New Fire Pro Wrestling game on the horizon, possible GDC reveal.

So it appears that the long-running Fire Pro Wrestling franchise will be getting its first installment since 2012. Spike Chunsoft has launched a teaser site and video titled "Pro Wrestling. They also added 3/2(GDC?) to the Japanese twitter page. This matches up with the petition that they put out 10 months ago to gauge interest in a new game.

I'm getting bodyslammed by Fire Pro Wrestling fans! Let me hear the crowd: Do you want a revival? https://t.co/nqhy6mur2p

— Spike Chunsoft (En) (@SpikeChunsoft_e) April 21, 2016

The first games in the series to be localized were Fire Pro Wrestling A localized as Fire Pro Wrestling, and Fire Pro Wrestling 2 for the Game Boy Advance.

https://t.co/TeU06h8B5Y pic.twitter.com/kzyI41SueD

— 3/2 in San Francisco (@sc_prowrestling) February 24, 2017

CatsAndVR.com

Happy Caturday from CatsAndVR.com & LootCrate! An Ode to LootCrate.

This months LootCrate may be my cats favorite as they love their new Batman feeding bowl and they have been snuggling with the Power Rangers shirt that came with it. 

As a long time fan of LootCrates I have to tell you after a tough week at work, a tough week of figuring out the future, and a tough week of listening to how America is going through a insane time politically it is pretty rad to chill with the cats and do a theraputic unboxing video. 

The thing about LootCrate is that it was created with the community in mind and continues to be a very community driven product. To be a bit hokey, LootCrates remind me of a simpler time when the dreams and aspirations of life seemed possible.

And to tell you using unboxing videos in an almost zen way has actually helped me to continue to see those dreams and aspirations as still being possible. When I lost my job a few months back I made an unboxing video to keep my self up. Keeping that positive attitude actually helped me get a job in VR. catsandvr.com/blog/catsandvrsuperbowl

LootCrates actually helps me connect with my current co-workers as I am able to give them gifts.....well only when I don't really want the stuff. I will say I recently gave away my cherished RoboCop LootCrate shirt to one of my good friends...and I love that shirt.

So thanks LootCrate for supporting CatsAndVR.com and all CatsAndVR.com fans go  and check out LootCrate.com

Oasis Games, publishers of PSVR launch title Ace Banana back at it on Feb 28th with PSVR horror title.

Oasis Games Ltd, a leading independent Chinese publisher, today announced that its room escape horror game, DYING: Reborn , will launch on February 28 for the PlayStation ® VR and PlayStation ® 4 computer entertainment system. The release date for the PlayStation ® Vita handheld entertainment system will be announced at a later time.

If you have been reading CatsAndVR.com you know that I love the PSVR game Ace Banana also published by Oasis Games. http://www.catsandvr.com/blog/psvrbanana

I am excited that Oasis continues to bring quality weirdness at a decent price for the Playstation VR.  The upcoming DYING: Reborn for PSVR may be short and not compare with Resident Evil VR but at $9.99 it may be a good deal and a creepily weird little stop gap between the next big Horror VR title. 

DYING: Reborn is a dark, horror-themed puzzle game that creates a unique first-person room escape experience. Players will play as Mathew, a distraught young man on a mission to find his missing sister. After receiving a mysterious note from his sister, Mathew finds himself trapped in a strange and eerie hostel with no recollection of how he landed there. To escape the hostel and solve the mystery, Mathew must solve a variety of creative puzzles while exploring each spooky room in the building for clues. Scattered throughout the environment are items he will collect and use to piece together what happened while trying to find his sister.

The PlayStation ® 4 and PlayStation ® Vita games consists of six chapters of riveting gameplay, while PlayStation ® VR has three immersive chapters for a shorter but even more intense experience . Developed by NEKCOM Entertainment and published by Oasis Games for PlayStation ® VR, PS4 TM and “PS Vita” system, DYING: Reborn will be available on February 28 for the PS VR and PS4 TM on the PlayStation ® Store. The titles are available on PS VR for $9.99 and PS4 TM for $19.99. This game has been rated “M for Mature” by the ESRB.

