HTC VIVE enters CES2018 with new VIVE PRO Upgrade, Wireless VIVE Adaptor, and major upgrade to Viveport

Heading into CES2018 HTC VIVE announced the introduction of Vive Pro and Vive Wireless Adaptor.

In addition, the company debuted new improvements to Viveport VR and Vive Video. These improvements promise on VR   users higher resolution, improved audio, greater comfort, wireless freedom and immersive content discovery.

Vive Pro is a new HMD upgrade from Vive, built for VR enthusiasts and enterprise users who want the best display and audio for their VR experiences. Vive Pro includes dual-OLED displays for a crisp picture resolution of 2880 x 1600 combined, a 78% increase in resolution over the current Vive HMD.

“There’s a clear need in the VR market for a premium VR experience with high resolution display, integrated audio and the best components available today in a headset,” said Daniel O’Brien, GM U.S., VIVE. “Vive Pro offers an immediate upgrade for both VR enthusiasts and enterprises that want to utilize the best VR experience.”

More details on Vive Pro availability and price will be made available soon.

Vive Wireless Adaptor

Also unveiled today, the Vive Wireless Adaptor will be the first to market with a truly wireless VR headset integration for both Vive and Vive Pro.

The Vive Wireless Adaptor features Intel’s WiGig technology and offers a premium VR wireless experience that operates in the interference-free 60Ghz band, which means lower latency and better performance. The Vive Wireless Adaptor will ship in Q3 to customers worldwide. 

“Wireless VR has been on nearly every VR user’s wishlist since the technology was unveiled,” said Frank Soqui, General Manager Virtual Reality Group at Intel Corporation. “By collaborating with HTC to commercialize Intel’s WiGig technology, we will guarantee that wireless VR meets the most discerning quality bar for home users and business VR customers.”

“Viveport is moving to a VR first experience model, and with the all-new Viveport VR, we are changing the way consumers discover, experience and acquire VR content,” said Rikard Steiber, president, Viveport.  “Until now, there has not been a shopping and browsing experience that takes advantage of the full functionality of VR. Available in early access today, Viveport VR increases interaction with content and offers developers a preview that showcases the quality of their titles and experiences.”

Earlier this year, Viveport launched the world’s first VR subscription service to provide a whole new way to access the best VR experiences for a great price. With more than 1,000 titles available on Viveport today, and more than 325 available for subscription, Vive is changing the way users browse and discover content through Viveport VR.

Via Vive Blog

Omnigames announces VR MMORPG Age of Heroes VR for Vive and Rift.

Have you ever faced down World of Warcraft's Lich King and wished you could be in the action yourself? Now you can with Age of Heroes VR, an all new multiplayer action RPG focused on taking on MMORPG style raids in virtual reality. Set in a fantasy world, Age Of Heroes pits players against challenging enemies in multiplayer raids. Utilizing actual body movement, players can sling fireballs, summon creatures and heal allies in an engrossing multiplayer virtual reality experience.

In development by Omnigames who are avid fans the MMORPG genre, Age of Heroes looks to capture the raid combat experience in a VR setting allowing players to experience adrenaline-pumping combat in VR alongside their friends. "With Age of Heroes, we integrated the traditional role-playing features and first person boss battles into the VR genre to create an immersive and refreshing game experience. We look forward to receiving player feedback in the upcoming closed beta and then sharing the game with the world upon full launch.” Said YongMing Wang, the senior producer at Omnigames.

Closed beta dates will be announced soon with registration sign-ups beginning shortly.

Introducing Actual Body Movement...

 Age Of Heroes VR is set to include life-like body movement for combat to help the combat experience feel more natural, reduce motion sickness and increase immersion into the game world. "We were thinking about how to make the combat more immersive and thrilling in VR. One of the answers is Actual Body Movements: you are not only playing the game with VR controllers but also using your own body." Said Omnigames. "In Age of Heroes, you need actually move your body like squatting or quickly side-stepping to avoid attacks and boss abilities. If you worried about room size or other problems, you can set different game configurations to finish all these movements in a slight body reaction. It will be fun and feel real!"

CatsAndVR.com/blog

Happy Belated Birthday to the HTC Vive! Check out a selection of games on sale from our friends at Rank17 in honor of the event.

Happy belated 1st Birthday to the HTC Vive. I would have posted on this yesterday if I was not stuck on a plane due some unfortunate delays(so VR of me). Well its better than never and in honor of that birthday our friends at Rank17 are discounting most of its HTC Vive titles by 50% during Steam's VR Anniversary Sale (April 5-12)! Their VR Baseball game is discounted at 45%. Check out the trailers and Steam store links for the games below. Also get a sneak preview at Rank17's upcoming Rampage-Esq Kaiju inspired game Mighty Monster Mayhem.

Super Pixel Smash
http://store.steampowered.com/app/578610/

BladeShield
http://store.steampowered.com/app/554470/

Boo Breakers: The Ghostening
http://store.steampowered.com/app/547200/

Armed Against the Undead
http://store.steampowered.com/app/488590/

VR Baseball (45% off)
http://store.steampowered.com/app/458370/
 

CatsAndVR.com

Futuristic war-themed VR shooter Overkill VR launches on HTC Vive today.

Today, VR-specialized publisher Game Troopers is launching Overkill VR, the ultimate futuristic VR shooter exclusively available for HTC VIVE on Steam. In this game you will experience what 360º VR playability is about: cover yourself from enemy attacks as if you actually were in the fighting field and accurately aim your targets all over the scenario!

With Overkill VR you will lead the Resistance into victory over the evil Faction forces and their brutal killing machines. In order to succeed you will have to customize and upgrade your weapons —you will find classic shotguns, assault rifles, sniper rifles, machine guns and super-powered firearms— as you travel through ever-changing environments, from hostile deserts to abandoned cities and industrial complexes.

“With Overkill VR we pursued maximizing the capabilities of the HTC VIVE headset” says Jesús Bosch, CEO at Game Troopers. “Overkill VR is the first VR shooter made exclusively for HTC VIVE which brings you the look and feel of future war”.

Steam Link: http://store.steampowered.com/app/518720