Sat.Jan 21, 2023 - Fri.Jan 27, 2023

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Getting Past VR’s Chicken & Egg Dilemma

AR Insider

VR users report high satisfaction and usage frequency. Non-users conversely show price sensitivity and explicit disinterest. How does this represent VR's chicken & egg dilemma, and how can it be addressed? This post appeared first on AR Insider.

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ONTOP Studios Wants to Bring Theaters Back to Life With XR Esports

ARPost

Have you ever seen an empty theater and thought that the space had more potential? It doesn’t even have to be an abandoned theater, just a theater with more rooms than it regularly uses, or a theater that isn’t showing movies at all hours of the day. What if those theaters could be used for, say, XR esports? That’s the idea that Nuno Folhadela is exploring with ONTOP Studios.

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‘Among Us VR’ Sells 1 Million Units Across Quest 2 & PC VR Headsets

Road to VR

The team behind the VR adaptation of popular party game Among Us announced it’s officially gone platinum, selling over 1 million copies across all platforms. Recreating viral flatscreen titles in VR seems to be a potent recipe for success, as Among Us VR follows in the footsteps of other meme-able games like Friday Night at Freddy’s and SUPERHOT, both of which boast high-performing VR adaptations.

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Microsoft is sunsetting social VR pioneer AltspaceVR

TechCrunch VR

AltspaceVR has had a few close calls over the years, but the company that built virtual social spaces well before “metaverse” was a household word is shuttering for good this time. After announcing that it would close up shop in 2017 , Microsoft intervened and the company came under the tech giant’s wing. Now, Microsoft is sunsetting AltspaceVR’s virtual reality platform, a web of immersive social spaces that invited people to hang out with friends or colleagues as 3D ava

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The Future of eLearning in 2022: A Sensitive Eye for Authentic Translation and Localization

Speaker: Chris Paxton McMillin, President of D3 Training Solutions

To avoid awkward and sometimes disastrous learning content, instructional designers must use authentic translation in the right context to get optimal results. For example, even a simple phrase like “got milk” translates to “are you lactating” in Mexico. Can you imagine what a straight translation might do to your course? With over 317 million people in the US and over 6.7 billion potential customers in the world, personalizing training seems logical.

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OREO Launches Its Own VR Metaverse Experience

VRScout

The OREOVERSE is available now via Horzion Worlds. This week OREO unveiled a new limited-edition flavor, the Most OREO OREO, which features real OREO grind mixed in the creme. In celebration of the new product, the company has created its own metaverse experience accessible on Meta Quest 2 and Meta Quest Pro headsets. According to the company, the OREOVERSE features a variety of “cookie-themed” games that have you building delicious treats in VR for a chance at $50,000.

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BRCvr Presents Re-Burn-23, a Burning Man-Inspired Event, Launches “Blind Burners World”

ARPost

BRCvr , the award-winning virtual version of Black Rock City , will present Re-Burn-23 this month. The global virtual Burning Man-inspired event can be accessed via Zoom and AltspaceVR. It will run from January 27 to January 29, 2023, and will include exciting additions to its lineup, such as the metaverse environment “Blind Burners World.” What Is Re-Burn-23?

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The XR Week Peek (2023.01.23): Microsoft shuts down Altspace and MRTK, and more!

The Ghost Howls

Welcome to another roundup of AR/VR news of the week! I’m still writing from China, and this week I spent the Chinese New Year here… it was an interesting experience, and if you lost my funny story about it, you can still have a look at it in my dedicated post. Wishing you all a very positive and special year of the rabbit, I leave you with the most important news of the week in AR and VR!

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More NBA Games Coming To VR On Quest

VRScout

Meta extends its partnership with the National Basketball Association to bring more games to VR. This week Meta announced that it has extended its partnership with the National Basketball Association (NBA) to broadcast more professional basketball games in VR on Meta Quest 2 and Meta Quest Pro headsets. On top of that, Meta is offering official NBA apparel for Meta avatars, allowing you to represent your team across the metaverse.

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Spatial Beats: Microsoft, Apple & WEF

AR Insider

Welcome back to Spatial Beats, AR Insider's weekly series that features observations and insights of author and futurist Charlie Fink. This week, we look at the World Economic Forum and Microsoft's XR exit. This post appeared first on AR Insider.

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How to Train Employees 65% Faster With Virtual Reality

With a rapidly changing economy, Avangrid Renewables looked to virtual reality to develop a standardized form of immersive training in order to onboard and upskill technicians faster than ever before.