Stay up to date on all of the PS VR titles from Oasis Games by liking us on Facebook at fb.me/OasisGamesConsole and following on Twitter at OAS_Games and Instagram at @OasisGamesOfficial. Get more information on all Oasis Games titles here: http://en.console.oasgames.com.

http://www.catsandvr.com/blog/psvrbanana

Explore Underwater Depths in Musical VR Experience “Seabed Prelude”, Now Available on Oculus and HTC Vive

MythicOwl today announced that its musical VR adventure, Seabed Prelude , is now available for Oculus Rift and HTC Vive. Featuring a beautifully immersive underwater world, Seabed Prelude takes you on a journey through a post-apocalyptic seascape where you must clear ancient tracks by playing a powerful pipe organ, or alternatively, a system of tesla coils. While traversing the depths you will have control of an RC drone that you can maneuver from within the bathyscaphe to explore stations.

“After launching Note Fighter on mobile last year we are excited to bring our passion for music games to VR with Seabed prelude”, said Tomasz Mularczyk, CEO of MythicOwl. “It’s a unique take on the music game genre that will have players floating through an ethereal environment, surrounded by music”.

Seabed Prelude utilizes VR technology to provide the realistic feeling of being underwater, captaining a bathyscaphe through a post-apocalyptic deep sea landscape. Featuring tangential learning, Seabed Prelude progresses as you play notes on a pipe organ or a system of tesla coils correctly, allowing you to advance from station to station and uncover the dark plot hatched by the Constructors. In Campaign Mode you can progress to various stations by playing color-coded notes successfully as they float through an immersive aquatic environment.

Cats And VR

Obduction from the makers of Myst will be available on March 22nd for HTC Vive and Oculus Touch.

Cyan Inc., makers of the legendary Myst and Riven franchise, announced today that its critically-acclaimed sci-fi adventure game, Obduction, will become available on HTC Vive and Touch for Oculus Rift on March 22 on Steam, GOG, Humble Store, and the Oculus Store for $29.99, in a feature-rich package that includes all platforms released to date, including Mac which is coming soon. Players who already own the game will receive Vive and Touch in a free update on March 22 as well.

"We have over 200,000 fans on our Steam wishlist, many who have been asking for hand controls for Obduction. As a VR-centric studio, we're thrilled to be delving even further into these platforms, bringing ever deeper immersion to our worlds and pushing the edge of what's possible," cheered Rand Miller, CEO, Cyan.

Obduction PC and Oculus Rift Touch will be playable in the Indie Corner of the SXSW Gaming show floor, Thursday, March 16-Saturday, March 18, 12-8pm at the Austin Convention Center, Exhibit Hall 2. Fans are encouraged to swing by the booth to say hi to the Cyan dev team, play the game, and show their support by voting for Obduction for the SXSW Gamers' Voice Award, 

On St Patrick's Day, Friday, March 17, 7:45pm, there will be a special appearance by master puzzler, Rand Miller, who will be doing a fun-filled AMA on the SXSW Gamer's Voice stage. 

Fans will also have a chance to play Obduction PC and Oculus Rift Touch at the PAX East Indie MEGABOOTH in Boston, Friday, March 10-Sunday, March 12.

Cats And VR

Google has made some neat tech that makes VR headsets "transparent" for MR use.

Mixed reality can help others see what VR feels like, and #DaydreamLabs' headset removal can show a person's identity, focus and full face. pic.twitter.com/L4tln5SM8I

— Google VR (@googlevr) February 22, 2017

Google has made some neat technology that makes VR headsets "transparent" for Mixed Reality use. 

According to a recent post from the Google VR blog Daydream Labs and Google Research teamed up to start exploring how to solve for the problem of seeing facial expressions when watching a person use VR without an avatar representation.

Above is artist Steve Teeple in Tilt Brush, shown in traditional mixed reality on the left and with headset removal on the right, which reveals the face and eyes for a more engaging experience.

According to Avneesh Sud- SOFTWARE ENGINEER at GOOGLE RESEARCH

"The first step to removing the VR headset is to construct a dynamic 3D model of the person’s face, capturing facial variations as they blink or look in different directions. This model allows us to mimic where the person is looking, even though it's hidden under the headset.

Next, we use an HTC Vive, modified by SMI to include eye-tracking, to capture the person’s eye-gaze from inside the headset. From there, we create the illusion of the person’s face by aligning and blending the 3D face model with a camera’s video stream. A translucent "scuba mask" look helps avoid an "uncanny valley" effect.

