVR community frequent and unique events to attend virtually. The application to apply is available here.

For more information on TheWaveVR, visit http://thewavevr.com/. You can also follow the company on Facebook and Twitter.

The new Paul George Nike and Playstation colab is the shoe for your VR future.

Paul George considers himself one of the biggest gamers in the NBA. Ever since getting his PS2 for Christmas as a kid, he has always wanted to work with Playstation.

"This collaboration has been a long time coming. Ask me what my favorite PlayStation memory is and I’ll tell you it’s when my dad got me a PS2 for Christmas. I’d been dropping hints left and right because I knew that was it. That was the next big thing. You could say the same with Nike. As a kid, I’d make sketches of what I wanted my Nike shoes to look like because it’s something I’ve always wanted to be a part of. Now I have the opportunity to make something very special and personal to me with the help of two of my favorite brands."- Paul George

Working with designers from both Nike and PlayStation, Paul George took inspiration from the console’s DualShock 4 controller and the iconic symbols that have been a part of every PlayStation product to create a colorway that honored his game both on and off the court.

A few interesting things that you should know about the colorway:

• The tongues of the shoe sport the PG and PlayStation logos, which illuminate and pulsate blue just like when turning on the console
• The back heel of the left shoe has a unique barcode that contains a PSN voucher code, which can be redeemed at PlayStation Store for a Paul George Dynamic Theme for your PS4
• The colors of the sneaker pay homage to the buttons on the DualShock 4 controller
• The iconic PlayStation symbols are embossed in patent leather on each shoe
• The look of the PG Dynamic Theme is reflected in the sock liner on each shoe

The PG2 “PlayStation” colorway drops globally on February 10, 2018. For more information on the release, download the Nike SNKRS app.

Oculus announces the Oculus Start program to help aspiring developers during their VR creation journey.

Oculus announced its new developer-focused program today to help grow the ecosystem. Oculus Start is a program created for VR application developers who are just getting started. It provides qualifying developers with access, support and savings so you can focus on what's really important - creating inspired VR applications. Oculus did a survey of its developers and found that 50 percent are self-funded so this program will go a long way to help the VR ecosystem.

Some of the highlights of the program include access early tech and networking opportunities ike Oculus Connect.

Oculus also offers dedicated technical support to troubleshoot and elevate your VR creations

In addition to access to developer kits for new and existing hardware participants will receive one year free Unity Plus license or a royalty-free Unreal license.

https://developer.oculus.com/oculus-start/

Oculus has been a big part of my VR journey and I am sure they will be part of the many participants in Oculus Start. http://www.catsandvr.com/blog/oculusblog1

StarDrone, a hyper-kinetic action puzzle game is the first PlayStation VR game of 2018.

StarDrone, a hyper-kinetic race across the Galaxy is the first PlayStation VR game of 2018.

StarDrone VR is a furiously entertaining high-kinetic action puzzle with a mix of arcade action, pinball, breakout, physics, and collect-the-objects. Cause your attackers to crash with rapid speed while collecting gems and power-up enhancements. Explore the levels to find key power-ups and earn more bonus points that will ultimately let you compete against the world on the StarDrone scoreboards.

You may remember StarDrone as a launch title for the PlayStation Move Motion controller and PlayStation Vita, and now it’s in virtual reality.

StarDrone VR already available on US PSN stores and coming to Europe on January 24th. 

You can get more information on http://www.beatshapers.com/stardrone and make sure to follow us on Twitter @beatshapers and Facebook Page. 

Overwatch League has no women competitors, can we not make this mistake with VR eSports.

This morning I was shocked to find out that Blizzard's ambitious new esports league Overwatch League had absolutely no women competing.  This news came a little late to me and I had to do some research. Personally, I am not a big fan of Overwatch but I had read some recent stats about Overwatch League.

Overwatch League launched recently with over 400,000 views on the first day. It has been reported that Twitch paid 90 million for the streaming rights. A has a quarter of the Twitch fanbase is women and Overwatch has a very diverse player audience, however, none of the 12 teams in Overwatch League have any women on the teams. Seeing that this is a big-time league with both Blizzard and Twitch behind this it is an outright shame to see this happen.

