Oculus Connect 3 will be in October.

Save the date for Oculus Connect 3, coming to San Jose, California, October 5-7! more than 50 technical talks and opportunities to experience new Oculus hardware and content. Featuring signature keynotes from Brendan Iribe, John Carmack, and Michael Abrash.

Oculus Connect is  the Oculus annual developer conference where engineers, designers, and creatives from around the world come together to learn about the future of the Oculus platform and push virtual reality forward. https://www3.oculus.com/en-us/blog/announcing-oculus-connect-3-and-rift-availability-update/

 Applications open to attend OC3 at 9am PST, August 2. Visit the Connect site to learn more about the conference and to register.

Check out the Keynotes from 2015.

Blame NextVR and Drake for Kevin Durant going to the Warriors.

NextVR is virtual reality capture and delivery technology company based in Laguna Beach, California. The company started as Next3D, a 3D TV broadcast technology company. It switched over to VR in 2012. NextVR is able to capture and transmit live HD, 3D VR content over the internet, delivering an immersive and life-like experience. They presented the Golden State Warriors NBA Championship Ring Ceremony and Opening Night Game Against New Orleans Pelicans. They may have also brought them a championship next season by helping with a VR presentation.

According to a recent USA Today post about the presentation, "There were shots of the Golden Gate Bridge, footage from the Warriors practice facility, of coach Steve Kerr talking to his team inside the Oracle Arena locker room and even a courtside view inside the building," all set to Drake lyrics. 

It could have been that the Bay Area is more lucrative than Oklahoma or that Durant is friends with Draymond Green but I would like to give credit where credit is due. Drizzy and VR are a match made for each other. Both are literally game changers.

Cats And VR

Elite Dangerous: Arena Free On Steam this Weekend

Elite Dangerous Arena will be completely free on Steam and the Frontier Store this weekend. If you purchase a copy of Arena between now and 6PM BST on Monday July 11 you won’t be charged a thing, and you’ll retain access to the game even after the deal ends.

Steam Link: http://store.steampowered.com/app/443080

Elite Dangerous: Arena has native HTC Vive and Oculus Rift support through Steam. 

Here is what to expect.

Four different ships to choose from with varying play styles,
Ranks and custom loadouts to unlock over time,
Four different maps to play on,
Three game modes: 8-player Free-for-All, Team Deathmatch, and Capture the Flag,

When you reach CQC Rank 50 you’ll be given the option to 'Prestige'. You will set your rank back to one and lose all your unlocks, but in return you’ll be able to earn more credits for use in the main game, and get a permit to the Attilius Orbital starport in CD-4311917 where you’ll get exclusive discounts on many modules and ships. You can prestige up to level 9 and at that point you’ll be receiving the maximum amount of credits you can take in to the Elite Dangerous galaxy.

Arena is the PVP mode already in Elite Dangerous so all players who own Elite Dangerous or Elite Dangerous: Horizons will already have access to it. Simply select Arena from the in-game main menu to play.

Source: https://community.elitedangerous.com/arenaisfree

Oculus working on new Haptic tech for extrasensory VR.

HapticWave, an Oculus research project, uses a metal plate on a ring of electromagnet actuators to send vibrations to your hand to let you feel virtual objects. A headset and audio help the illusion along, says Ravish Mehra, a research scientist at Oculus. 

With this tech, your hand would stand in for your entire body, says Ravish Mehra, a research scientist at Oculus. If someone in a video game is creeping up behind you, you might feel vibrations at the base of your palm. If you're in an educational experience exploring the world of dinosaurs, your entire hand might vibrate with each step. "Our hope around this project was being able to generate this extrasensory input so users can be more perceptive and more believable of virtual objects," Mehra says.

There has been some recent demos created to showcase this new tech and will be showcased later this month at the Siggraph computer graphics and interaction conference. http://s2016.siggraph.org/

Virtuix partners with billion-dollar game developer to bring VR eSports and VR Cafes to china.

