virtual reality

Oculus, the Facebook-owned VR hardware company, is gearing up to release a pair of new headsets in the coming weeks: the Oculus Quest and Oculus Rift S. But during the manufacturing process it seems some unintended Easter eggs were added to the motion controllers that will ship with the devices, the company has revealed. Silly phrases like "This Space For Rent" have been printed inside "tens of thousands" of the new Touch controllers, a joke that was only meant for prototype models.

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Following months of rumors, Valve teased its own virtual reality hardware called Index late last week. A Steam product page for the VR headset leaked soon after, and now Valve has confirmed its launch plans for the product, stating that it will fully unveil the Index VR headset on May 1 and launch it for purchase later on this summer. Pre-orders are expected to start next month.

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Early adopters have been able to purchase the Magic Leap One headset for a few months now, but beginning next week, you'll have another option when it comes to acquiring one. AT&T has announced that it will begin carrying the Magic Leap One next week, and it'll have various Game of Thrones tie-ins to go along with it, just in time for the start of the final season. Unfortunately, Magic Leap One isn't going to be available at all AT&T stores right away - not even close to all of them, in fact.

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Researchers have developed a new virtual reality experience that enables users to see the world the way it may look to a tiny gremlin-like critter called a tarsier. Though the name may not be familiar to many people, some will know the creature by its bug-eyed appearance, and it's those same eyes you can see through yourself if you have an HTC Viveport.

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Virtual and augmented reality are most often associated with games but that dismisses too easily the non-gaming applications of the technology. One of the most common is the ability to put up more screens than you can have room or budget for actual physical monitors. AR company Magic Leap has taken that idea and made it accessible to developers and publishers through its Screens framework. That, in turn, has given birth to this new NBA app that might make hardcore basketball fans want to buy an expensive AR kit.

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Not too long ago, HTC made a somewhat unexpected move to prove that, despite its ailing mobile business, it still has its feet planted solidly on VR ground. Along with the futuristic-looking Vive Cosmos headset, HTC unveiled a minor upgrade to its Vive Focus system with major changes. The Vive Focus Plus could have been called a different name and none would be the wiser. And for those who haven't yet invested on the earlier Vive Focus, they will soon be able to get their hands on the "Plus" version a little over two weeks for an upgrade price, of course.

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With Avengers: Endgame just a month away, you can expect all the related merchandise to start popping up left and right. That, of course, includes games that will try to tie in with the film or try to fulfill the desire to be in the superheroes' shoes or, in this case, armor. While many such games allow you to control these comic book characters, few lets you actually be them. And when it comes to donning a superhero guise, Iron Man and virtual reality is the perfect match.

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No Man's Sky was a prime example of how to hype a new product to the stars and fall flat on its face. To its credit, developer Hello Games has spent the last two or so years repairing and regaining its credibility, finally bringing features it promised would be present on day one. With that sordid past behind it, No Man's Sky is now venturing into new territory including, of course, virtual reality via the PlayStation VR platform.

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Five Nights at Freddy's, the point-and-click survival horror game that exploded in popularity a few years ago, is coming to PlayStation VR. Sony revealed the plan as part of its PlayStation announcements today, explaining that PS VR players will get access to Five Nights at Freddy's VR: Help Wanted starting this spring, presenting them with a 'collection of VR experiences.'

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Apparently, launching one VR headset this spring isn't enough for the folks at Oculus. In addition to the standalone Oculus Quest, the company announced today that it'll also be launching the Oculus Rift S. The Rift S brings back the tether, meaning you'll need a relatively beefy gaming PC to use it, but in return Oculus promises "access to the most immersive content that VR has to offer."

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The HP Reverb VR Headset Pro Edition has 2x smaller LCD displays where most competitors have larger AMOLED. But the HP headset has more pixels per eye, a larger field of view, and a slightly lighter overall weight than HTC Vive Pro and Samsung Odyssey. This device weighs approximately the same as the current Oculus Rift headset, and works with both Steam VR and Windows Mixed Reality VR systems.

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Last year, Facebook revealed the Oculus Quest, a new standalone VR headset that falls somewhere between the Oculus Go and Oculus Rift. Essentially, the Quest is Oculus's attempt to take standalone VR to the next level after introducing an entry-level standalone headset in the Go. Today, Oculus is celebrating a pretty major win, as it announced at GDC that Beat Saber has been secured as a launch title for the Oculus Quest.

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