Welcome to the Week That Was on TheVirtualReport.biz, where we bring you the highlights, biggest news and hottest topics from the world of VR, AR and MR business in the last seven days.
Top Stories
HTC Vive Focus Headset Gets China Release Date
New standalone VR headset released in Asia in the new year, pre-orders open next week.
Sony’s New Trial Program Is Next Push For PS VR
Further signs of continued commitment to console VR as consumers can demo PlayStation VR and Skyrim at home for two weeks – free!
Rift Core Overhaul Arrives With 2.0 Update
The next update to the Oculus Rift will bring significant changes to the UI, Store and Home this week.
Vacation Simulator Announced At The Game Awards 2017
Owlchemy Labs’ first game under Google takes players out of the office and on holiday – on PS VR, Rift and Vive.
Resident Evil 7 Best VR/AR At The Game Awards
Popular horror series wins best game experience in VR/AR, ahead of a strong shortlist of contenders.
Rick and Morty co-creator, Justin Roiland, lends his voice to the upcoming game, set to release this December.
Female-Focused Flutter VR Experience Launches Next Week
New Zealand studio to release, “Unapologetically a game made for women”.
TPCAST Brings Wireless VR Solution For Oculus Rift To Europe.
New wireless adapter frees Rift owners from the tangle of tethered cables.
Czech Company Offers New 5K OLED VR Headset
The displays offer 40% more pixels compared to Apple’s Super Retina display on the iPhone X.
US County Settles Battle Over AR Games
Wisconsin county will pay attorney fees for Californian-based developer that challenged AR permit requirement.
Oculus Patents Curved Screen For VR
An official filing details plans to create new Virtual Reality hardware with a curved display panel and larger field of view.
Oculus Celebrates One Year Of Touch With Flash Sale
Up to 75% discounts on popular VR games and apps. Today only!
Google Introduces Foveation Pipeline for XR
Rendering technique takes advantage of human characteristics to offer increased visual fidelity during VR and AR experiences.
Nobel Media And HTC Vive Announce Nobel Prize Partnership
The two have partnered to create the first VR experience for the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.
Creative Software Developer, Foundry, Launches 360 VR Plug-in
Cara VR 2.0, the new toolset offers improved stitching and stabilisation for more efficient 360 Virtual Reality creation.
Ubisoft Seeks Mobile AR For Start-up Campus
The gaming giant will work closely with VR/AR groups at the Station F campus for start-ups.
French Airline Offers VR In-flight Entertainment
Joon will launch a new Virtual Reality headset for immersive experiences in the sky.
Google Adds In-VR API To Poly Asset Library
Plug-In streamlines XR workflow, aims to encourage more developers to use the platform and create content for Virtual and Augmented Reality.
Huawei’s New VR Controller Sighted In FCC Listings
Speculation regarding Huawei launching a Virtual Reality headset finds new ground as XR controller officially filed with the FCC.
Haptic Controller To Debut With LA Justice League Experience
Tactical Haptics will showcase new controllers at the IMAX VR Centre in Los Angeles, California.
British broadcaster believes it can help bring Virtual Reality into the mainstream.
Women In VR – A Brave New World?
The Female Planet’s series director on what motivated her to make the 360-video series, why women are better represented in XR than conventional development and what can be done to ensure more gender parity in the future.
Designing VR For Accessibility
Runaway Play’s heads of VR and Quality Assurance talk about their learnings in accessibility for XR and how early user testing can broaden a game’s potential audience by making sure it’s truly inclusive.
3 Signs That Virtual Reality Has Hit Puberty
Christophe Mallet, co-founder at London immersive tech agency, Somewhere Else, takes a look at XR’s growing pains and growth spurts since the format’s rebirth in 2013.
$1 Billion VR/AR Investment In Last Quarter
Magic Leap and Niantic lead the way, with a total of $702 million invested between them, bringing annual total to $2.5bn.
Regulars
Nine VR, AR and MR stories from around the web that caught our eyes: 2017 sales data; Smartphone as a camera; AR and city life; Jaron Lanier interview; Free white paper; Porsche tech services; Empathetic storytelling; Nonny de la Peña.
Your Monday morning briefing of the six most read recent stories.
Start-up Raises $14 Million For Cloud XR Storytelling Platform
Pixvana attracts funding to expand its toolset and support future projects.
See you in seven days...