Virtuix are forming a joint venture with Hero Entertainment, a billion-dollar, publicly listed Chinese game publisher and developer of Crisis Action, the most popular mobile first-person shooter game in China with more than 400 million players. Hero is partnering with Virtuix to convert Crisis Action to VR gameplay with the Omni, and to create other VR content and product bundles for both the U.S. and China markets.

Hero also owns the Hero Pro League, the largest eSports league in China, to which they will add a VR eSports competition featuring the Omni. In addition, Hero is investing a large sum in the Virtuix Series A round. 

 In addition UNIS, one of China’s largest suppliers of amusement machines, intends to purchase 5,000 to 10,000 Omni units this year for sale to VR cafes and entertainment centers. China has some 140,000 internet cafes, many of which will be retrofitted as VR cafes. 

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Virtual Reality music sandbox SoundStage hits Steam Early Access on 7/7

If you look at old rock concerts, you’ll see these HUGE synthesizers that the musicians connect together to make electronic sounds. These instruments are literally enveloping the player. SoundStage attempts to capture the feel of those epic music machines then take it to the next level with tools only possible in a virtual environment. All in a world inspired by the airbrush paintings and computer graphics of the 80s. 

Available 7/7 on Steam Early Access: http://store.steampowered.com/app/485780 SoundStage is a virtual reality music sandbox built specifically for room-scale VR. Whether you're a professional DJ creating a new sound, or a hobbyist who wants to rock out on virtual drums, SoundStage gives you a diverse toolset to express yourself.

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Starbreeze looking to bolster their VR play with the acquisition of ePawn.

Starbreeze, today announced its acquisition of the French toys to life, VR and augmented reality tech company ePawn. This comes right after Acer gave Starbreeze $9 million to help fund development of the company's StarVR. Looks like Starbreeze plans on having a huge Payday with Virtual Reality. 

“With ePawn, we will significantly diversify our virtual reality and toys-to-life offerings, as well as speed up the development of existing internal projects already in the works,” said Bo Andersson Klint, Starbreeze CEO. “The ePawn team has already innovated and productified their technologies and we acquire not only many good ways of applying them, but also a solid portfolio of patents that will benefit Starbreeze for many years to come.”

ePawn is a next generation VR and toys-to-life company merging real life gaming experiences with their digital counter part through its gaming boards and mats in table and room scale sizes. ePawn’s patented technology captures everything that happens on the game board and feeds digital applications with information. Up to 40 objects equipped with off-the-shelf NFC (Near Field Communication) tags can simultaneously be put into play on a game board and ePawn’s technology will calculate their position, orientation and altitude in real-time and at the millimeter level. ePawn has developed several versions of its technology to fit many gaming-related markets, such as video games, toys, board games and greatly enchanted augmented reality support between for example a toy and a mobile device.

Virtual reality applications include large and flexible flooring tiles that can be assembled to equip spaces with a solution for affordable positioning system capable of tracking several people in a room.

“For ePawn, I especially appreciate the location based entertainment applications, where for example the VR-mat will enable us to offer even more immersive experiences in our VR-centers,” said Emmanuel Marquez, Starbreeze CTO. “Additionally, the toys-to-life applications are numerous and the ability to technically track physical objects in our future games, such as Geminose, are really promising. The potential to be able to add augmented reality components to further enhance the gameplay for mobile devices are really exciting.”

Sneak Peak:Ghostbusters:Dimension from The Void, Made with Unity.

Unity, the largest global development platform for creating 2D, 3D, VR and AR games and experiences, today announced a new and truly unique virtual reality (VR) experience "Ghostbusters: Dimension" has been built using the Unity Technologies platform. Led by tech innovators THE VOID, the experience was created in partnership with Sony Pictures, Madame Tussauds New York, and Ghost Corps.

In Ghostbusters: Dimension, THE VOID's proprietary hardware and software allow guests to step beyond reality and into the world of the Ghostbusters. Based on the new movie, this first-of-its-kind, Hyper-Reality experience blends real world physical environments with a unique untethered virtual reality (VR) setup that uses real-time interactive effects powered by the Unity Platform and 3D engine.