Finally, we composite the person into the virtual world, which requires calibrating between the Vive tracking system and the external camera. We’re able to automate this and make it highly accurate so movement looks natural. The end result is a complete view of both the virtual world and the person in it, including their entire face and where they’re looking."

Cats And VR

Top social VR app AltspaceVR now available on Google Daydream View.

AltspaceVR today announced a new version of its software — a mobile app that fully supports Google Daydream View and also provides access into AltspaceVR for compatible Android phones even without a virtual reality (VR) headset. AltspaceVR Mobile is available at no cost on Google Play or through the Google Daydream app.

“We are excited about serving Daydream customers, which could number in the tens of millions by the end of the year,” said Eric Romo, founder and CEO of AltspaceVR. “We are looking forward to providing them with the wide range of activities and events that are available in AltspaceVR, and connecting them with their friends on other platforms.”

The AltspaceVR mobile app is is the most convenient way to enjoy AltspaceVR. Users can easily check upcoming  events and see if their friends are in AltspaceVR prior to entering VR with Daydream View. With the mobile view feature, users can enter AltspaceVR even without Daydream or any VR headset, using just the screen on their phone and audio headphones or earbuds.

Limited quantity and quality of content is a barrier for customer adoption and satisfaction. AltspaceVR now offers a wide range of content, activities and events. Users can play tabletop games such as Dungeons and Dragons, Boss Monster, Holograms Against Humanity, and Love Letter, navigate a jungle maze, play disc golf, have a swordfight in a medieval tavern, or just hang out and watch music videos. They can join friends on a desert island, in a winter wonderland or a variety of other environments. They can enjoy a front row seat at performances, meet and interact with musicians, comedians, film directors, best-selling authors, tech experts, or TV personalities.

AltspaceVR supports Google Daydream View with all compatible smartphones. AltspaceVR also supports Facebook’s Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, and Samsung Gear VR in full VR mode, as well as PC and Mac in “two-dimensional” desktop mode.

Cats And VR

Touhou Kobuto V: Burst Battle coming to Playstation VR.

NIS America announced at their annual press event that the 3D versus bullet-hell game Touhou Kobuto V: Burst Battle will be coming to North America and Europe on the PlayStation®4 (physical and digital), PlayStation®Vita (digital-only) and PlayStation®VR in Summer 2017.

About the Game:

Touhou Kobuto V: Burst Battle is a bullet-hell battle game that takes place in the Touhou universe. Take control of one of nine Touhou characters and eliminate your opponent using bullet-hell patterns, melee attacks, or spell cards! Featuring ear-tingling beats for each character, you might just find yourself dancing while you play!

Key Features:

Return to the World of Touhou - Jump back into the world of Touhou and play as some of your favorite characters in a brand-new 3D square arena.

High-flying Combat - Outwit your opponent by taking your bullet-hell battles to the sky! Perform dashes, double-jumps, and mid-air dashes to avoid bullets and demoralize your opponent!

Climb the Rankings - Compete at home with friends, or online against everyone to climb the rankings and become the ultimate Touhou fighter!

Samsung to release new mixed reality glasses and Gear VR aid for the visually impaired at Mobile World Congress.

Samsung’s is set to release a set of mixed reality glasses at Mobile World Congress 2017 that appear to use Microsoft’s Windows Holographic Shell for PC and  while on the phone it would have a multi-window shell for Android.

On the right of the device is a  CPU, Wi-Fi chip, and projector, while the left incorporates a battery and speaker. Content is capable of being streamed over Wi-Fi Direct or peer-to-peer Wi-Fi.

"Monitorless addresses the fact that there isn't enough AR and VR content currently available and also enables users to play high-capacity PC games on a mobile device,"- Samsung

This could be the holy grail for all the "second-screen experience" talk during the recent years.

An application to consider would be it's functionality for Twitch streamers, allowing for chat control, multiple games, and social aspects.  

Monitorless is a remote-control VR/AR solution that enables consumers to use devices such as smartphones and PCs without a monitor. The solution consists of a special pair of glasses that resemble regular sunglasses. They are used to view content from other devices such as smartphones and PCs and can be used for both Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality functionality thanks to the electro chromic glass featured on the glasses.

Samsung has also developed a  visual aid application for Gear VR to help near-blind and visually-impaired read books and watch TV more easily.

This is part of a big push by Samsung at next weeks Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.

Cats And VR

Mike Rothenberg drops the mic on the media!

Seems like everyday my tech news feeds are hit with a new Rothenberg Ventures has f'ed up posts. 

