This year’s E3 has not just been about gaming, but also about virtual reality and augmented reality, high-end tech that had a privileged position in the expo.
Fueled by what it could do for gaming, VR has been growing and expanding for years now even outside of the world of consoles. As such, virtual reality is now the next bit thing for consumers, and so important it was one of the center stage themes of E3 thanks to projects by Sony, Microsoft, and Facebook. First comes virtual reality gaming, then changing the way we consume media. These devices are Morpheus (Sony), HoloLens (Microsoft), and Oculus Rift (Facebook), and all appeared at E3 this week showing what they could do.
Sony’s big bet came from the possibility of creating multiplayer experiences, enabling multiple people wearing Morpheus virtual reality gear to play together. This was already teased in an upcoming game, Guerilla Studios’ RIGS – a first person shooter with 3-vs-3 battles, created entirely around the idea of sharing virtual space. Other titles being teased include Battlezone, Headmaster, Wayward Sky, and World War Toons.
In response to Sony’s Morpheus gear, Microsoft has also announced its own virtual reality headset, HoloLens. During Microsof’s E3 presentation, a demo of HoloLens was shown running Minecraft. The demo was well received by the audience since it was a ground-breaking development for both the virtual reality platform and the Minecraft franchise.
Microsoft also showed their vision of the future with HoloLens, a voice reactive headset that users can also control with their hands, Minority Report style. Bill Gates’ team left attendees in awe with an incredible Minecraft demo in augmented reality during Microsoft’s E3 keynote, and how it could display entire worlds on any surface. It’s not that the users will be inside the game, the game can also be brought out and displayed outside of the screen.Although really promising, HoloLens is still under the development and research stages and doesn’t have a set release date.
All of these devices are coming out soon, and with the way consoles are going, they might change not only videogames, but also the way we watch TV shows, listen to music, or interact with media in general.
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