Kim “Geguri” Se-yeon is one of the top Overwatch players in the world and went on to become the first woman ever to play for a team in South Korea’s top league. Blizzard has tried to push both its Overwatch game and community as one of diversity, yet the pro scene’s most accomplished woman player is nowhere to be found in what is Overwatch's biggest moment. 

I don't play Overwatch but I do play VR games and see VR as the future of eSports. If a problem of inclusion and diversity exists in one of the biggest games being streamed on one of the biggest platforms I do not want to see this passed over to VR. 

Dan Fiden, president of Cloud9, the esports organization that sponsors one of the Overwatch League teams said in a statement to Kotaku that organizations need to play a role in making esports more welcoming and less toxic for players who aren’t men. He believes that involves starting from “the beginning.” 

If it's not “the beginning.” of eSports well it is the beginning of VR eSports and this should not be repeated as that ecosystem grows. Esports, more than traditional sports, have a unique opportunity to really diversify the kind of competitors we get to see. 

In the final episode of Defining Moments, host @JeffCanata sits down with @missharvey to talk VR, and @Hot_Bid, @blucasts, @iNcontroLTV, @WillChobra, @nathaniastv, @pancakepow, @ultradavid, @Jump_, @MonteCristo and more share their thoughts on the future of esports, on @hulu pic.twitter.com/wcu6qtI6NC

— ESL (@ESL) January 5, 2018

There are some that are pushing for more diversity in eSports and those heading the pro NBA2K eSports community have made this a core goal.

"Diversity is one of the most exciting parts to us. You know, you have to have some very serious level of athletic prowess to compete in the NBA. There's a different level of prowess with this. So, males, females, 18-year-olds, 27-year-olds, 80-year-olds, you know, that's the cool part about this for us. Everyone can participate, assuming they have the prowess of being able to play the game at that professional level. For us, it expands our video game audience, and I'm assuming that with the NBA it expands their audience as well, so that's one of the biggest, exciting parts of it for us." -2K's SVP of Basketball Operations Jason Argent

As we grow the VR community I want us all to be aware of not making the same mistakes. As VR eSports grow I want it to grow with diversity and inclusion in mind. To do this it will have to start awareness. Oculus has an amazing diversity program and as the future of VR grows I expect a push into eSport diversity.

Putting VR into the hands of more people will help diversify the demographics of users but VR evangelists need to be responsible for helping to shape a better future. Seeing first hand how much work Oculus has put into their diversity program has made me not want to see the VR industry repeat the past mistakes of the gaming world. At OC4 the best Echo Arena players had a chance to show us that VR eSports can be the future. Going forward I just want all of us involved in the growth of VR to show that the world of VR is best through diversity and opportunity. 

I really don't have an answer on how to address the future of diversity in VR eSports but I would like to get the conversation started so the future of VR is as bright as we want it to be. 

BestMeta, the world’s first Blockchain based ecosystem for esports talent, launches today

BestMeta, the first cryptocurrency based platform designed for the esports community, is revealed today. BestMeta aims to give the freedom of creative control back to the talent by providing esports personalities, shoutcasters and professional gamers with an unrestricted platform to connect with fans. The pioneering ecosystem offers a sustainable and transparent network for talent and consumers by utilising the power of Blockchain.

BestMeta was born from a passion for esports and a desire to address the issues which threaten to limit the industry. Led by esports superstar TobiWan, the legendary Dota 2 shoutcaster with more than a decade of experience throughout the esports scene, this is a brand that understands esports and its community. Esports is the fastest growing digital industry in the world today, with over 385 million people watching esports events throughout 2016. For talent, including shoutcasters and professional gamers, though, it can be a different story as there is currently no control for the esports community and no transparency for donation and spending within the industry. Content creation for talent can be restricted by industry giants and sponsors, and the talent themselves have little to no financial independence, or the wiggle room to create their own content outside of stifling sponsorship guidelines.Meaning no sustainable income for talent and no rewards or incentives for fans.  

