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Virtual Reality

You can actually buy Zotac’s VR backpack PC now

by Chaim Gartenberg

Zotac released the VR Go today, joining MSI in the relatively small club of companies that are actually shipping wearable VR backpacks. For those who are unfamiliar, VR backpacks are wearable gaming computers meant to allow for untethered...

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MIT's new method of radio transmission could one day make wireless VR a reality

by Chaim Gartenberg

If you want to use one of today's major VR headsets, whether the Oculus Rift, the HTC Vive, or the PS VR, you have to accept the fact that there will be an illusion-shattering cable that tethers you to the small supercomputer that's powering your...

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Steam is about to take over PC gaming all over again — this time, with VR

by Adi Robertson

For years now, Valve’s Steam service has dominated PC gaming. Not every title is on its store, and markets like GoG and Itch.io have carved out their own niche. But it’s still probably the best-known way to find and play games on any computer —...

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Get $100 off the HTC Vive during Black Friday

by Adi Robertson

If you’ve been biding your time to get an HTC Vive, you can save $100 on one later this week. On Black Friday and Cyber Monday, HTC is dropping the Vive’s price at all online and retail stores, including Amazon and the official Vive site. That...

Inside Sansar, the VR successor to Second Life

by Adi Robertson

The door is bright red, perched at the top of a mossy stone staircase in the middle of a floating island. When I approach, a mysterious tune begins emanating from it, as if playing from the other side. Right now, it’s just a simple prop, and there...

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Daydream Nation

by Adi Robertson

It’s a couple of weeks before the Daydream View headset launches, and at Google’s Mountain View headquarters, the team has filled a room with pieces of its past. The tables are littered with fabric swatches, molded foam shells, and things that...

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The creators of The Walking Dead are bringing immersive theater into virtual reality

by Bryan Bishop

The immersive theater series Delusion has been scaring audiences in Los Angeles since 2011, and now the creators of The Walking Dead are bringing the show to virtual reality. Robert Kirkman’s Skybound Entertainment announced today that it will be...

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You can now fly around Google Earth in virtual reality

by Adi Robertson

A virtual reality version of Google Earth is now available for free on the HTC Vive, letting users explore reconstructed cultural treasures, global landmarks, or (for some) their own homes in VR. Google Earth VR has been in development for some...

EA's CEO on why your life is about to be a video game

by Chris Plante

Andrew Wilson, CEO of Electronic Arts, believes games in 2021 will be more diverse, more accessible, and simply more inescapable. Your smartphone and your game console will help you play with friends and strangers across the globe, but so might...

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Apple working on Google Glass-style AR glasses, says report

by Nick Statt

Apple is working on a wearable device similar to Google Glass that would blend an augmented reality display with a standard pair of glasses, according to a report from Bloomberg News. The company is still exploring the smart glasses market, the...

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The Martian VR Experience is coming to PSVR and Vive tomorrow

by Adi Robertson

As consumer virtual reality headsets hit the shelves, experiences that were once limited to film festivals and tech shows are becoming at least a little bit more widely available. And the latest to do so is a tie-in project for Ridley Scott’s 2015...

Google Daydream View review: mobile VR done mostly right

by Adi Robertson

Nearly a year ago, I wrote about a then-new product called the Samsung Gear VR — a mobile phone-powered headset that promised cheap, mainstream virtual reality, but it delivered something I wasn’t quite sure what to do with. The Gear VR felt...

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Here's where you can buy Google's new Daydream VR headset

by James Vincent

Google now has its own Samsung Galaxy Gear: the $79 soft-touch Daydream View. Like the Gear and other phone-powered virtual reality headsets, the View connects to your smartphone for VR experiences (although it's only compatible with the Pixel and...

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HTC opens preorders for wireless Vive upgrade kit

by Sam Byford

A new accessory that enables HTC’s Vive VR headset to be used wirelessly is available for preorder on the company’s Chinese site. TPCast, a startup inside HTC’s Vive X accelerator program, has created a clip-on device that essentially upgrades the...

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The Oculus Rift now officially runs on cheaper PCs

by Adi Robertson

Oculus has launched the feature that establishes a new minimum spec for its Rift headset, making it accessible on cheaper PCs. In a blog post, the company announced the addition of asynchronous spacewarp, which lets VR titles run smoothly at half...

