Godzilla VR announced for Playstation VR in Japan

Sony Interactive Entertainment Japan Asia and Toho have announced, a Godzilla virtual reality experience that will launch on October 13 in Japan as a free for a limited time download on the PlayStation Store. 

The actual 3D CG data utilized for the movie will also be used for the game in order to created the best possible VR Gojira. No word on if this will launch in other regions. 

Shin Godzilla Special Demo Contents for PlayStation VR (title tentative), a virtual reality experience that will launch on October 13 in Japan as a free for a limited time download on the PlayStation Store.

Info provided by Game Watch.

Capcom picks up with Resident Evil 7(in VR!) where Konami dropped the ball with Silent Hills.

Seems like it was just yesterday we were treated to the potential hellish wonder that would have been the Silent Hill collaboration between Hideo Kojima and Guillermo Del Toro. Then Konami decided to pull a Freddy Kruger and pull the plug, in turn also distancing itself from prolific game visionary Hideo Kojima. While Kojima has bounced back and taken his talents to Sony Beach, Konami really did not have much to offer at E3.

Resident Evil 7 in VR made me realize that Capcom noticed that Konami dropped the ball big time with Silent Hill. During the Playstation E3 the shock and awe of the audience was reminiscent of when fans first realized that P.T. was a trailer for Silent Hills. Capcom's own Resident Evil franchise has lost some of its's horror luster and has not really taken a major step to reclaim the survival horror throne it once held with a grip of fear. Capcom took notice of the fan response to thing such as Amnesia, Outlast, and P.T. and has redesigned Resident Evil in that light. 

Fear comes home again when Resident Evil 7 biohazard releases on PlayStation 4 (fully compatible with PlayStation VR Mode) on January 24, 2017. 

The Playstation VR demo begins in an old farmhouse with the goal of ESCAPE! This in away is very similar to the set up to P.T, the Kojima/Del Toro Silent Film trailer. The uneasiness continues with the elements of the environment.  A pot of spoiling stew, a raven stuffed into a microwave, rotting dolls and, mysteriously, unpleasant mannequins are just a few of the effective horror tropes used to create tension. 

The trope to be used in the demo is the old VHS is scary house one. Where you pop the tape in and realize how fucked you really are based on what has happened before.

Welcome to the fantastic world of survival horror now in VR! I have been hearing a lot of people coming away from E3 saying they are super excited for RE:7 but would never play it entirely in VR. Mission accomplished Capcom, you have once again brought the fear of the unknown back into survival horror gaming. 

Resident Evil 7 hits PlayStation 4, Windows PC and Xbox One on Jan. 24, 2017. It will be available for PS VR, no word on any ports to Oculus or Project Scorpio yet. 

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Playstation just killed it at E3. What a VR lineup!

Not only did they give a date for the Playstation VR launch, they went ahead and said a few of the 50 games that will be coming to it or have support. STAR WARS, BATMAN, FINAL FANTASY, & RESIDENT EVIL....what a lineup. That was a great VR lineup but all the games announced including Spider-Man and Detroit look amazing. Check out the trailers here. 

https://www.youtube.com/user/PlayStation/videos

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Star Trek VR Game announced at E3

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Oculus Touch will launch with more than 30 full, made-for-VR games later this year.

Launch titles include Oculus Studios games like Insomniac’s Unspoken, Dead & Buried, Rock Band VR from Harmonix, VR Sports Challenge by Sanzaru, Crytek’s The Climb (now Touch enabled), as well as independent games like Serious Sam VR: The Last Hope by Croteam, Pro Fishing Challenge VR by Opus, I Expect You to Die by Schell Games, Luna by Funomena, Giant Cop by Other Ocean, Job Simulator by Owlchemy Labs, and Fantastic Contraption by Northway Games. Oculus Medium will also ship with Touch, which brings the tactile satisfaction of sculpting into the world of VR.

Four new Touch games that will launch first on Oculus.

Introducing Wilson's Heart, a psychological thriller with a one-of-a-kind visual and narrative style from developer Twisted Pixel, coming to Touch in 2017!

In Killing Floor: Incursion, a cooperative VR shooter from Tripwire Interactive, you take on the role of an elite soldier tasked with eliminating hordes of sci-fi monsters with guns, blades, and more. This Touch-enabled take on the well-known Killing Floor universe will take you to diverse environments and force you to scavenge for survival as you face an unrelenting onslaught of monsters.