"This is precisely the kind of innovative use of VR that Unity is now powering with our 3D engine and platform," said Clive Downie, CMO Unity Technologies. "With an untethered VR experience that allows people to roam freely and interact with a physical world that matches the digital one they are seeing, consumers will have whole new levels of delight as they lose themselves in another realm. It's giving presence to interactive storytelling putting people into the Ghostbusters world with high definition, high frame rate high excitement action, powered in part by Unity."

Audiences get to experience what it's like to be a Ghostbuster, tracking and trapping a supernatural foe through a New York apartment complex. The entire experience lasts about 15 minutes, with up to three people at a time and is scheduled to open to the public at Madame Tussauds New York on July 1, 2016 as an add-on to their Ghostbusters Experience.

"The Ghostbusters world is the perfect fit for THE VOID because you literally strap our RAPTURE gear on and it turns into your proton pack and proton gun," said James Jensen, Chief Visionary Officer at THE VOID. "One of the key components to powering this experience is a powerful 3D engine, and Unity was the obvious choice. Their VR platform allowed us to rapidly iterate on our ideas, while offering us an editor that lets us focus on storytelling instead of being bogged down in writing a lot of code."

For more specifics on Ghostbusters: Dimensions, please visit: https://thevoid.com/Dimensions/Ghostbusters. If you do get to the experience, make sure to use #unity3d #voidvr and #Ghostbusters when sharing your pictures and thoughts!

Are you a VR startup? HTC & Friends are looking to help and have 10 BILLION to share!

HTC  announced a 10 billion dollar Virtual Reality Venture Capital Alliance ,bringing together a close-knit membership comprised of 30 of the top Virtual Reality Investors in the world with the goal of funding startups working in VR as well as AR and MR. The  president of VRVCA is Alvin Wang Graylin,President of VR at HTC China.

The purpose of the Virtual Reality Venture Capital Alliance (“VRVCA”) is to foster long-term growth in the VR industry through identifying, sharing and investing in the world's most innovative & impactful VR technology and content companies.

Here is an overview of their plan.

6 opportunities to pitch  per year and $10+ Bn USD in deployable capital to invest in Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality and Mixed reality startups of any size from anywhere around the world. They will meet six times a year with a base of operations out of Beijing and San Francisco.

http://www.vrvca.com/

HTC Vive remake of Duck Hunt using a Vive Emulator!

Remko van Brakel recently released his HTC Vive remake of Duck Hunt. That is super awesome but what really messed with me today is learning of how to play it using a Vive emulator.

Shout out to the founder of Destructoid for making me aware. 

"The game works on the Vive, but of course there's ways to emulate the Vive if you don't have one. I recommend Riftcat.com with a cardboard viewer to demo these things on the smartphone you already own. If you don't have bluetooth controllers either, you should stop buying Pokémon buttplugs and get a proper nest of just-in-case cables. I wrote a guide on how to use a $30 Leap controller in VR to emulate Vive's motion controllers. 

https://www.destructoid.com/guide-how-to-make-a-dirt-cheap-steam-vr-headset-with-low-lag-358924.phtml

Cats And VR

Rumor Mill-EA working on Burnout VR.

 Earlier this week by EA posted a QA VR role, but  removed the job this morning after the media began to run with the story. 

The job was described as “an exciting opportunity for a short term contract Quality Analyst position to work on a yet to be announced VR title.” It said that qualified candidates, “will be responsible for identifying and reporting software defects, assisting with establishment of strong VR testing guidelines, writing and running test coverage and verifying fixes.”

The role was for Criterion Games who is owned by EA and is developing the Star Wars Battlefront: X-Wing Mission for PSVR. The rumor mill is saying that the role was for a Burnout VR game.

Cats And VR

Immerse yourself with Shark Week in VR...well 360° video actually.