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Zotac's new VR Go mini PC comes with straps, so you don't have to buy a backpack

by Ashley Carman

Zotac has introduced multiple mini PCs that are VR-ready and able to fit in backpacks, but now the company is planning to release a computer that comes with removable straps attached, according to Anandtech. I love an all-in-one purchase. The VR...

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If you’re an iPhone user, this is your best hope for a VR controller

by Adi Robertson

Merge VR’s universal remote is a Google Daydream-style motion controller designed for any mobile headset.

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VR eye tracking could shape your relationships with virtual people

by Adi Robertson

The pupil-tracking Fove VR headset is now open for preorder.

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Away, fools, and leave me to my VR egg

by Adi Robertson

The Eje Telepod is the most soothing vibrating VR chair $8,000 can buy.

The Pico Neo headset is a clever take on standalone VR

by Nick Statt

Standalone virtual reality headsets tend to come in only one flavor. Typically, your smartphone slides into a pair of goggles, and from there the headset becomes a single unit relying on the phone’s display. This means there are no cords keeping...

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The NFL is making a virtual reality series for YouTube and Google Daydream

by Chris Welch

The first episode premieres on November 24th

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HTC promises Vive arcades in China, the US, and Europe

by Adi Robertson

A new program lets developers license their games to malls, theaters, or entertainment centers.

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Google’s Daydream VR headset is coming November 10th

by Adi Robertson

The Daydream View, Google’s new virtual reality headset, is officially coming November 10th. Google announced the news in a blog post today, and opened a Google Store page for the $79 headset, which can now be preordered. Verizon and Best Buy are...

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Bourne Identity director Doug Liman on the making of his new VR series, Invisible

by Adi Robertson

Virtual reality filmmaking is in its infancy, but for Bourne Identity and Edge of Tomorrow director Doug Liman, there are already too many rules. The press release for Invisible, a five-episode action series that officially premieres today, lists...

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Seven big questions about Microsoft’s new VR headsets

by Adi Robertson

Today’s big tech news might be the fancy-looking Surface Studio PC, but Microsoft also decided to make a major virtual reality announcement during its Windows event: a whole new line of VR headsets with built-in tracking sensors, starting at the...

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You probably won’t get eye herpes from a VR headset

by Adi Robertson

At public events like conventions, strapping a virtual reality headset onto your face can feel uncomfortably intimate. Face masks can get sweaty and grimy, and lenses can fog up with other people’s breath. But earlier this week, an anonymous chat...

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The 8 biggest announcements from yesterday's Microsoft event

by Ashley Carman and Chaim Gartenberg

Microsoft wants artists and content creators to want its products. The company unveiled multiple creative-minded products at its keynote today, including a major Windows 10 upgrade called the “Creators Update” and a gorgeous PC called the Surface...

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T-Mobile just leaked a Windows 10 VR phone

by Nick Statt

During Microsoft's Windows 10 event in New York City today, it looks like T-Mobile jumped the gun and posted the product page for a new Windows 10 smartphone designed for virtual reality. It's an old phone — the Alcatel Idol 4S to be specific. The...

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Microsoft announces new VR headsets for Windows 10, starting at $299

by Adi Robertson

Microsoft’s partners will ship a new line of virtual reality headsets to take advantage of Windows 10’s VR and holographic capabilities. At today’s event, Microsoft said that the headsets will start at $299 and will include inside-out tracking...

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Google reportedly building eye-tracking headset that mixes VR with the real world

by Chris Welch

Google is continuing work on a standalone headset that blends virtual and augmented reality, according to Engadget. The device, which has been rumored previously, functions differently from the Daydream VR headset that will soon ship to consumers....

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The NBA will broadcast a game in VR every week this season

by Chris Welch

The NBA, the first major sports league to really embrace virtual reality, is getting even more serious about the technology for the upcoming 2016–2017 season. Today NBA Digital and its partner NextVR announced that they'll broadcast at least one...

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Here They Lie is surreal, nauseating, and oddly compelling PlayStation VR horror

by Adi Robertson

When PlayStation VR came out earlier this week, one of its lesser-known launch titles was a horror game called Here They Lie. Developed by Tangentlemen, a studio that includes Spec Ops: The Line co-director Cory Davis and Tomb Raider series...

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