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Assisted Reality: The Other AR

ARPost

“AR” stands for “augmented reality,” right? Almost always. However, there is another “AR” – assisted reality. The term is almost exclusively used in industry applications, and it isn’t necessarily mutually exclusive of augmented reality. There are usually some subtle differences. Isn’t Augmented Reality Tricky Enough? “AR” can already be confusing, particularly given its proximity to “ mixed reality.

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‘Thrill of the Fight 2’ Now in Co-development by ‘Fruit Ninja’ Team Halfbrick Studios

Road to VR

Halfbrick Studios announced it’s partnering on development of Thrill of the Fight 2 , the upcoming sequel to the popular VR boxing title. Created by Ian Fitz and his studio Sealost Interactive in 2016, Thrill of the Fight focuses on realistic boxing mechanics, eschewing arcadey things like stamina bars and unrealistic knockout blows. Thrill of the Fight 2, which is now in co-development by Halfbrick Studios, is bringing the much-requested feature of multiplayer mode.

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Web3 Presents New Opportunities and Models, says Lloyd’s Fintech Investment Director

XR Today - Virtual Reality

Last Thursday, Lloyds Banking Group’s Fintech Investment Director Kirsty Rutter named Web3 as a key fintech trend for 2023. The company representative outlined how Web3, its bespoke communities, and integrated technology present a new avenue for fintech opportunities. Rutter notes that following from Web2’s user-generated content (UGC) model, Web3’s decentralized infrastructure spreads digital ownership across “builders and users” over “big tech firms” t

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The State of VR Concerts: Findings from the Hottieverse

AR Insider

During the summer of 2022, AmazeVR brought fans the first-ever VR concert tour featuring Megan Thee Stallion. AmazeVR's Joseph Choi takes us inside the "Hottieverse” for insights and findings from the production. This post appeared first on AR Insider.

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AR/VR Simulations for Sustainable, Regenerative, Circular Cities

Speaker: Nik Gowing, Brenda Laurel, Sheridan Tatsuno, Archie Kasnet, and Bruce Armstrong Taylor

With 191 country signatories to the Paris Climate Agreement now hard at work in the race to zero carbon by 2050, much of the heavy lifting in ecosystem sustainability falls on the shoulders of the world's densely populated urban centers. This conversation considers how today's AI-enabled simulation media, such as AR/VR, can be effectively applied to accelerate learning, understanding, training, and solutions-modeling to sustainability planning and design.

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Virtex Stadium Holds First Major Events, Inches Toward Open Access

ARPost

A number of the attractions of watching live sports carry over into esports. However, unless you’re watching an esports tournament in person, a lot of those attractions go away. Interactions with other fans are limited. The game view is limited. The game is flattened and there’s little environment ambiance. Virtex wants to fix that. A History of Virtex Virtex co-founders Tim Mcguinness and Christoph Ortlepp met at an esports event in 2019.

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NBA Deepens Multiyear Partnership with Meta, Bringing More Ways to Watch Live Games on Quest

Road to VR

The National Basketball Association (NBA) and Meta announced they’re extending a multiyear partnership which is set to bring a few new ways for basketball fans to enjoy NBA League Pass games on Quest. First signed in 2020, the deal essentially made Meta (ex-Facebook) an official marketing and VR headset partner of the NBA, Women’s NBA (WNBA) and NBA G League.

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Altspace VR to Shut Down Following Microsoft Layoffs

XR Today - Virtual Reality

Last Friday, Microsoft-owned immersive social platform Altspace VR (virtual reality) announced the closure of its service effective March 10, 2023. The decision comes following recent lay offs at Microsoft. Altspace VR initially launched on May 2015 under the supervision of the platform’s then Founder and CEO, Eric Romo – who went on to work as Meta’s Director of Product, Reality Labs Social Experiences until 2022 – and Microsoft acquired the Altspace service following a

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XR Talks: What Do XR Investors Look For?

AR Insider

Some of the best industry knowledge comes from investors. That's because they make high-stakes bets, and need to be well-informed and data-backed. We dive into their insights on XR markets in the latest XR Talks. This post appeared first on AR Insider.

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Are You Still Watching? How to Create Engaging Presentations for Virtual Learning

Speaker: Richard Goring, Director at BrightCarbon

Remote meetings are here to stay - and many are BORING. If you are trying to engage your learners (or any audience), compelling content is critical. But trying to create stimulating content with the same tools you’ve always had is hard, right? Thankfully, wrong! Terrific tools in PowerPoint along with visual assets help you create the kind of dynamic content you need to capture your remote audience’s attention, with functions that allow for interactive sequences and navigation.