It's almost like tech journalism has always been looking for someone to make a tabloid martyr out of and Mike Rothenberg fits the bill with almost Kanye West like precision. 

Young, brash, Cinderella story. It almost comes across as a hip hop lyric about loving you on top but hating you when they can. From Rothenberg facing zoning issues to employee lawsuits there is always something to read about about Mike.  I felt I too should also do a post since I am a blog and all.  

Well actually Mike Rothenberg himself decided to finally address some of these media issues via a Facebook post yesterday. 

In the video Mike says he has not taken any money improperly as well as stating that Rothenberg Ventures never made any investments without investor permission.

Those are two of the major (among others) claims that the media has put out. Mike specifically calls out the media including one of the biggest outlets to push the story, TECH CRUNCH.  Mike goes onto say some of these stories have been liable and slander. Mike even goes on to say that Tech Crunch lives for Drama and even has a section dedicated to this. 

Look I am barely a member of the press so I am going to let the man speak for himself like he wants to in the video below. I am going to say this guy has balls of steel for recently changing Frontier Tech Ventures back to Rothenberg Ventures. Thug Life.

What the media has had to say in the past...INCLUDING yesterday.

https://techcrunch.com/2017/02/16/transcend-vr-sues-investor-mike-rothenberg-for-fraud-and-breach-of-contract/

https://techcrunch.com/2016/10/17/rothenberg-ventures-could-face-fines-over-setting-up-its-office-in-a-building-zoned-for-residential-use/

http://thehustle.co/rothenberg-ventures

https://techcrunch.com/2016/09/04/a-former-rothenberg-employee-is-now-suing-over-breach-of-contract-and-more-than-100k-in-amex-charges/

https://techcrunch.com/2016/08/18/at-rothenberg-ventures-the-rise-and-fall-of-a-virtual-gatsby/

and here is a list of WILD spending that Rothenberg allegedly did

• Hired a racecar driver and spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to maintain and transport her car to events
• Sponsored actor Chace Crawford’s birthday party and produced a video for Coldplay
• Spent $200k on a suite at the Super Bowl and $2k a month on private jets
• Launched an annual Founders Field Day at AT&T Park that was extremely over the top (and inspired the scene in “Silicon Valley”)

The Questions that CatsAndVR.com has about all this. 

• Was most of the extravagant expenditures listed actually sponsored....Founders Field Day was almost entirely covered by sponsors and did not come out of Rothenberg's pockets.
•  Why was Rothenberg Ventures corporate counsel terminated for cause in July, before all this news came out?
• How does CFO David Hasse let all of this go under his nose and says he is owed around 100,000 in company expenses he supposedly paid for?
• How is Mike Rothenberg still the CEO of the company?
• How come the feds have yet to find anything illegal that he did yet?
• Where are David Hasse, Geoffrey Rapoport, Brandon Farwell, and Justin Grooms now? And did they try to unravel the company from within in a skunkworks kind of operation.
• Why am I asking these questions?

The last one is because I am a contrarian and don't like to believe what I am told in the tabloids. Really in the end I am wondering how did this all fall apart and who killed Rothenberg Ventures.

Was Mike destined to fall or be the fall guy? I am way too low in all of this to really make a clear answer but I do look at the information and have lots of questions.

Really what will happen to River and the IP and investments that they made? This in the end may be an early warning for the VR community to not necessarily buy something for face value no matter how luxurious and hyped it is. 

Mike Rothenberg this one is dedicated to you!

Cats And VR

DiRT Rally now available for Playstation VR.

Codemasters has today launched the PlayStation®VR update for DiRT Rally®, the highest rated racing game on the PlayStation®4*. The update makes the entire game playable in VR and introduces a brand new Co-Driver Mode where a second player can give the all important calls using a controller and the social screen.

Available for existing players as a standalone DLC Add-on via the PlayStation®Store for £9.99 and as a ‘DiRT Rally PLUS VR Upgrade’ retail version from Argos and new digital bundle from the PlayStation®Store ( https://store.playstation.com/#!/cid=EP4001-CUSA03648_00-DIRTRALLY0001000) , the update fully immerses you in the world of rally, putting you directly at the wheel of some of the most iconic cars ever to ever take to a stage.