Superhot is an over-the-top, stylistic FPS that blurs the lines between cautious strategy and unbridled mayhem. Time only moves when you move, creating a unique bullet ballet that is brought to life with Touch. Your every gesture and movement lets you dodge bullets, disarm enemies, and return fire in a way that has yet to be experienced in gaming.

Ripcoil by Oculus Studios and Sanzaru Games lets you enter a futuristic player vs. player arena where you can launch, catch, and punch a speeding Ripcoil disc. 

Over 300 VR Apps on Oculus Store for Gear VR
Today there are more than 300 games and apps available in the Oculus Store for Gear VR, and at E3  titles like the medieval action-strategy CastleStorm VR and zombie action shooter Drop Dead will be previewed.

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Anna Sweet, Head Of Dev Strategy at Oculus announces Killing Floor VR and reveals Superhot VR trailer at PC Gaming Show.

Anna Sweet. Head Of Dev Strategy at Oculus announces Killing Floor VR and reveals Superhot VR trailer at PC Gaming Show.

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Microsoft announces Project Scorpio for 2017-4K and VR ready

At the Microsoft XBOX E3 event Project Scorpio was announced for 2017. This will be the next version of XBOX and it is their plan to bring 4k and hi-fidelity VR to consoles. 

I also believe Bethesda just announced Fallout 4 VR will be coming to Project Scorpio as well

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Oculus CTO John Carmack and GearVR Make appearance at XBOX E3 event

Oculus CTO John Carmack made an appearance during the Minecraft presentation of the XBOX E3 event. Playing Minecraft in GearVR, Carmack hyped how important he felt Minecraft was to VR. More questions about XBOX VR were raised than answered. 

Hopefully more info soon. E3 just started.  

Check out the E3 trailer for Harmonix Music VR

Unlock the transcendent potential of your music with Harmonix Music VR™.

Visit http://harmonixmusicvr.com for more information! 

From a whacky dance party, to 3D reactive art, and even a nice relaxing alien beach, Harmonix Music VR is the next evolution of your music library. Launching exclusively on PlayStation®VR this October.

Features:

- Works with any song in your PlayStation®4 music library! Plug in a USB flash drive loaded with your favorite songs and Harmonix’s internal music analysis engine does the rest. 

- Four unique worlds will let you experience your music like you never have before. Chill on a transforming alien beach in The Beach, create 3D drawings in The Easel, get the dance party started The Dance, and more!

- Featuring 17 music tracks, including songs from the cult classic beatmatch rhythm game Amplitude™, A City Sleeps™, and hand crafted music from Harmonix’s very own, M-Cue.

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Gold Winner of the Oculus Moblie Jam bringing VR camping game to Google Daydream.

RalphVR  announced that their award winning multiplayer VR game Daydream Blue is coming to Google Daydream.

“Our mission is to connect people together and help foster smiles in virtual reality. We are thrilled to be achieving a major milestone on our journey by bringing Daydream Blue to Google’s Daydream.” - Richie Hoagland, CEO and Game Designer

Daydream Blue is like a camping simulator for VR…if the simulation was run by an eight year old. Enter the simulation to find a magical valley full of mystery, surprise, and an AWESOME ROBOT buddy. But you don’t have to do it alone! Connect with your friends from around the world online in Daydream Blue multiplay. Daydream Blue is a virtual world, a place where you can customize yourself and your place in it. It’s a space to be explored and discovered either alone or with friends. A place to build a fire and catch some fish. Or play some golf. Play fetch with your robot. Or just wish the clouds out of the sky. 

http://daydreamblue.com/

Daydream Blue is available on GearVR but will be coming to Google Daydream,

CatsAndVR will also be going camping in the woods...see ya...off the grid.

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Oculus Rift getting hotly anticipated Superhot VR as an exclusive?

Looks like Oculus Rift is getting a hotly anticipated VR exclusive. The Superhot team announced via a blog post that they will be coming to Rift later this year.

"We're now working super close with the guys at Oculus to release Superhot VR later this year," the team said in its first developer's log. "We're really trying to capitalize on all of the new design possibilities that Virtual Reality is giving us."

The team went to Reddit to confirm that Superhot VR will be an Oculus exclusive for now..