This year, SHARK WEEK celebrates its 28th anniversary and will keep viewers on the edge of their seat with all-new jaw-dropping and compelling shark stories and, for the first time ever, offering an immersive virtual reality experience. Working with nearly two dozen of the most respected marine biologists and science institutions, SHARK WEEK will also highlight some of the most recent breakthroughs and developments to reveal remarkable new insights into these magnificent creatures.

http://www.discoveryvr.com/

Shark Week programming will be available via the Discovery VR app for viewing with Samsung GearVR and Oculus Rift. So YEA!!!!

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How the UK leaving the EU will affect VR development in England.

TIGA, the network for video games developers and digital publishers and the trade association representing the video games industry, said today that in the light of the vote for ‘Brexit’ the UK Government and Parliament should take steps to ensure the continued success of sectors with economic potential, including the creative industries and the video games industry. TIGA made the comments following the EU referendum which took place on June 23 rd 2016 and drawing upon expert information from Weightmans LLP and Grant Thornton LLP.

TIGA said that there were three key issues facing the video games industry following the EU referendum.

1.      Access to finance: Difficulty accessing capital has consistently been the top factor holding back many games developers. In an uncertain economic environment, there may be a reduced appetite for investment. Additionally, outside of the EU, the UK games industry will not be able to access schemes such as Creative Europe and Horizon 2020 programmes.  The UK Government should promote policies that encourage investment, maintain sector specific schemes such as the Video Games Prototype Fund and consider a Games Investment Fund to help start-ups and small businesses.

2.      A favourable tax environment: Video Games Tax Relief and R & D Tax Relief have been crucial in enabling the UK video games industry to compete on a more level playing field against the UK’s international competitors, particularly Canada. In a post Brexit world it will be even more vital to maintain, improve and enhance these reliefs in order to attract external investment and to maintain the competitiveness of the sector.

3.      Access to talent: the UK video games industry relies on a highly skilled workforce to compete. Until now, the industry has had access to a substantial pool of skilled EU workers who can work in the UK without serious administrative restrictions.  Brexit is likely to result in new immigration rules requiring employers to secure some sort of visa and to meet certain skills/salary criteria in order to employ migrant workers.  It is vital that any new arrangements are not onerous or complex and that industry is not heldback by skills shortages.

4.      Intellectual Property: IP is the lifeblood of the video games industry and the impact of ‘Brexit’ here could be significant. There are many commercial considerations. For example, the UK is part of both the Registered Community Design regime and the EU Trade Mark regime and also recognises the Unregistered EU Design Right. Such rights provide protection to rights holders across the EU Member States. Potentially such EU related rights might lose their validity in the UK. The implication being that those parties who originally held such EU rights may need to apply for UK trade mark and design rights to protect their rights in the UK.  This may result in issues relating to existing development and publishing arrangements, IP licenses and security over IP rights.

Dr Richard Wilson, TIGA CEO, said:

“The UK video games industry is a high technology sector that provides high skilled employment for over 30,000 people, including approximately 11,000 development staff and which contributes £1.1 billion to UK GDP. It is also export oriented, with at least 95 per cent of studios exporting. Following the referendum in favour of ‘Brexit’, it will be more vital than ever to strengthen (and avoid harming) those sectors where the UK has a comparative competitive advantage: for example, aerospace, defence, high-value manufacturing and engineering, high technology industries, higher education, low carbon technology and the creative industries, including the video games sector.

“For the video games industry, it is particularly important that policy makers ensure games companies have access to sufficient finance, benefit from Video Games Tax Relief and R&D Tax Relief, have clear and stable IP rights and can access highly skilled people from outside of the UK. Any new points based migration system must not be onerous or complicated, otherwise the industry’s growth could be held back.”

Jason Kingsley OBE, TIGA Chairman and CEO and Creative Director at Rebellion, said:

“The UK video games development sector is an export focused industry that sells content all over the globe. We have a highly skilled workforce, a creative and growing studio population and a heritage of thirty years of success. While uncertainty is unwelcome for business, the UK video games industry will remain strong, resilient and competitive.”