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New Year, New Goals: Hit Your Fitness Goals This Year With Immersive Workouts From FitXR’s New Studios

ARPost

Towards the end of last year, FitXR launched new music collections with over two dozen new workout classes in Box, HIIT, and Dance. The company is all set to help users meet their fitness goals this year as well with new immersive workout classes. The VR fitness app has recently launched two new studios, Sculpt and Combat, providing their users with low-impact strength and conditioning workouts for the first time, as well as more options for high-impact exercises.

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VR Training Company Gemba Secures $18M Series A to Expand Enterprise Metaverse

Road to VR

Gemba, the corporate VR learning platform, announced it’s closed an $18 million Series A funding round, which the company says will be used to continue expansion into Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and North America. The latest funding round was led by Parkway Venture Capital, now valuing the UK-based company at $60 million. In 2017, Gemba grew out of executive training company The Leadership Network, which was founded in 2013 by CEO Nathan Robinson and Chairman Victor Lewis.

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VR Therapies Calls for Urgent Support after Christmas Day Burglary

XR Today - Virtual Reality

A major charity offering virtual reality (VR) therapies to vulnerable people was “heartbroken” after a massive burglary took place on Christmas Day. Charity Founder Rebecca Gill is a former NHS nurse and launched the world-first VR alternative therapy centre last year. ITV reported on Saturday that burglars stole valuable headsets totalling tens of thousands of pounds in equipment from Northampton charity VR Therapies.

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AR Briefs, Episode 64: AR Glasses Outlook

AR Insider

Mobile AR scales today but the true endgame is headworn. So where are we in that progression, and what’s the outlook for AR glasses? This is the topic of the latest episode of ARtillery Briefs. This post appeared first on AR Insider.

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Who C.A.R.E.S.!? How Learning Got Its Bad Rap & What We Can Do About It

Speaker: Treion Muller, Chief Strategy Officer at ELB Learning

Since when has learning and development (L&D) become such a negative experience with its intended learners? Could it be because learners have been conditioned by very poor learning experiences over the past two decades, combined with the kinks of technological innovation? Or is it because learning has typically been designed as a one-size-fits-all solution, despite the fact that humans are not clones?

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CES 2023 Highlights Featuring News and Innovations From Canon, MICLEDI, and NVIDIA

ARPost

CES is considered the world’s tech event, showcasing groundbreaking technologies and innovations from some of the world’s biggest brands, developers, manufacturers, and suppliers of consumer technology. At CES 2023, attendees saw the unveiling of the latest developments from over 3,200 exhibitors, including technology companies Canon, MICLEDI, and NVIDIA.

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Microsoft Axes Social VR Platform & XR Interface Framework Amid Wide-reaching Layoffs

Road to VR

Microsoft is laying off 10,000 employees, and with it the company is axing social VR platform AltspaceVR and its XR interface framework, Mixed Reality Toolkit. We’ve written about the death of AltspaceVR once before. In the summer of 2017, the company announced it was shuttering the social VR platform due to lack of funds. In a Hail Mary that few expected, Microsoft turned around and snapped up the ailing platform only two months after the planned shut-down date.

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Altspace VR to Shutdown Following Microsoft Lay Offs

XR Today - Virtual Reality

Last Friday, Microsoft-owned immersive social platform Altspace VR (virtual reality) announced the closure of its service effective March 10, 2023. The decision comes following recent lay offs at Microsoft. Altspace VR initially launched on May 2015 under the supervision of the platform’s then Founder and CEO, Eric Romo – who went on to work as Meta’s Director of Product, Reality Labs Social Experiences until 2022 – and Microsoft acquired the Altspace service following a

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Reality Bytes: TikTok, Nvidia & Big Tech Layoffs

AR Insider

This week on Reality Bytes, we discuss an AI tool that makes you faux-focused, big tech’s layoffs, and how to go viral on TikTok. This post appeared first on AR Insider.

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The Key to Getting the Best Out of Video-Based Practice & Coaching

Speaker: Micah Eppler, Account Executive for Rehearsal of eLearning Brothers

Did you know that companies such as Paychex, 3M, and Honeywell are getting better results by incorporating video-based practice and coaching within their L&D strategy? From sales pitches to soft skills, learners are becoming top performers by applying and validating knowledge transfer using the unique benefits of video. Whether used as a stand-alone application or integrated with a learning platform, video-based practice and coaching platforms give learners the ultimate opportunity to repeatedly