News
Nintendo rumored to be working with Google on a VR headset // MIxed News
We haven't mentioned Nintendo and VR since our first gear issue back in 2020, but there are some rumblings that there is a possibility of Nintendo and Google creating a VR headset. It would be cool if this was a general purpose headset, but if this is how we get a new Zelda game set in a VR world we won't mind at all.
Virtual-Reality School as the Ultimate School Choice // The New Yorker
Getting a "classical education" in VR is an interesting offering coming from the Florida-based OptimaEd. The Florida education system is shaking things up by allowing dollars meant for public education schooling to also be spent to opt-in children for a form of remote learning that students opportunities not possible with in-person learning. This is an interesting experiment, and definitely an interesting read. Quite the interesting bold move from a state seen to be staunchly Conservative and resistant to new technology and breaking away from traditions.
Why scientists are delving into the virtual world // Nature
This isn't the first time that VR has been featured in Nature, but it does show the importance of VR in current and future scientific research. Training, remote collaboration, real-time translation, conceptual visualization, and rapid experimentation iteration are just some of the benefits VR brings to the world, and to the scientific world this cultural shift could help inspire more people to pursue the natural sciences when picking their career.
Experiences
VRPark
Just placing a VR headset in a room isn't enough to help immerse the user into an experience. Adding an enclosure or vehicle does more to bring a viewer deeper into VR than adding visual fidelity. This company develops and licenses both experiences and real world sets to stage your immersive experience. We've seen a few in the mall before and found them pretty charming, but definitely looking forward to seeing examples of what they could do with a full body experience.
One More Thing
Jim Henson’s: The Seven Ravens // Venice Film Festival
More than 5 years in the making, this mixed reality experience is more than just an “enhanced pop-up book” (though that would be fine as well), and brings the Jim Henson retelling of the Brothers Grimm story “The Seven Ravens”. Narrated by Neil Gaiman the XR experience has been widely acclaimed. We can’t wait to have this in our hands to experience the magical vision the Jim Henson studio brings to all their projects. There are no plans yet for distribution, but in the meantime you can see the trailer and hopefully we’ll see more footage that doesn’t give away too much.
Commentary
There are some business decisions that just feel right, and others that just feel like pretty big mistakes. Though we try to keep it pretty positive it’s pretty clear that what Unity announced around their pricing changes seems like a pretty bad move.. A price change is a pretty sensitive topic that really needs to be thoroughly thought through and handled carefully.
Based on the news it seems that the Unity executives may not have workshopped these changes with their customers because immediately they came up with valid scenarios where they would go bankrupt from malicious trolls abusing the pricing structure. The story is evolving and some clarifications have been shared from reporters via X (formerly Twitter), but the damage is done. Even if there is a partial reversal there are thousands of studios, indie devs, and students looking for alternatives that offer a more financially stable path for game development.
This week isn’t all doom and gloom, and the news we’re sharing in this issue continues to show a positive trend for the growth of AR/VR. With more companies, researchers, and students adopting it to serve vastly different purposes it can’t help but slowly grow and slowly get more adoption. We just hope that the Unity news doesn’t become a trend. Open access to tools has been one of the largest boons to the increase in interest of VR. Altering that could shake up the future of several industries.
This week’s One More Thing is something we hope to see while we’re in Venice later this month. Though the festival has ended maybe we’ll be lucky enough to get a first-hand look through our friends network. Wish us luck!
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