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

The XR Week Peek (2022.03.22): Quest to feature new parental control tools, Google acquires Raxium, and more!

vrcoin on March 22, 2022

I’m back in Italy, but I have left a piece of my heart in Austin, where I had an unforgettable experience both on the personal and professional side at SXSW (you can read more about my experience here). I thank everyone that made my days so awesome, and I hope to meet you again soon!  This newsletter is happening one day after because on Sunday I was traveling, so I had to spend my Monday reading online articles for this roundup while I still was confused about the time of the day and the night. Luckily, we had not huge news about XR this week, so my work has been a little easier 🙂 Before I leave you to the big news of the week, don’t forget to register to NVIDIA GTC using my unique referral code: https://www.nvidia.com/gtc/?ncid=ref-crea-201724 ! If you are from the EMEA region, and you use my special link to

My experience at SXSW 2022: expect the unexpected

vrcoin on March 20, 2022

Ten days ago, I revealed to you that I was going to Austin, Texas to attend the SXSW, one of the most important events about creativity and technology in the USA. Today, while I’m packing my stuff up to go back to Italy, I want to tell you a few words about my experience there, and if I think it has been worth going. Going SXSW SXSW Logo (Image by SXSW)Even if it is not so famous in Europe, the SXSW (South by SouthWest) has always been one of the events to be in the United States. It gathers people from the tech industry, from movies, from music, all

VR Gamescast: Moss 2 Impressions, VR Storytelling Troubles, Snoop Dogg In The Metaverse

vrcoin on March 17, 2022

This week on the VR Gamescast we’re talking about Moss: Book 2, Virtual Virtual Reality 2 and more.After a short break, Jamie and Harry are back to round up the latest VR news and reviews. Headlining this week is the reveal that Moss: Book 2 is coming to PSVR 2 on March 31! Jamie’s seen an extended demo of the game – what does he make of it? And why are so many VR games announcing their release dates just weeks before they arrive? [embed]https://youtube.com/watch?v=xkS129auK1s[/embed] Elsewhere, Harry returns to Virtual Virtual Reality 2, a game we’d previously only reviewed in part due to bugs. Now that there’s been a few patches, is the experience much better? And what’s up with VR storytelling? Why is it so much harder to do than traditional gaming and films? We ponder those questions as we also look over what went wrong with

Mark Zuckerberg talks about his vision for Meta at SXSW

vrcoin on March 17, 2022

In my visit to SXSW, I could not miss the fireside chat with Mark Zuckerberg that took place two days ago. I have never seen Zuckerberg in real life, and even if he was in streaming, it was anyway intriguing that he was speaking live and also answering live to the questions of the audience, so it was a bit like having him in the room with us. I’m not a big fan of Zuck, honestly speaking, but he’s still the CEO of the most important XR company in the world, so it’s worth listening to what he has to say. And seeing his big face and listening to his words was in the end an interesting experience. If you are afraid of having missed some big announcements, relax. During the interview, the Zuggity Zuck just repeated the same things we have already heard a bazillion times: his vision for

ITIF Releases Report on Moderating Multi-User Immersive Experiences

vrcoin on March 16, 2022

When you’re on social media and see someone engaging in dangerous, illegal, or often just distasteful activity, it is often fairly easy to report the content or the poster. In the physical world, these situations are less frequent and scarier but here too there are ways to report illicit interactions when necessary. But, what about immersive experiences? We tend to spend most of our time talking about the positive interactions and promises of immersive experiences. While AR and VR applications combine the best of in-person and online events, they also combine the worst of these settings for people who would misuse them. A recent report by the Information Technology & Innovation Foundation (ITIF) explores this. Authors and Influences “Content Moderation in Multi-User Immersive Experiences: AR/VR and the Future of Online Speech” is a free online publication by Daniel Castro, ITIF vice president and director of the Center for Data Innovation.

Holoride In-Car VR Entertainment Heading To Audi Vehicles

vrcoin on March 13, 2022

Backseat VR technology will arrive on select Audi sedans and SUVs as soon as this Summer.Last month HTC Vive announced that it was partnering with in-car VR entertainment company Holoride to bring its new HTC Vive Flow to backseats everywhere.During SXSW this week it was announced that Holoride technology will be launching on select Audi sedans and SUVs with the new MIB 3 technology this Summer, offering consumers their first taste of backseat VR entertainment.Powered by a blockchain ecosystem, the platform features one-of-a-kind “Elastic Content” that takes into account everything from the speed and movement of the vehicle to the length of the trip itself. This means no two in-car VR experiences will ever be exactly the same.So, how exactly does this system work? Holoride partnered with a company called Terranet to utilize VoxelFlow, a system of sensors that captures movement data and transates it into gameplay in real-time. As