The XR Week Peek (2022.04.18): Pico Neo 3 Link launches in Europe, Meta offers monetization tools in Horizon, and more!

vrcoin on April 18, 2022

Happy Easter Holidays to whoever celebrates it! Yesterday I have eaten a lot, including a chocolate egg and an Easter cake with tons of pistachio and hazelnut cream. And today I’m going to do the same… the goal is gaining 10 kilos in 2 days haha. VR is cool and all the rest, but Italian food is even better! Anyway, today should be a vacation in Italy, but here I am writing this roundup for you, so if you want to show your appreciation, don’t forget to make a donation on Patreon! Top news of the week (Image by Pico Interactive)Pico Neo 3 Link has been launched in beta At Laval Virtual, Pico has announced the Pico Neo 3 Link, its first consumer-oriented headset.  Pico Neo 3 Link is basically the same device as the Pico Neo 3 Pro, with just some little modifications. The headset is more or less a clone of the

Genies Secures $150M Series C to Expand Development on Metaverse Avatars

vrcoin on April 14, 2022

Genies, a 3D avatar company, announced it’s raised a $150 million Series C investment, something it says will be used to hire more engineering talent and continue development on its non-fungible token (NFT) based “avatar universe.”

The round was led by private equity firm Silver Lake, and includes participation from existing investors BOND, NEA, and Tamarack Global. This brings the company’s total outside investment to $202 million, with the company now valued at $1 billion.

The company’s main focus for now is on avatar creator tools and digital fashion collections which it hopes will be used across the metaverse—and not just sit in a crypto wallet. The company envisions creating avatar homes and social experiences in the future—presumably also minted as tradable NFTs.

In late 2021, Genies notably inked a partnership with Universal Music Group and Warner Music Group to launch its own NFT marketplace, called ‘The Warehouse’. Users and creators on the platform can buy, sell, and trade avatars and accessories, which are minted on Dapper Labs’ blockchain network, Flow. The deal also saw NFT partnerships with a number of musicians, including Justin Bieber, Migos, Cardi B, and J Balvin.

“We believe avatar ecosystems are going to shape Web3 the same way that mobile apps defined Web2,” said Akash Nigam, CEO of Genies. “With every advancement of the internet, an expansive new region of entrepreneurial skill sets is born. In Web3, Gen Z avatar ecosystem builders are going to be the leaders of innovation and, through our creator tools, we strive to empower their wildest imaginations, ideas, and experiences as avatar creations.”

It’s not clear whether this particular blockchain tech will become the standard for digital ownership in the Web3 future, where digital property ownership is set to go well beyond pictures of cartoon apes. Just the same, many household names in the XR industry are also jumping into the NFT craze. HTC opened its own NFT marketplace in December, albeit solely dedicated to ‘flat’ NFT art for now. Meta is planning to do the same on its social network Facebook, although there’s still no clear launch date.

This article was originally published on roadtovr.com

Mastercard Could Be Preparing To Enter The Metaverse

vrcoin on April 11, 2022

One of the biggest banking institutions in America predicts that the metaverse will be a $13 trillion industry by 2030.The global financial institution Mastercard is preparing for the metaverse economy through 15 trademarks applications that would position them as the biggest payment facilitator for a virtual world powered by crypto, fintech (financial technology), and all metaverse eCommerce technologies. The news was discovered this past week when USPTO licensed trademark attorney and specialist in intellectual property Mike Kondoudis tweeted out the details of several trademark filings that included the Mastercard name, the company’s “Circles” logo, and “Priceless” slogan. The tweet also included details such as NFT backed media, payment processing in the metaverse, marketplaces for digital goods + NFTs, and eCommerce transactions in the metaverse.🚩BREAKING🚩The number of U.S. NFT trademark applications filed in 2022 has already surpassed the number filed all of last year!Here are the numbers:▶️ 2022 1967 apps filed (so far)▶️

The XR Week Peek (2022.04.10): Epic releases Unreal Engine 5, Meta cancels F8, and more!

vrcoin on April 10, 2022

I know you weren’t expecting my newsletter for today, but since I’m going to have a very busy next week, I’ve anticipated the release of my roundup! This afternoon I’m flying to Paris to then go to Laval to attend Laval Virtual, one of the oldest events about virtual reality, where I’ll be as an attendee, a virtual speaker (about the game HitMotion: Reloaded), a host of the AWE Nite Florence (featuring great speakers like Charlie Fink… ), and also as a.. I can’t tell you the last one because it will be a surprise! I have written a little blog post about my participation there. It’s going to be very interesting and very busy… I hope to meet you in Laval! Top news of the week (Image by Epic Games)Epic Games releases Unreal Engine 5 Epic Games has finally released the latest iteration of its popular game engine: Unreal Engine 5. UE5