Information provided by  www.tiga.org

Cats And VR

Fantastic Japanese Team Hacks Nintendo Wii U and Plays Splatoon in VR with Water Guns.

Kougaki Navi has been working on hacking a Wii U for VR purposes for a while and have finally come up with an iteration they are happy with. Check out the video and use Google translate for the step by step process on how they did it. 

http://kougaku-navi.net/Splatoon/index.html

#スプラトゥーン の新しいインタフェース作った pic.twitter.com/rqedtePWAY

— kougaku (@kougaku) June 20, 2016

Dark Days, a psychological thriller for Gear VR launches today.

Dark Days, Parallel Studio’s newest VR experience, immerses you in a creepy motel in the middle of Death Valley to solve puzzles while you fight for survival. Fans of escape-the-room puzzles and thrilling supernatural narrative have a new VR game to look forward to. 

Dark Days is as an excellent Gear VR title that mixes the weirdness of Twin Peaks with the unknown supernatural bumps in the night of The X-Files and the hide-and-seak game play of Amnesia. The game puts you in the role of heroine Jade Lacroix, a writer who checks into a very seedy motel filled with mystery. 

http://www.parallel-studio.com/

Alien Invasion VR Jet Fighter sim, Final Strike, launches today just in time for the new Independence Day film.

Just in time for the release of the new Independence Day film, the Austin based virtual reality studio, Ghost Machine, has announced the retail launch date for a new VR arcade flight sim game, Final Strike.  http://store.steampowered.com/app/357920/

What if fighter-pilot movies had a love child with alien invasion blockbusters from the ’90s? You’d no doubt get Final Strike, an edge-of-your-seat F-16 jet fighter simulator that puts you against an airborne invasion of alien invaders. Relive your favorite moments from your favorite end-of-the-world style blockbuster film as you pilot your very own military-grade death machine to eradicate the earth of the alien presence. A fully orchestrated custom soundtrack by legendary game composer Sean Beeson brings the cinematic story to life, making you truly feel like your in the scene of your favorite alien invasion movies. 

CEO of Ghost Machine, Neal Nellans, spoke about releasing his studios latest efforts on Steam VR, "Working on virtual flight simulators is really how we got started building VR experiences. Final Strike represents the pinnacle of cinematic action paired with VR gaming". The game, designed to be played as a seated VR simulation experience. "The level of immersion that VR provides with flight simulators is second to none, mixed with an epic alien invasion this is a one-of-a-kind experience.", stated Nellans.

Challenge yourself through massive aerial dogfights with the alien enemy. Fight either by yourself will partner team AI. For those brave enough to join the battle with the HTC Vive or Oculus Rift, a complete VR version of the game will put you directly in the action as you experience firsthand mission control where you receive your mission briefing and train to destroy the enemy. Complete VR immersion can be experienced with in-game VR menus, HUDS, and fully immersive 3D cockpits with working controls and gauges.

GDC spinoff conference VRDC gets standalone event: VRDC 16

The Virtual Reality Developers Conference (VRDC), the premier event for creators of immersive VR (and AR) experiences, today announced dates and location for its second edition – its first standalone event.  Bringing an expanded focus and new Advisory Board, the two-day event will bring together designers, programmers, business professionals, producers, artists, and audio practitioners to share best practices, demo new technology, create new business partnerships, and exchange ideas with innovators shaping the industry.

VRDC will take place November 2-3, 2016 in the Park Central Hotel in San Francisco, CA. To register or submit your speaking abstract by July 8, visit: vrdconf.com.

VRDC's Second Edition: November 2016

To meet the growing demand for high-quality content in the space, VRDC's second edition will expand to cover virtual and augmented reality in games, entertainment, brand experience, and a wide range of innovative use cases. Sessions from NASA and Chernobyl VR Project have been confirmed, reflecting the event's broad scope and top tier content.