Every game mode within DiRT Rally is playable as the driver in VR including rallycross and hill climb. In addition, the new Co-Driver Mode means that on the rally stages a second player can become engrossed in the action as they use the buttons and touchpad on a DUALSHOCK 4® to give the pace note calls to the driver from the social screen. Timing and accuracy are vital, just like in real life, in order for you to complete the stage in the best time possible.

Light Field camera developer Lytro announces $60 million round of funding, production ready technology, and partnership with Within.

Light field camera maker Lytro recently announced its latest round of funding of $60MM, led by Blue Pool Capital, with participation from EDBI, Foxconn, Huayi Brothers and Barry Sternlicht, founder of Starwood. All existing investors including Andreessen Horowitz, NEA, GSV, North Bridge and Qualcomm Ventures also participated in the round. 

Moon,” the first 360 live action VR piece with 6DoF was  created by Lytro to demonstrate the possibilities of their tech and team through the first steps of  production.

Lytro CEO Jason Jason Rosenthal also announced that Lytro Immerge system is production ready while also saying the value the are bringing to the market. 

-Represents first live action capture system that allows for Six Degrees of Freedom
-Provides the highest quality and highest resolution — greater than 6K per eye —  on the market that enables high-end VR productions to future proof their content
-Allows for true presence: everything in the headset reacts as it should in the real world
-Seamlessly blends the physical and digital worlds, essential for the future of VR and Mixed Reality.

Lytro announced yesterday that its Immerge VR camera was used by Chris Milk’s Within to shoot a project currently in post-production.

Cats And VR.

Ex Marvel CEO and corporate turnaround genius Peter Cueno to join VR/AR company Uncorporeal Sytems

Uncorporeal Systems, today announced that corporate turnaround genius Peter Cuneo has joined the company as Chairman. Cuneo has a distinguished career in leadership roles at world-renowned corporations across industries, from CEO of Marvel Entertainment to president of a Black and Decker business group, with a reputation for unleashing unprecedented growth.  Uncorporeal Systems is known for their volumetric capture, holographic photography and static photogrammetry technology. 

"Peter is a gamechanger," said Kul Wadhwa, Uncorporeal CEO. "With an esteemed career leading major companies working in everything from entertainment to consumer goods, Peter brings us an unparalleled understanding of what customers need to embrace VR and AR. When you add his shrewd operational acumen and extensive relationships at the highest levels of industry, Peter is an ideal partner to scale Uncorporeal's technology."

Cuneo has more than thirty years of experience leading companies into rapid growth phases and facilitating successful market exits. Cuneo is currently Chairman of Valiant Entertainment, a leading character-based entertainment company and one of the most successful publishers in the history of comic books. He is Chairman of Iconix Brand Group, which licenses major consumer brands including Peanuts, Danskin and Mossimo. He previously held several senior leadership roles at Marvel Entertainment, including president and CEO. Ultimately, Disney purchased Marvel for $4.3B. Before that, Cuneo was President and CEO of Remington Products Company and held leadership roles at Black & Decker, Bristol-Myers Squibb and Clairol.

"When I saw the technology Uncorporeal's team developed, I realized the enormous market potential and had to get involved," said Cuneo. "The company is creating incredible experiences that help brands deepen relationships with audiences anywhere, from moviegoers and gamers to online shoppers and travelers. As we enter a new era of visual engagement, Uncorporeal provides an incredible value proposition that businesses can't afford to ignore."

Cats And VR

Paranormal Activity VR looks to tap into the bloody vein of VR Horror fans.

Following the well received Virtual Reality debut of the Resident Evil franchise on Playstation VR horror fans are clamoring for more VR scares. Enter Paranormal Activity VR, a VR title developed by LA-based VRWERX in partnership with Paramount and based on the HIGHLY profitable movie franchise of the same name. The team recently released a teaser trailer to go along with a short gameplay video release on Twitter last month. 

Here you go! A VERY VERY small @PAVRGAME gameplay clip. more to come. @UnrealEngine @htcvive @PlayStation @oculus @AMD @nvidia pic.twitter.com/FiyLQgc7dv

— PAVRGAME (@pavrgame) January 10, 2017

Paranormal Activity: The Lost Soul will be launching as a Early Access release  on the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive on March 14th 2017. A Playstation VR version is to be followed up in either demo form or full fledged product, this may put a PSVR out for a little. 