Another Peak at VR-Enabled Cars, This Time From Holoride and Porsche

vrcoin on April 6, 2022

We’ve been keeping our eyes on holoride for a while now. The company promises VR-enabled in-vehicle entertainment and productivity applications – and they’ve delivered. However, those experiences have been demos and attractions at events, not something that an individual could actually use in their personal vehicle. holoride recently announced their first commercial installment with Porsche, featuring Cosmic Chase, holoride’s first original title, developed by Schell Games. While this is still a location-based experience currently only available at LA’s Porsche Experience Center, it does give us an exciting look at one of the experiences coming to consumer vehicles as early as this year. What Is the Experience? Schell Games is the studio behind well-known VR titles including Until You Fall, Among Us VR, and the I Expect You to Die series. If some of this is ringing a bell, Schell Games was one of the leaders in a $12M funding round

Data Security: Top Challenge in the Metaverse According to Tech Leaders

vrcoin on April 5, 2022

Ninety-seven percent of the respondents acknowledge the importance of data in the metaverse; Source: Bright Data Everyone’s talking about the metaverse. Tech giants are in a race to integrate into this new parallel world even as questions of data security surface. While the concept isn’t new, the business landscape has only recently been looking at the potential of the metaverse outside the gaming world. According to a survey from a web data platform Bright Data, and conducted by research firm Vanson Bourne, more than half of its respondents are aware of how the metaverse works. About 89% consider it important for business operations and 97% of the respondents acknowledge the importance of data in the metaverse. However, 60% cite data and security as the top challenges of this virtual world. Everyone is asking the same question: how will the metaverse impact cybersecurity? Cybersecurity and the Metaverse Cybersecurity has been a

Snoop Dogg’s New Music Video Was Shot In The Metaverse

vrcoin on April 4, 2022

“Walkin’ though The Sandbox with flip-flops on…”Very few celebrities have embraced the growing Web3 industry (NFTs, crypto, the metaverse) quite like Snoop Dogg. Since his music debut back in 1992, the prolific rapper, media personality, and entrepreneur has managed to remain in the public eye thanks in large part to his fearless embrace of new technologies and mediums. So it makes sense that the West Coast native would eventually gravitate towards the metaverse.Last September it was announced that Snoop was developing his own virtual world inside The Sandbox, one of several rapidly-growing social metaverse platforms. Referred to as the “Snoopverse,” users can explore a custom virtual world featuring all things Snoop Dogg, collect valuable NFT drops, and watch exclusive in-world concerts. Snoop’s virtual world is so popular that one superfan recently spent a jaw-dropping $500,000 to be the rapper’s virtual neighbor.Earlier this month, Snoop sent shockwaves through the music industry

The XR Week Peek (2022.04.04): Meta Quest Gaming Showcase is back, Mojo Vision is “feature complete”, and more!

vrcoin on April 4, 2022

It’s been a fun 1st of April for the whole XR community, with many jokes and pranks being released in the wild. Don’t forget to read the rich “Fun” section down below this roundup, because it is going to be a pretty rich one!  But at first, let’s get serious and read the relevant news of the week in AR and VR. Top news of the week Meta Quest Gaming Showcase is coming on April, 20th Meta is back with its Gaming Showcase, and this year, it is going to be aired on April, 20th at 10 am PT. Last year, it was still called Oculus Gaming Showcase, and it featured important updates on games like Pistol Whip, The Climb 2, I Expect You To Die 2, and Resident Evil 4 VR. This year, it promises to be cool the same, and probably even more, featuring new game announcements, gameplay first-looks, updates on

The 10 Coolest VR/AR Experiences From SXSW 2022

vrcoin on March 26, 2022

A SXSW to remember with who’s-who in XR creative technology showing face at the fest for the first time in two years.SXSW was back in full force last week. Masked or otherwise (Texas is pretty lax), a frenzy of wild-eyed art, music, film, and XR-hungry visitors flooded into Austin for a week of back-to-back programming. From discussions around virtual land ownership to cloth made from washable circuit boards to NFT galleries and off-site multi-player audio adventures, SXSW delighted and demanded full attention this year.In this best-of-round-up, we’ll try to capture the essence of the festival by highlighting groundbreaking XR experiences that were too novel, important, or strange to miss.RADIO GHOST (INTERACTIVE – AUDIO)Darragh: I was not sure what to expect from this experience. Mystified, I signed up for what turned out to be a whirlwind of being whisked off the premises of SXSW’s main block downtown to a mall several

Nike’s “Just Do It” Attitude Pays Off In The Metaverse

vrcoin on March 24, 2022

The company’s Nikeland metaverse proves a hit among Roblox players. Since the launch of Nikeland, a virtual world built by Nike inside the hit video game Roblox, the company has been visited by almost 7 million people from 224 countries. Here they could browse a digital store filled with Nike products and hang out with popular NBA players.During the NBA All-Star Week back in February, NBA superstar LeBron James stepped into Nikeland to talk directly with fans about basketball, give a few virtual high fives, and help motivate people to get active, either on a basketball court or in their favorite physically-active VR games. [embed]https://youtube.com/watch?v=U1yX7awE5P0&version=3&rel=1&showsearch=0&showinfo=1&iv_load_policy=1&fs=1&hl=en-US&autohide=2&wmode=transparent[/embed] “On the Nikeland court, LeBron coached and engaged with players, and participants were rewarded for physical gameplay with the ability to unlock virtual products,” said Nike’s Chief Executive and President Jack Donahoe during a Q3 earnings call.For Nike, the metaverse holds a lot of