Editorial: Should We Let Mark Zuckerberg Have The ‘Metaverse’?

vrcoin on March 11, 2022

Here’s how Meta distills the benefits of Mark Zuckerberg’s latest effort to shape modern life: “3D spaces in the metaverse will let you socialize, learn, collaborate and play in ways that go beyond what we can imagine.”We already have multiple VR headsets from different manufacturers for socializing, learning, collaborating, and playing in ways that are impossible to fully grasp until experienced. If VR headsets already do what Zuckerberg’s homepage at Meta describes, and Oculus was almost synonymous with much of this already, why would he abandon Oculus as a brand and move the goal posts out into the future? There’s a bigger role to play in shaping the future of human experience than just shipping better VR systems year after year, and Zuckerberg is taking that role as the head of Meta Platforms. There’s the worsening effects of climate change to contend with as well as the seemingly always-four-years-away dream

Gundam Metaverse In Development By Bandai Namco

vrcoin on March 9, 2022

The shared virtual world will feature characters from popular games like Pac-Man, Dark Souls, and Gundam.Bandia Namco, the Japanese video game and toy company with massive global appeal, recently announced plans to commit a whopping 13 billion yen ($130M USD) towards the development of a new “metaverse” experience dedicated to its most popular gaming and anime franchises.The “Gundam Metaverse,” as they are calling it, will feature a number of popular IPs, such as Pac-Man, Soul Calibur, Dark Souls, and of course plenty of giant robots from the critically-acclaimed Gundam universe. The primary goal, according to BNE (Bandai Namco Entertainment), is to help fans of the brand connect with each other through virtual concerts, movies, live events, and other social VR experiences.BNE made the announcement when the company shared its mid-term plans (April 2022 to March 2025) with shareholders detailing the three core goals of its “IP Axis Strategy.”Connecting fans through its

The LA-Based Marketing Agency Expanding Into the Metaverse

vrcoin on March 8, 2022

With more and more business and sales being conducted in virtual worlds, one digital marketing agency with physical offices in California is expanding its services into the metaverse. The LookinMeta Launch LookinLA is already a digital-first marketing agency. With partners like Google, Salesforce, and Shopify, high-tech trends like big data analytics and online retail are not new to the company. So, what’s new? In a way, everything. “We are the forefront of metaverse marketing,” LookinLA CEO Ali Payani said in a release shared with ARPost. “Our clients are now able to expand their businesses and operations into the virtual world to amplify their growth and authority.” The March 3 release announced a new platform from LookinLA called LookinMeta. This platform will give clients and client companies access to a whole suite of emerging technology tools and services. What Marketing Looks Like in the Metaverse A lot of the release has

Spatial Hosts “First-Ever Metaverse Film Screening”

vrcoin on March 7, 2022

Late last year, enterprise remote collaboration platform Spatial announced a major pivot “to become the metaverse for cultural events such as NFT exhibitions, brand experiences, and conferences.” The platform recently made good on that endeavor in a major way, hosting the “first-ever metaverse film screening.” The premiere of the documentary film GameStop: Rise of the Players took place in a custom Spatial room on March 1 and included a screening of the film, a director Q&A, selfie opportunities and, of course, an NFT giveaway. Remembering Recent History In January of 2021, GameStop stock was struggling. Around a year earlier, the company had announced that it would be closing many locations, and many expected that the entire chain would soon follow. Members of the Reddit group r/wallstreetbets made a run on the stock. Stock value jumped from under $20 on January 8 to $325 on January 29. Some stock-trading apps

The XR Week Peek (2022.03.07): Samsung is planning to launch an XR device, PSVR may arrive in 2023, and more!

vrcoin on March 7, 2022

Another week has passed by, and while the situation in Europe is always more complicated because of the war, in the XR landscape nothing particularly special has happened. It has been a pretty boring week, notwithstanding the MWC, which, as it happened the last few years, hasn’t brought important news about XR. But this roundup will be worth reading anyway, so don’t go away too fast! Top news of the week (Image by Samsung)Samsung is close to launching an XR device, or maybe two The metaverse hype is growing, and with it, all the interest of the big brands towards XR. Last month, we got to know that (according to a rumor) Samsung is working together with Microsoft on new AR glasses, most probably powered by a Qualcomm chipset. This week, instead, we discovered that Samsung is actually working on another headset in parallel.  According to the Korean magazine Electronic Times, the device