By creating the BestMeta platform, its founders believe they can provide a sustainable ecosystem for esports talents, providing an opportunity open to all talent to create content and the all-important esports community who can be rewarded through BestMeta Tokens. Through the platform’s token system, BestMeta aims to create a streamlined ecosystem where the talent and the fans are seamlessly connected. The platform gives full control back to talent, allowing them to create content how they want, when they want, whilst also allowing the esports community to benefit through their support. BestMeta utilises Blockchain technology which offers complete transparency and full accountability with all spending and donations between content creators and fans. BestMeta tokens can be purchased by the esports community allowing them to exchange funds for interaction with their favourite talents. A little like collecting your favourite sports cards only you actually get something back in return.

“Utilising Blockchain technology, we harness the power of mass community passion into a trusted, accountable and sustainable esports ecosystem”, says Amy Yu, Managing Director of BestMeta. “BestMeta is the first of its kind to be developed exclusively to support esports talent, born out of a passion to help content creators reach their true and fullest potential.”

Talent can launch their own personalised tokens representative of their brand value, the community is then able to purchase these talent tokens to financially support their favourite esports personalities. As the talents grow in popularity, they will generate greater support, adding to their brand value and rewarding fans for their loyalty and creating a system where the talents and the fans are constantly giving back to each other.

BestMeta’s system of constant cyclical support not only enables the esports talents to earn a regular sustainable income, it offers pay for entry into competitions, opens up funding to explore creative freedoms, and constantly gives back to the fans that are supporting them on their journey. For the community, alongside the value of their BestMeta tokens constantly increasing as their talents grow in popularity, the talent tokens completely break down the barriers between the talent and the fans, offering up unique collaborative opportunities and the option to interact with and support their favourite esports personalities.

“The esports community is one of the strongest in the world and we want to empower that community to achieve great things”, states BestMeta’s Esports Director, Toby ‘TobiWan’ Dawson. “Through BestMeta, we will enable talent the power to build their brand the way they want, their only limit will be their imagination.”

To coincide with the launch, BestMeta will also be producing a brand new 4 episode show called Well Played. Presented by TobiWan, Well Played is the first of its kind to bring together a host of esports pros, content creators, cosplayers, casters and streamers including SirActionSlacks, PyrionFlax, SingSing, Cyanide and OD Pixel for a fun, light hearted, comedy Never Mind the Buzzcocks-style panel show with a mini game storyline. Filmed in partnership with the Department of Theatre, Film and Television at the University of York, Well Played aims to bring the esports community together as an inspirational example to content creators of what they can achieve with their own brand through the BestMeta platform, and what the community can expect to see through the token purchases of their favourite talent. The first episode of Well Played will air at 8pm (GMT), Wednesday 24th January on the BestMeta YouTube channel. 

The BestMeta token pre-sale goes live on 15th February, giving the opportunity for talent and the community to snap up BMT at exclusively discounted prices.

https://www.bestmeta.gg/

WEARVR LAUNCHES $10,000 VIRTUAL REALITY REMASTERED COMPETITION

WEARVR.com, the web's leading independent virtual reality app store, is launching a brand new competition aimed at seasoned virtual reality developers, which challenges them with updating their original Oculus Rift DK1 and DK2 demos, games and experiences and bringing them back for the latest Oculus headset.

"These early demos are what compelled us to launch WEARVR and give the experiences the dedicated audience they deserved," says WEARVR COO, Andrew Douthwaite. "Having tried and tested nearly every DK1 and DK2 demo out there, it's sad to see that some of them haven't made it to the consumer headsets. However, it's understandable when you consider that these were largely created by one-person teams."

The WEARVR Remastered Competition sets VR developers the challenge of enhancing, updating and re-engineering their original Oculus DK content to make it contemporary with new releases and fully functional on the latest headsets, including the Oculus Rift CV1.

"What we're trying to do with Remastered is give new VR users an opportunity to try these short experiences that helped the new VR industry grow so fast, as well as creating a bit of nostalgia for the VR veterans," Douthwaite continues.

Cash prizes totalling $10,000 are on offer to the best Remastered virtual reality content submitted to the WEARVR app store before 1st May, 2018. Rules, terms and conditions of entering the Remastered Competition are available now on the WEARVR blog.

The competition will also help to generate new revenue streams for VR developers who take part in Remastered, and have potentially never found a way to monetize their early, pioneering content.

