Read original story on: AdWeek
Several alcohol brands such as Jim Beam, Dos Equis, and Fire Eater are all trying out virtual reality gears to win over millennial bar-goers at the crucial moments of drink purchasing. By offering at-the-bar VR gaming experiences powered by the likes of Oculus Rift and Samsung Gear, these brands look to capture the attention of patrons in a noisy, distracting environment and turn that engagement into brand awareness, or better yet, sales on the spot.
Read original story on: The Verge
Some wondered why Facebook acquired Oculus VR for $2 billion last year, and now it seems like we are getting some answers: Facebook is reportedly building versions of its apps in virtual reality. No further detail about the VR apps has been released, but sources say that future Facebook users will be able to share their current environment with other users via an app, which could just become a new version of social media sharing in the near future.
Read original story on: The Verge
Demonstrating the public’s continued interest in virtual reality, a fundraising campaign for a VR rock opera film has been live on Kickstarter. Described as a seven-part “feature-length virtual reality music experience”, the final product will be playable on a normal PC monitor, but is clearly made for the Oculus Rift. This project, if successfully funded, would indicate further diversification of virtual reality content, which in turn could help push VR technology closer to the consumer market.
Read original story on: Gizmodo
Oculus has announced its acquisition of Nimble VR, a two-year-old startup that began with gloves, evolved to Kinect, and finally developed its own mounted 3D camera to track hand motions in real time. This acquisition points to Oculus’ ambition in creating a gesture-motion game controller for its headset, which would open up great possibilities for a deeper, VR-powered immersive engagement.
In a unique marketing move, Paramount and IMAX are partnering up to offer a sneak peek at Christopher Nolan’s much-anticipated sci-fi epic “Interstellar” with a traveling exhibit powered by Oculus Rift. With the help of Oculus Rift virtual reality headsets, participants will be able to experience zero gravity in the film’s featured spacecraft. With the maturation of virtual reality technology, we expect more marketing efforts to deploy it to offer a refreshingly immersive experience.
Oculus announced earlier this week that an updated Oculus Share marketplace, coming later this fall, will allow developers to distribute their virtual reality (VR) apps, as well as let users browse the platform to download VR games and entertainment experiences without taking off the headset. By doing so, Oculus is aiming to build an ecosystem to support its mobile and PC-based VR headsets.
Moreover, the Facebook-owned company also announced a new prototype for its VR headset, named Crescent Bay. With new 360-degree tracking, integrated headphones, and lightened weight, the new prototype marks another step towards the consumer version of its VR headset. With indie challengers like Totem claiming to offer better VR experiences, Oculus is doing all it can to stay ahead.
Leap Motion, a company that specializes in gesture-detecting sensors, announced that it would offer a mount for some VR headsets, including both developer versions of the Oculus. This is a small step for Oculus as it adds yet another auxiliary support, but it also might just be a giant leap for virtual reality as it points to a controller-free user experience, which would of great help in refining and mainstreaming the virtual reality technology.
A report surfaced from CNET claims that Samsung is collaborating with Facebook-owned Oculus on a virtual reality headset powered by mobile devices. Last we heard, Samsung appeared to have a prototype design for its Gear VR ready, so this collaboration comes as a slight surprise. But taking a closer look, this could easily be a win-win situation for both companies, with Samsung offering access to a mass consumer base and Oculus providing the VR technology. Clearly Samsung wants to realize mobile VR fast and well, and teaming up with Oculus seems like just the right way to do it.