"For now, we concentrate on Oculus," PR officer Szymon Krukowski said in a post. The team had announced in a Kickstarted post this past February but details were scant 

Some people in the PC community took to Reddit as well to say a few opinionated words about the Oculus exclusivity.

https://www.reddit.com/r/pcmasterrace/comments/4lw2xa/superhot_has_accepted_oculuss_bribe_it_is/

Console exclusives and PC exclusives have long been a part of the industry. I for one think that however an independent developer can get their product to market it is still better for the industry as a whole, exclusivity or not. 

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Released games for Oculus Rift and GearVR for the week of May25th-28th.

Here are the recently released games for Oculus Rift and GearVR for the week of May 25th-28th. Not sure how I feel about Kittypocalypse since it is basically a kitten kill simulator but since the site is CatsAndVR.com and it is Caturday I figured I had to post it. 

Kittypocalypse is an in-depth, strategic tower defense game built exclusively for VR. Across a diverse range of environments, defeat the hordes of evil alien kitties and salvage what's left of your home planet. Purchase your copy on the Oculus store today! Release Date: 05/25/16 Price $29.99 (Oculus Rift)

Official Selection - IndieCade Showcase @ E3 2016 Floor Plan is a puzzle adventure game that takes place entirely inside an elevator. Go floor to floor, find items, and meet a bizarre cast of characters. Discover relationships between different things in the building and unlock its secrets...all from the comfort of your elevator. Release Date: 05/25/16 Price: $6.99 (Oculus Rift, Gear VR)

vrAMP is the definitive music visualizer and player for the HTC Vive and Oculus Rift. Motes of dust and light surround you while they dance to the included catalog or using any program or web browser to play your music.Release Date: 05/27/16 Price: $12.99 (Oculus Rift)

http://www.catsandvr.com/blog/vramp

Take the role as master and commander of a planet in a universe that wraps around you in full 360 degrees. Send your fleet out to explore uncharted planets or turn their power against your enemies - it is all up to you! Release Date: 05/25/16 Price: $1.99 (Gear VR)

Samsung announces limited edition Batman themed Galaxy S7 and GearVR.

Samsung Electronics announced the Galaxy S7 edge Injustice Edition in collaboration with Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and DC Entertainment. To commemorate the third anniversary of the popular mobile game, Injustice: Gods Among Us, the companies came together to bring Samsung’s technology and one of the game’s central characters, Batman, in a sleek, high-performance smartphone. The limited edition Galaxy S7 edge Injustice Edition will be available in early June exclusively in select territories, including China, Singapore, Korea, Latin America, Russia and others to be announced soon. 
 
The Galaxy S7 edge Injustice Edition package is equipped with a sleek deep black Galaxy S7 edge, accentuated by gold detailing and an iconic seal on the back, inspired by Batman. The package additionally offers a Gear VR (in select territories), along with Injustice game credit and Oculus VR content vouchers.

Developed from the ground up by award-winning NetherRealm Studios, the Injustice: Gods Among Us mobile game delivers stunning graphics and a completely unique fighting gameplay experience. The game features a collectible card mechanic and engages players in 3-on-3 tag team combat that features many of DC’s most iconic characters.

“We are excited to partner with Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and offer a special edition of Galaxy S7 edge for fans of Injustice: Gods Among Us,” said Younghee Lee, Executive Vice President of Global Marketing, IT & Mobile Division at Samsung Electronics. “Samsung always seeks to provide the best mobile gaming experience for its users, and this partnership reinforces our commitment to the game’s fans.”
 
 The Injustice: Gods Among Us game is available as a free download on Google Play.

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Cerevrum brings Neurogaming to GearVR & XTECH 2016. They also brought really cute stickers!

Cerevrum Inc. is a software development group with a focus on progressive social and educational VR projects. CEO Natasha Floksy would say that means to make people happy as well as smarter. CatsAndVR had the chance to learn more about Cerevrum the company as well as Cerevrum the game during XTECH 2016. 

Cerevrum the game left an interesting impression on me. The first thing I noticed was the calming voice that prepared me for my Cerevrum experience. From the voice tutorial I got an understanding of the simple memory training and matching that make up the game mechanics. One thing to understand is simple does not equate to easy or ineffective in this case. The simple concepts get rather complex in application as the game progresses and as I learned from CAO Olga Peshé is that Cerevrum has been tested on college level students to gauge the effectiveness as a brain training tool. 

