Virtual reality is almost upon us. And no, this isn’t the heavy, constrictive, poorly animated VR you might remember from the early ’90s. These modern entries into the VR space are lighter and faster, and pump out the sort of fantastical 3D worlds our younger selves always dreamed of experiencing. Most of these devices are …
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PlayStation VR takes on Facebook’s Oculus, HTC in virtual reality rumble
Sony needs to do two things: Convince you to buy a virtual reality headset, and convince you that the $399 PlayStation VR is the one you need. That may be harder than you think. If you’re reading this story, you’ve probably heard of VR, a technology that uses goggles to strap a screen so close to your face that your …
Read More »Facebook wants to put the ‘social’ in virtual reality
Samsung’s Galaxy S7 keynote was full of surprises. The ultimate one: Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg strode out on stage to explain how putting on a VR headset can actually be social. “Pretty soon, we’re going to live in a world where everyone has the power to share and experience whole scenes, as if we’re there in person,” said Zuckerberg. He …
Read More »Virtual reality’s fragile magic ingredient
One moment I’m in a room full of people, the next I’m in the sun-scorched Australian Outback. But it takes more than the fancy graphics of the Samsung Gear VR virtual-reality headset I’ve just lowered over my head to convince me I’m really hanging out with aborigines. What it takes, says Richard Marks of Sony’s VR arm, PlayStation Magic Lab, …
Read More »Virtual reality let me paint in space, and it was pure magic
I’ve just walked half a mile up a mountain in the snow, but that’s not what’s taken my breath away. That honour belongs to Quill, a new virtual-reality tool from Oculus that allows you to paint in the air around you simply by waving your hands. It’s one of many cool and clever virtual-reality developments here at the 2016 Sundance …
Read More »Samsung to open VR movie studio in New York: ‘We love stories’
Lights, camera, Samsung! The company behind the Gear VR virtual reality headset is opening a New York studio to produce new immersive experiences. Samsung announced the news here at the Sundance film festival in Park City, Utah, where virtual reality is emerging as a prominent theme. The Korean company isn’t saying any more about the new VR production studio at …
Read More »The Oculus Rift costs $599, and you can finally order one now
This story is part of CES 2016. Our editors bring you complete CES 2016 coverage and scour the showroom floor for the hottest new tech gadgets around. Nearly four years ago, the Oculus Rift was little more than a smartphone screen duct-taped to a set of ski goggles which claimed to transport you to a virtual world. Now, after years …
Read More »Perhaps the most dizzying Oculus Rift experience yet: Mountain climbing
Now playing: Watch this: Watch us scale a beautiful cliff in this game for the… 2:06 Here’s an experience you probably won’t have in real life: climbing a famous mountain. Few humans ever attain the frosty summit of Mount Everest, or even pull themselves up the more hospitable cliffs of Rio de Janeiro. Video game developers are about to give …
Read More »Facebook, Samsung prepare to sell virtual reality to the masses
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg is promising you a glimpse at the future of computing. It will change the way you communicate and give you a totally new way to experience video games, watch movies and see the world, he says. The catch: You have to strap a screen to your face. Do you do it? That’s the question consumers will …
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