HTC Vive Shows Off Portable 5G Device With RC Cars

vrcoin on March 3, 2022

Set up a private 5G network for multiple VR headsets in under 30 minutes using the Reign Core.Today marks the final day of MWC 2022 in Barcelona and so far we’ve been treated to a variety of incredible announcements showcasing the future of connectivity. Day four of the event included informative talks featuring speakers from companies such as Amazon Web Services, Weta Digital, and Nolia as well as a plethora of incredible demos from a large list of exhibitors. One demo from HTC had attendees driving a small remote-controlled car fitted with cameras and 5G connections around a tiny racetrack using a portable 5G base station called a Reign Core.Vive Flow / Credit: HTCThose lucky enough to experience the demo had two different views of their carthanks to a couple of hi-res video feeds (POV and top-down) that were delivered using a 5G network from the Reign Core. As the drivers

Virtual Reality Reimagines Employee Training Through Xelevate

vrcoin on March 2, 2022

Virtual reality and metaverse are mainly associated with men and gaming. White men are particularly leading the charge in today’s top gaming platforms such as Roblox, Sandbox, and Decentraland. Moreover, males outnumber females when it comes to owning non-fungible tokens (NFTs). According to one survey, 20% of US online male adults own at least one NFT. Meanwhile, only 7% of their female counterparts are NFT collectors. While women are involved in creating NFT art, they make up less than 16% of all NFT artists. Moreover, female artists generate only 5% of total NFT sales. The Tide Is Shifting in Virtual Reality Entrepreneurship A growing number of women entrepreneurs are breaking into the male-centric metaverse. They’re also promoting “metadiversity” in this sphere that remains vulnerable to the real-world realities of discrimination and harassment. Some groups such as Women in Blockchain Talks and Curious Addys are guiding women toward crypto-literacy. Others like

The XR Week Peek (2022.02.28): PSVR 2 revealed, Meta working on AI and 5G, and more!

vrcoin on February 28, 2022

I know that in these crazy war moments probably we all are a bit less interested in the news about XR, but this is my job, so today you can find here the new weekly roundup I prepared for you, as usual. I hope it serves to distract you by giving you something to read to not think about the terrible things happening in this world. I just hope for peace to come to Europe again soon: I have friends on both sides of the conflict, and no one of them wants this war, but all of them have to stand the consequences. I really hope for the best for all people that are in this awful situation.  I have also a little announcement to make: in the upcoming weeks, starting from today, I will start a paid partnership with NVIDIA to promote the GTC. I am usually not interested in

VR Entertainment Is Heading To The Backseat

vrcoin on February 28, 2022

Holoride uses a technology called ‘elastic content’ to merge immersive experiences with the movement of your car.HTC Vive’s metaverse continues to expand with the recent announcement of Viveverse, an open-sourced connected ecosystem that will let you easily travel between worlds such as Beatday, Engage, VRChat, and Vive Sync, all while protecting your identity, security, and privacy.Using a tool called Vive Guardian, you’re able to create a set of privacy and security boundaries. It’s also a tool that parents can use to make sure their kids aren’t exposed to anything inappropriate as they world hop. Credit: HTC ViveAnother part of the HTC Vive’s Viveverse announcement was that the company is working on expanding the state of in-car VR entertainment through an exciting partnership with Holoride, a company that aims to deliver VR entertainment to car passengers.According to an official press release, passengers would be able to access VR experiences through the HTC

HTC Vive Announces Viveverse, A Cross-Platform Metaverse

vrcoin on February 25, 2022

Viveverse is a metaverse inside a metaverse inside a…HTC Vive this week revealed Viveverse, an open-source VR metaverse composed of various interactive worlds, apps, and games. Accessible via a smartphone, PC, tablet, and the company’s new Vive Flow VR glasses, the cross-platform allows users to travel between various platforms like Vive Sync and Engage, a popular enterprise metaverse platform. You can even connect your favorite crypto wallet and import your favorite NFTs using the Vive Flow. [embed]https://youtube.com/watch?v=rTislcoD4eA&version=3&rel=1&showsearch=0&showinfo=1&iv_load_policy=1&fs=1&hl=en-US&autohide=2&wmode=transparent[/embed] The goal, according to HTC Vive, is to create an open-ended digital universe where users can travel between worlds while maintaining a sense of “identity, security, and privacy.” The company says its partnering with hundreds of partners to expand its growing platform, including Beatday, Engage, VRChat, and Vive Sync. Users can connect to Viveverse using the Vive Connect cross-platform app.“Since starting VIVE in 2015, we’ve integrated technology with humanity. Viverse is taking