This Paranormal Activity VR Game from VRWERX is truly terrifying,” said LeeAnne Stables, President of Worldwide Marketing Partnerships & Licensing for Paramount Pictures. “This is a groundbreaking way to experience the actual thrill of ‘Paranormal Activity’ and we are excited to give fans of the movie franchise a first look at what’s coming this spring.”

For more VR Horror check: http://www.catsandvr.com/vrhorror/

Attention Cat fans: You will love the Hololens Hello Kitty Collaboration.

Yesterday Sanrio launched Hello Kitty on Actiongram, the HoloLens video creation app. Created by Vine animator Alicia Herber; you can see some examples of the 14 animations included in the Hello Kitty pack in the above video. 

Though AR and the Hololens are still very niche and used more as a development tool than for consumer use Sanrio is looking to be ahead of the curve. 

"Sanrio is always looking for the newest trends and collaborations, including augmented reality," says Egita Di Filippo, a member of Sanrio's digital team. "Mixed reality storytelling is an interesting new medium for expressing creativity which allows the many Hello Kitty fans to engage with and experience her in an entirely new way."

The Hello Kitty video is just one of several that has been created from a collaboration with Microsoft and several social media video influencers. 

SGT Venom's Lonely Hearts Club For VR brings you 3 VR experiences for Valentines Day.

Via Viveport 

Dating Lessons developed by Cerevrum Inc. is the very first VR dating training course which will give a man the skillset to build a dating life he wishes for. Men are expected to be always strong, confident and charming. But it is not easy at all! How to approach a woman? What to say to interest her? With the help of Magic Leone (www.attractionmethods.com), every man gets a chance to overcome his low-esteem or shyness. 11 lessons and 7 practical interactive sessions will give men tools to enhance their power of attraction and develop behavior patterns to handle stress and anxiety. Cerevrum is working on a version for women as well.  https://www.viveport.com/apps/dca315ba-0d7d-4182-953b-cf38ff2cc723

CatsAndVR.com does not actually approve Dating Lessons but find it pretty funny that it is on the Viveport front page and is actually a thing. It is a bit odd  but I would say Cerevrum does make some cool stuff and we do support some of their other brain training stuff. Now onto something a little more serious. 

This roomscale VR experience lets you make out with a 10-mouthed alien in an intergalactic tavern, plain and simple.

Make out with as many glowing lips as you can before time runs out! Some require tenderness while others require rapid pecks. Will your passion be enough to impress?

Initially created in 48 hours for the Boston VR Jam using experimental VR hardware from Valve.It was later presented at the Boston Festival of Indie Games in 2014, taking the award for Best Single Player Game. The team has releases a port for the HTC Vive and Oculus Rift available at the link below.

https://alienmakeout.itch.io/alien-makeout-simulator

High Fidelity is an open source, cross-platform virtual reality app that gives you the power to create, explore, and share virtual worlds together. 

Build worlds of any size, use any kind of avatar, create complex physical objects, import from standard formats, and share with others through the High Fidelity Marketplace. High Fidelity is for everyone: VR enthusiasts, teachers, makers, artists, and more. Welcome!

http://store.steampowered.com/app/390540/

Mark Zuckerberg may be working with OptiTrack for their new glove system. Check out video of how that may work.

Mark Zuckerberg has revealed a potential new Oculus Rift input system. These Oculus gloves bring to mind the future Nintendo predicted with the Power Glove. The pictures Mark shared on his Facebook wall look like they are using OptiTrack sensors. If that is the case I had the opportunity to try these out a while back in October.

Looks like the original Star Trek bridge will be included in the delayed again but still anticipated VR game Star Trek: Bridge Crew

Today, Ubisoft ® announced that the bridge of the legendary U.S.S. Enterprise from Star Trek: The Original Series will be playable in Star Trek™: Bridge Crew, the new virtual reality game where players explore space as a member of Starfleet. Under license by CBS Consumer Products, Star Trek: Bridge Crew will be available on PlayStation®VR, Oculus Rift and HTC Vive. In addition to the announcement of the original series bridge aboard the U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701, the new launch date on all platforms will be May 30 th, 2017.

Developed by Red Storm Entertainment, a Ubisoft Studio, Star Trek fans will be able to live out their Star Trek dreams as a member of the bridge crew aboard the famed U.S.S. Enterprise and the U.S.S. Aegis, a brand new ship created for Star Trek: Bridge Crew. Playable co-operatively with a crew of up to four, or solo playing as the Captain, players will be immersed into the Star Trek universe as they command a Starfleet vessel and complete missions that will determine the fate of their ship and crew.  The original U.S.S. Enterprise bridge will be playable in the Ongoing Voyages mode, which generates randomised missions for countless hours of solo and co-op adventure.