"There are many developers who, perhaps, created a demo with no intention of selling it. This gives them an opportunity to monetize their demos, through WEARVR, whilst having the added bonus of prize money for best in class," concludes Douthwaite.

Software developers interested in bringing their original VR code back to life can enter the WEARVR Remastered Competition right here:

https://news.wearvr.com/2018/01/17/remastered-competition-bringing-back-the-vr-experiences-that-started-it-all/548

• Original content must have been made available for the Oculus DK1 and/or DK2.
• Your Remastered Competition entry must work on the Oculus Rift CV1.
• Your entry can also be remastered for the HTC Vive or other contemporary VR platforms as well, but must include the CV1.
• The entry must include some manner of enhancement over the original (visuals, audio, controls, content, etc) that makes it contemporary with new releases on the Oculus platform.

About WEARVR:

Since launching in 2015, the independent virtual and augmented reality WEARVR app store has seen over 2 million downloads of VR games, apps and experiences across all platforms including Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, Samsung Gear VR, Google Daydream and Android, iOS, OSVR and more. The WEARVR smartphone app has been installed on over 250,000 Android and iOS devices.

The Devil Awaits Gear VR users!

For enthusiasts of VR and devotees of horror games, check out The Devil Awaits VR. This immersive virtual reality game is exclusively available on Samsung Gear VR for $4.99.

The Devil Awaits VR is a thriller in which you play as Rick H. Johanson, a thief who tries to escape from the police after committing a robbery in a bank. The main action takes place in an abandoned cabin where he will soon find himself fighting against evil creatures and solving many puzzles to get back home.

“Since the birth of VR, we’ve been wanting to feel real fear and despair in a virtual reality experience, and now we have made it happen,” says Sergio Gardella, CEO at Bloompix Studios. “Samsung Gear VR is the optimal home for The Devil Awaits VR, and I am certain that after playing it, a sense of disheartenment won’t vanish from your nightmares”.

https://www.oculus.com/experiences/gear-vr/1471937396229449/

WWE and NextVR to partner on bringing the action and drama of pro wrestling to VR.

NextVR, the leader in broadcasting live events in virtual reality, and WWE announced a new partnership to bring fans unique WWE experiences in virtual reality, featuring highlights from select 2018 WWE special events.

The virtual reality experiences will be approximately 10 minutes in length and available for free to fans globally on a new WWE channel within the NextVR app following each event. The content will provide fans with a completely new experience, featuring highlights from WWE’s biggest events including the excitement of the fans, athleticism of WWE’s larger-than-life Superstars, pivotal moments, epic showdowns and surprise appearances, giving them the opportunity to see the action as if they were there live.

“In some ways, it is kind of custom-made for what we do and I think as the technology improves it will get better and better,” said Triple H during a recent tech conference. “Everybody wants to be there live and in person and if its Wrestlemania and you can put a headset on, or whatever that device is at the time, and you can actually put yourself on that front row sitting there experiencing it. That’s a whole different point of view.”

“WWE is amazing in VR, and we know fans are going to love it,” said David Cole, NextVR CEO. “Our patented VR broadcasting pipeline will bring fans ringside with WWE Superstars to experience the electrifying energy and spectacle firsthand.”

“We are always looking to create compelling content across platforms, and we are excited to partner with NextVR to bring our fans closer to the action than ever before," said Michelle Wilson, WWE Chief Revenue & Marketing Officer. “As the technology behind virtual reality continues to evolve, this is a unique opportunity for us to partner with NextVR, a leader in this space, to provide new experiences to our passionate fans around the world."

For each production, NextVR will work alongside WWE’s award-winning TV and production team to position NextVR’s custom virtual reality cameras throughout each event to capture the most immersive views of WWE action.

Fans with a Samsung GearVR headset or Google Daydream View, along with a compatible smartphone, PlayStation VR, or Windows Mixed Reality can download the free NextVR app from the corresponding platform store to access the free highlights.

Bonus: Here is a link to the video that recently won me a WWE championship belt.