"Now that VR platforms have hit the market, virtual experiences that entertain, inform, and provide entirely new ways to engage are increasingly in demand," explained Meggan Scavio, General Manager, VRDC and GDC. "We're thrilled to provide the highest quality content for VR developers, while exploring innovative applications for the technology across entertainment, healthcare, journalism, travel, manufacturing, retail, live events, real estate, training, and so much more."

Call for Submissions Now Open: VRDC is seeking the latest research and innovations in VR for November's lineup. Potential speakers may submit detailed technical and business-centric talks today through July 8, 2016. For more information, visit: www.vrdconf.com/conference/c4p/

New Advisory Board: An unprecedented advisory board of top names in VR will lead content for the show, including representatives from major platform holders such as Google (Noah Falstein), Oculus (Robert Stevenson), and Valve (Chet Faliszek), as well as creators behind experiences like Job Simulator (Alex Schwartz, Owlchemy Labs), Fantastic Contraption (Colin Northway) & VR experience experts like Pete Isensee (HBO Labs), Jazmin Cano (High Fidelity), Timoni West (Unity Labs), Tracey John (Havas Health) & Christina Heller (VR Playhouse).

Show Floor + Exhibitor Opps: VRDC will include a significant vendor area showcasing the latest innovations and advances in Virtual Reality. Those interested in exhibiting at this year's show should visit www.ubmgamenetwork.com/vrdc for more information.

VRDC's first edition was held alongside the Game Developers Conference (GDC) in March 2016 with two sold out tracks covering VR/AR for Games and Entertainment.

As part of the VRDC portfolio, organizers intend to continue running VRDC Game and Entertainment sessions alongside the Game Developers Conference in February 2017. More information on these sessions will be available in the near future.

Cats And VR

NBA All Star Kyrie Irving shows off Timbaland's new favorite state of the art audio technology, SubPac

Cavaliers All Star Point Guard Kyrie Irving was wearing one of the hottest accessories on the market today. No not a pair of Kanye West shoes or Dr Dre headphones but a very interesting black body harness.

When asked by a reporter what the black body harness was, Irving said, "It's a SubPac, you'll be hearing about it soon."

SubPac, a transformational technology brand, is pioneering a cultural shift across the music and technology industries by revolutionizing the traditional perception of sound. SubPac is immersive physical-sound technology that brings music to life, expanding beyond an audio concept to a full-body experience. The startup has attracted major investors and industry leaders who have joined forces to engineer this unprecedented sound movement.

I recently had a chance to watch the hella dope Run The Jewels 360° video in a Viewmaster headset while using a SubPac device. I feel it's the addition of accessories like SubPac that will make VR a real fully immersive experience that will keep you coming back. 

Here is my 360° video Demo and interview with SubPac. Use the Mouse to move around

 SubPac recently announced the close of $6M Series A financing with notable investors that include veteran DJ, Richie Hawtin, Dada Life, Azure Capital, NBA All Star Carmelo Anthony's M7 Tech Partners, and Andy Rubin of Playground Global and formerly Google Android. The funds are earmarked for development as the brand is positioned to significantly disrupt the music and tech industries.

"SubPac opened my eyes to the power of physical sound. It will absolutely change the way people experience music, VR and cinema." said Andy Rubin, founder & CEO, Playground Global.

SubPac is creating its own physical-sound category through two unique products; the SubPac M2, a wearable vest, and the SubPac S2, a seatback device. Both create a new form of expression for musicians and sound designers to connect with their fans on a deeper level by using innovative technology that allows consumers to physically feel sound. This tangible connectivity captivated GRAMMY-winning producer Timbaland to come on board as a partner and introduce the brand to the music industry.

"SubPac is a game changing experience for both artists and fans," said Timbaland. "It lets you feel the music like never before.  It's the feeling that's been missing, until now."

SubPac is a privately held technology company and was the brainchild of Co-Founders John Alexiou and Todd Chernecki. The startup's leadership team also includes Sean Leonard, Head of Strategic Development and Sarosh Khwaja, Head of R&D. SubPac is based in the heart of the entertainment industry, Los Angeles and has offices in San Francisco, Palo Alto, London and Toronto.  