“We felt it was important to include a part of classic Star Trek with this game, especially during Star Trek’s 50th anniversary,” said David Votypka, Senior Creative Director at Red Storm Entertainment. “The original U.S.S. Enterprise is such an iconic part of the franchise - it’s the ship that started it all.  The adventures and relationships that took place on the ship are a special part of Star Trek history, so we were determined to give players the opportunity to create their own adventures and stories on this classic ship.  We’re very excited to see player reactions when they step onto the U.S.S. Enterprise original bridge for the first time, and experience Star Trek: Bridge Crew in a whole new way. We’re also appreciative of players’ patience as we finalise work on the game to bring the Star Trek experience we envisioned to life.”

Star Trek: Bridge Crew marks the most recent project in virtual reality for Ubisoft, which believes in the strong potential of VR to redefine social gaming with a unique sense of reality. Ubisoft recently released the games Werewolves Within™ and Eagle Flight™, and announced a VR partnership with the film company SpectreVision.

For more information on Star Trek: Bridge Crew visit http://www.startrekbridgecrew.com

How the past few months with Virtual Reality got me to the Super Bowl!

So I am going to start off that it has been a goal of mine to be able to get to the Super Bowl for free because its a place where a weirdo punk rock dude who is trying his best to make it in the Bay Area and who loves Cats And VR is not necessarily supposed to make it into.  Second, I will say making it into the Super Bowl has to be one of the most ridiculous fake it till you make moments of my life.  For that I am dedicating this post to a good friend who believed in me and my skills. Josh Woodruff R.I.P.

So I started CatsAndVR.com last March as a response of not being able to make it into GDC from another blog I was working on. I channeled that anger and spent the next few months writing about VR and getting into events such as VRLA & E3

From my experience of working with CatsAndVR.com I was able to work for Radd3 on both the Biz Dev & the product side. I ended up working with Derek Carr and the company got noticed by Fox Sports.  

While the dev team working on turning our VR training system into an arcade style VR game, I was in charge of doing demos for the Fox Sports Super Bowl city green room. Everyday I had to test builds, do demo, and try to get exposure for the Radd3 brand. I was able to get Katie Nolan to try it out and the product made it to air on her show Garbage Time. The Garbage Time production team is amazing, please support this show and incredible team behind it. 

http://www.foxsports.com/watch/garbage-time-with-katie-nolan/video

On Super Bowl sunday I got to demo VR to some awesome guests including Cooper Manning, 2 Chainz, Tom Hardy and some really cool kids. 

The highlight for me however was meeting Cpl Sean Adams and his brother. They let me know about the Warrior Wishes program and I spent a few moments of the game having a conversation & rooting for Atlanta. I direct you all to learn more about how you can help Warrior Wishes. I hope I can put Derek Carr in touch with this program to help Bay Area Vets. 

http://warriorwishes.org/

If I learned anything from the Super Bowl is that life is a journey that can get you to different places. Life is a journey to be respected and to be appreciated for every moment from Super Bowls to Dinner bowls. 

Here is a great start to 2017 for everyone. The season has just started. GO RAIDERS!

Tyler Hurd made the best Cat VR experience out now and the Cat Gods have not let me check it out.

Ex Double Fine Art Director Tyler Hurd made an amazing Cat VR experience and apparently I am not cool enough to try it. You get to shoot metallic kittens from your mechanical kitten hands and the world is soooo cruel they wont let me play. 

The experience is called Chocolate, named after the Giraffage song that it is actually a VR music video for. Chocolate is being called the definitive Cats And VR experience. Executively produced by Viacom NEXT, Chocolate made its debut at the Sundance Film Festival and is following that up with being a major part of SXSW VR Selections. https://www.sxsw.com/film/2017/sxsw-film-festival-reveals-midnighters-shorts-inaugural-vr-program/

Tyler Hurd’s previous VR works include the Ren and Stimpy inspired BUTTS (2015) and Old Friend (2016).

There is no release date for Chocolate, but it’s likely to come out sometime this year for the HTC Vive. Hopefully the cat gods will allow me to check it out soon.