About NextVR
NextVR is the world’s best virtual reality platform for delivering live sports and music in VR to fans globally. Launched in 2009, the company has patented technology that delivers an unparalleled VR experience providing fans extraordinary access and profound immersion. NextVR has world-class partnerships with leaders in sports and entertainment including the NBA, NFL, FOX Sports, Live Nation, and the International Champions Cup. NextVR was founded by industry leaders with decades of experience in 3D stereoscopic imaging, compression technology and VR broadcasting. For more information, visit NextVR.com.

About WWE
WWE, a publicly traded company (NYSE: WWE), is an integrated media organization and recognized leader in global entertainment. The company consists of a portfolio of businesses that create and deliver original content 52 weeks a year to a global audience. WWE is committed to family friendly entertainment on its television programming, pay-per-view, digital media and publishing platforms. WWE programming reaches more than 650 million homes worldwide in 20 languages. WWE Network, the first-ever 24/7 over-the-top premium network that includes all live pay-per-views, scheduled programming and a massive video-on-demand library, is currently available in more than 180 countries. 

The 2018 Marketing plan of the year- The buzzword filled BS that is KODAK's cryptocurrency

Shares of Kodak (KODK) have nearly tripled in value on Tuesday after the iconic photography company formed a partnership with Wenn Digital to enter the cryptocurrency and digital licensing markets. Though their initial coin offering won't open until January 31, 2018, Kodak and it's investors have already made real-world money through marketing itself as a forward-thinking blockchain company. 

KODAKCoin, a photo-centric cryptocurrency to empower photographers and agencies to take greater control of image rights management. 

“For many in the tech industry, ‘blockchain’ and ‘cryptocurrency’ are hot buzzwords, but for photographers who’ve long struggled to assert control over their work and how it’s used, these buzzwords are the keys to solving what felt like an unsolvable problem,” said Kodak CEO Jeff Clarke. “Kodak has always sought to democratize photography and make licensing fair to artists. These technologies give the photography community an innovative and easy way to do just that.”

In 1996, Kodak was the 5th most valuable brand in the world. In 2013 the company that went bankrupt. Kodak lost out in the digital photography revolution and is determined to be a player in future. However this a very interesting use of Crypto-marketing. In its own press release, Kodak CEO Jeff Clarke states "For many in the tech industry, 'blockchain' and 'cryptocurrency' are hot buzzwords". Kodak has created buzz and an actual rise in value through a simple well-timed press release without providing any info on the expense, revenues, or investments required regarding the newly announced image rights management system. 

Kodak also has plans to install rows of Bitcoin mining rigs at its headquarters in Rochester, New York. Customers will pay up-front to rent mining capacity from The Kodak KashMiner further creating a revenue stream for Kodak. 

Kodak is the latest in a series of companies to see its value jump after revealing plans for blockchain-related activity.

Many thought leaders in the blockchain/crypto world are calling BS on Kodak's great crypto plan.

"This is a phenomenon we saw back during the dot com days in the late 1990s where traditional companies would mention some kind of internet strategy and their stock price would jump- University of Cambridge Cryptocurrency & blockchain researcher Garrick Hilman

"it is unlikely that the cryptocurrency, which is simply a secure payment system for users, will generate revenues significant enough to be reported in its financial releases for years or ever"- Seeking Alpha

Update: 

According to Coindesk, the Vancouver-based Global Blockchain Technologies Corp. announced today that it is investing $2 million in KodakCoin, the initiative announced yesterday by Kodak and WENN Digital, which is licensing the former's branding. WENN Digital, which is developing the digital media rights platform that was unveiled yesterday, is managing the sale of the tokens.

One of the best VR titles of 2017, Arizona Sunshine is getting a LBVR spin-off

Vertigo Games has announced the he hit VR shooter Arizona Sunshine is coming to location-based VR (LBVR) with a spin-off version currently in development for VR arcades exclusively.

Arizona Sunshine for LBVR is playable this week at the HTC VIVE Expo at the Wynn’s Alsace Ballroom at CES 2018. Bringing together up to 4 VIVE users in the same physical play space, Arizona Sunshine for LBVR uses the power of real-world movement to bring unrivaled immersion to the virtual zombie apocalypse.