"Andy Rubin and Timbaland are two of the finest creative minds on the planet," said John Alexiou, Co-Founder and CEO of SubPac. "They have both moved culture in significant ways, and will play leading roles in SubPac's mission to bring the feeling of music & sound to the world."  

SubPac is currently available on thesubpac.com with the SubPac M2 retailing for $349 and SubPac S2 for $299.

 thesubpac.com

EVE VALKYRIE gets Carrier Assault update on June 20

In Carrier Assault CCP are delivering that hallowed trench run moment that has been etched into the minds of many a Sci-Fi fan. 

Experience the next level of space dogfighting with Carrier Assault, part of the first free content update for the multiplayer virtual reality game EVE: Valkyrie. Take down the enemy team's fighters and cripple their defenses to infiltrate and destroy their Carrier.

Check  out more about Carrier Assault here.

https://www.evevalkyrie.com/articles/devblogs/carrier-assault-update-coming-june-20

Despite more players entering the VR gaming arena this year at E3, Oculus still guides the future.

Despite more players entering the VR gaming arena this year at E3, Oculus still guides the future. This was my reaction after attending E3 2016. 3 years ago I tried Rift DK1 and a prototype for EVE Valkyrie at E3 and thought it stole the show despite it being in a small room and not on the main floor. 

http://glasshome.tv/2013/06/ccp-evr-oculus-rift-stole-the-show-at-e3/

3 years later we now have Playstation bringing some power house AAA licenses to Playstation VR, HTC Vive showcasing fully immersive motion controlled experiences, and Microsoft playing the future game. Where does this leave Oculus? Well based on my experience at E3, I say it leaves them unafraid, constantly pushing, and the ones that set the bar.

First of all, the Oculus E3 booth had a level of professionalism that differentiated it from the pomp and circumstance of many video game booths that are set up at E3. The level of organization and customer service at the booth was outstanding. The lines were organized, demos were controlled so many people could have them, and the showcases ranged from several GearVR games to trying Oculus Touch. I personally think that Oculus does not get enough credit for what they are bringing to the mobile VR table since the focus of press has been drawn away from GearVR. The thing is for many people GearVR will be a doorway to help spread VR to the masses and Oculus delivers in the now. 

Despite Playstation having several recognizable properties backing the Playstation VR lineup, Oculus looks to help developers create brand new experiences and build from there. 

At E3 Feral Rites, the action brawler from Insomniac was playable for the first time; Ubisoft’s Eagle Flight super impressed me with soaring gameplay and control mechanics; and High Voltage Software’s previewed all-new levels of Damaged Core. I recently spoke with High Voltage Chief Creative Officer Eric Nofsinger about working with Oculus Studios and he had nothing but praise for the level of support Oculus offers developers. 

One of the biggest things HTC Vive has going for it is it's motion controls and I was intrigued to see how Oculus Touch would compare. Oculus Touch controls felt more natural to me on the get go than my first time with Vive's and I am excited to see where they go with it. That brings me to the point of a gaming community. While Playstation's VR offering had an air of exclusivity with their appointment system, Oculus brought VR to the masses and even did several live stream with people at E3. I ended up streaming a few session of the fantastic western themed shooter Dead And Buried with the man himself, Palmer Luckey which you can see at the :51 min mark of this video. 

Palmer Luckey was also a very great person to talk to, interact with, and also really seemed to care about VR fans. The Oculus team grabbed random people to stream with Palmer and it was fun. This fun, loose, and informative demeanor was present with everyone at the Oculus booth. The felling of comfort was very present at the booth and I returned quite often to get away from the cluster craziness and bright lights generally associated with the E3 expo floor. I would come back to play Ubisoft's Eagle Flight as a form of soaring guided meditation. I am the bird!

The thing about VR is I truly believe it is not a gimmick and is here to stay. That Oculus kickstarter from not to long ago started this hoopla and it looks like they will continue to not treat it like a gimmick but more like the future and meow.

Cats And VR