The second thing that really took me back with Cerevrum the game is the beautiful fluid art style. The use of colors as well as scene transitions make for a very flowing and non aggressive style of gaming. That style created a place where I was comfortable learning and wanted to continue the process of brain training. The themes of alien worlds and space exploration almost bring to mind a child like view of space travel and in turn bring that wide eyed amazement to a VR educational experience.  CEO Natasha Floksy views herself as an artist first then a CEO and this shows in the game. Check out not only the screenshots but also the super cute stickers that they gave out during XTech 2016, I grabbed a few so I can give away to readers. 

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The advances in VR has made the possibility of using the technology in unique ways. Virtual reality is a game-changer for brain training. That feeling of presence you can achieve in VR allows you to challenge cognitive abilities in a way that more closely matches the real world. Pressing buttons on a smartphone screen only goes so far, but natural inputs like head rotation and hand tracking allow players to interact intuitively with VR environments.

I do think Cerevrum the game is fascinating and I am interested in what the company can create in VR for people who suffer from learning disabilities. Cerevrum INC already has an innovative VR tool to help with public speaking available for GearVR.   http://speechcentervr.com/

Cerevrum Inc is not only trying to innovate brain training and learning in the VR space but are looking to innovate for Augmented Reality as well. I would be very excited to see what they bring to Meta. 

Check out Cerevrum and check out a 360° video I shot at their XTech 2016 booth. 

The Cerevrum Inc team.

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Assassin's Creed writer and Papo & Yo Developers team up for Time Machine VR.

Time Machine VR, the made-for-VR adventure game from Minority Media Inc., is available now for $29.99 USD on Rift and Vive, with a PlayStation VR launch slated for later this year.

The team behind Time Machine VR were also behind Papo & Yo, the very emotional and compelling fantasy adventure game for PS3 that dealt with child abuse. I expected quality from Minority Media's followup and they have delivered in VR. Time Machine VR has over 10 hours of gameplay and a gripping narrative penned by Jill Murray. Jill was the award-winning writer behind the underrated PS Vita game Assassin’s Creed III: Liberation that featured an African-French women as the protagonist.  Jill was also the writer behind the very well received Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag. 

Download Time Machine VR today on the Oculus store or on Steam.

"VR is the only way to make this game," said Minority CEO Vander Caballero. "We've spent three years re-creating prehistoric creatures and the oceans they lived in... and their sheer scale in VR is heart-stopping. A livyatan on a flatscreen TV is cool to look at; a VR livyatan twenty times your size with a mouth so big you can stand comfortably in it is out of this world.”

In the role of an adventurous time-hopping cadet, players will be tasked with traveling to the Jurassic era to gather data on the ancient titans that roamed those oceans. This mission takes a dire turn when rising temperatures in the present free a deadly virus from the ice caps where it had lain dormant for millions of years. To prevent the extinction of the human race, the player must delve deeper into the past, seeking a cure among the marine monsters who survived the plague when it first emerged.

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Standalone VR HMD Pico Neo to be showcased at E3.

Pico Interactive, Inc., creators of the upcoming Pico Neo – a stand-alone virtual reality head mounted display system – will showcase the Pico Neo at this year's Electronic Entertainment Expo. E3 attendees will be the first in North America to experience the Pico Neo and Pico’s immersive VR suite of gaming and entertainment applications. 

The Pico Neo is a stand-alone VR system taking advantage of Android 6.0, a Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ 820 processor and two 1k AMOLED displays, allowing users to witness blazing-fast experiences at high resolutions. Unique to Pico Neo is a two-part structure with the device's mainframe resting within a gamepad to give users a lighter mobile VR headset experience than other headsets.

“The Pico Neo is a substantial leap in VR technology, featuring the portability of smartphones and tablets and combining stand-alone functionality and the high performance of dedicated systems through the Snapdragon 820 processor,” said Henry Zhou, CEO of Pico Interactive, Inc. “As we move towards launch, E3 represents a significant milestone in the platform’s development and we are quite eager to see how the virtual reality and video game community embraces and experiences our flagship product.”

The Pico Neo is set to launch at retail in late 2016. For more information on Pico Interactive, Inc. and the Pico Neo, please visit: http://www.picovr.com/en/index.html

CCP Games announces exclusive game for Google's Daydream platform!

CCP Games today announced that they are developing "Gunjack Next," the codename for an entirely new sequel to the best-selling game Gunjack, which is currently available for the Samsung Gear VR, Oculus Rift, and HTC Vive VR platforms. The game is being created exclusively for Google's newly-announced Daydream platform, and will launch this fall.