“Arizona Sunshine has consistently topped the list of most played games at VR arcades,” says Richard Stitselaar, Managing Director at Vertigo Games. “We strongly believe Arizona Sunshine will again be a must-play in this new, exciting LBVR space. Who doesn’t want to brave the zombie apocalypse alongside their friends in an even more immersive experience than home VR offers?”

“Vertigo’s forward-looking approach to the arcade business and implementing technology such as the Vive Tracker, have pushed the expectations for VR title forward,” said Daniel O’Brien, GM US, Vive. “We’re excited for this unveil to showcase all that’s possible on Vive.”

Recently unveiled as a Best of Virtual Reality 2017 title on Steam, Arizona Sunshine puts you in the midst of a zombie apocalypse – solo or with up to four survivors. Handle weapons with real-life movements, freely explore a post-apocalyptic world and put your survival skills to the test in VR. Putting the undead back to rest is more thrilling than ever before.

CES Innovation Award Honoree ‘Black Box VR’ Gym & Virtual eSport Unveils January 9th

Black Box VR, a pioneer in virtual reality fitness, has been named a CES 2018 Innovation Awards Honoree for its innovative resistance-based virtual reality fitness experience. The Black Box VR studio has developed the world’s first fully automated cable resistance machine that integrates virtual reality hardware and original virtual eSport software powered by HTC Vive.

The team confirmed today that the world will get its first chance to test out the upcoming gym system beginning January 9th-12th in Las Vegas during CES on the show floor at the Sands, Halls A-D, Booth #44722. Black Box VR users get an intense, time-dilated, custom workout while immersed in challenging, gamified and competitive virtual reality fitness experiences that redefine eSports into physically active vSports.

“In Black Box you will utilize strength, agility, balance and speed in a larger than life virtual world where we are able to harness the nature that is brought out in video games - dedication, determination, and longevity - and turn it into real, physical workouts that challenge both mind and body," said Preston Lewis, CCO and Co-Founder

Founded by fitness fanatics Ryan DeLuca and Preston Lewis, the Black Box VR team spent years building Bodybuilding.com into the largest online supplement retailer in the world with nearly $500m in annual sales. With the collaboration of many talented individuals, they created some of the world’s most recognized supplement brands, chart-topping fitness mobile applications, were honored for their award-winning health and fitness campaigns, and created the world’s largest online fitness social network with over 3m members while always holding true to the mission of changing people’s lives.

In 2016 Preston and Ryan decided to start their new venture, Black Box VR, with a mission to disrupt the fitness industry once again by creating innovative products and experiences that create lasting change in people’s lives. After trying virtual reality for the first time, Ryan and Preston knew they were experiencing a magically immersive technology that, if paired with resistance training, gaming principles and high intensity cardio, will be the winning combination for people trying to reach their health & fitness goals. Black Box VR is redefining fitness as we know it.

“For nearly two years, our team of veterans from both the fitness industry and the gaming industry have collaborated to harness the groundbreaking power of virtual reality to change the landscape of results-driven exercise and competitive eEports as we know it,” said Ryan DeLuca, CEO and Co-Founder. “We couldn’t be more excited to unveil our product in Las Vegas, and proud to have been honored with a CES Innovation Award.”

The prestigious CES Innovation Awards are sponsored by the Consumer Technology Association (CTA)™, the owner and producer of CES 2018, the global gathering place for all who thrive on the business of consumer technologies, and have been recognizing achievements in product design and engineering since 1976.

Giroptic launches a new 360 degree video calling service

Just in time for CES2018 Giroptic launches a new 360 degree video calling service compatible with their popular Giroptic iO 360 degree camera. 

Simply connect the camera to your smartphone to trigger the iO360 app, then select “call” to launch a video call in 360 degrees. All your friends and family have to do is click on the link they receive to join the conversation via mobile or desktop web.

Users can take a call in VR mode’ and slide their smartphone into a variety of HMDs including Google Cardboard, Daydream, Homido VR2 among others.

The 360 degree video calling service .is is 100% free and requires only a WiFi or 4G connection.

An iOS app is available and an Android app should be available soon.

The Giroptic iO camera is available now, priced at $199 USD.

catsandvr.com/blog/