CCP Games' Shanghai studio, the creators of Gunjack, is working closely with Google's team to ensure that "Gunjack Next" leverages all of the power and features available. Like Gunjack, which was praised for its breakthrough graphics when it launched on Gear VR, the development team expects "Gunjack Next" to again raise the bar for mobile VR gaming.

"When we heard the details about Google's Daydream platform, we knew immediately that we wanted to be involved," said Hilmar Veigar Pétursson, CEO of CCP. "We think the power Google is bringing to the table with Daydream, coupled with our experience creating high-quality and expectations-busting VR games will be a potent combination."

Google announces Mobile VR Platform, Daydream!

Today at Google I/0, a new platform for high quality mobile VR called Daydream was announced. Together with Android manufacturers, Google is working on upcoming phones, and sharing designs with them for a VR viewer and controller that will be really immersive, comfortable and intuitive to use. You can look forward to loads of apps and games coming to Daydream too, YouTube, Street View, Play Movies, Google Photos and the Play Store. The date revealed for the release of Google Daydream as well as the titles set to release with its launch is November 2016.

https://vr.google.com/daydream/

NetEase's virtual reality game Twilight Pioneers was revealed at Google I/O 2016 as one of the first games to commit to Google's Daydream.

Commenting on the company's latest achievement, Chief Executive Officer and Director of NetEase William Ding said,

"As one of the first developers globally to feature on Google I/O 2016, we are pleased to be among the first companies to commit to making games for Daydream. Leveraging our track record in game development and innovation, we are confident of delivering the superior VR gaming experience to players in China and around the world."

Set in a fantasy world, Twilight Pioneers is an Action Role Playing Game (ARPG) that incorporates NetEase's next-generation graphics and advanced production technique

Play Nintendo Wii games in VR...or support devs making games inspired by them. The power is in your hands!

Using the Gamecube and Wii emulator Dolphin VR you can play Zelda and Mario in VR!

Before you can run applications (like Dolphin VR) outside Oculus Home, you need to have Unknown Sources enabled. In the Oculus app window, click on the cog > Settings > General > Unknown Sources.You will need to rip your GameCube or Wii games to your hard-drive or USB stick, because most optical drives can't read them directly. Not all games work. Some work almost perfectly, and some are unplayable. Some games have Hide Object Codes and AR Cheat Codes to make them work better in VR, which you can find by right clicking a game in your game list in dolphin and choosing properties, then going to those tabs.Don't forget to set your Graphics, VR, and Controller options you can learn more Via Oculus Forums. 

or.......you can play some of the really awesome games developed recently for VR that is inspired by gaming classics. In fact I would recommend you going out and getting the games below and experience something new that a lot of work was put into. I mean as much as I like older games and it is cool to see them in a new light, there has been lots of time energy put into some really fresh new experiences for VR and really deserve some time. If you are currently using an Oculus Rift or HTC Vive it is a good chance you have a few extra money dollars around to support the people inspired by those Gamecube and Wii classics to make games. That being said I really want to play some wrestling games in VR and DolphinVR may be the only way for now. So I suggest buying new VR titles as well as checking out what DolphinVR has to offer.

So I heard you like Mario...check out Lucky's Tale.

So I heard you like The Legend Of Zelda...check out Chronos

Chronos is an atmospheric RPG that chronicles a hero's lifelong quest to save their homeland from a great evil.  Grow wiser, stronger and more powerful as you explore the depths of the mysterious labyrinth. But beware, the labyrinth takes a heavy toll - each time your hero dies, they lose a year of their life!

So I heard you like Mario Kart...check out VR Karts.

Here's the launch trailer for VR Karts on the Oculus Rift. Available to buy now on the Oculus Store, priced at $14.99 !

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Now we can play all our childhood Virtual Boy favorites on Google Cardboard!

Yesterday reddit user The-King-of-Spain, posted in /r/games a method he’d developed for playing Virtual Boy games on the Google Cardboard. 

Prerequisites:
Android Phone
Google Cardboard or Gear VR
Retroarch for Android

Here is The-King-of-Spain's description

" After about 30 minutes of play time, I'm not experiencing any of the Virtual Boy's trademark motion sickness. There's also something to be said for playing the games in grayscale instead of the headache-inducing red. It's pretty cool to see Virtual Boy games in their full stereoscopic glory, but the added depth doesn't seem to add much value gameplay-wise.
In the grand scheme of things, this is the cheapest way to play Virtual Boy games in 3D"

Information courtesy of Reddit.

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