Acer will be first to ship a $300 mixed reality headset for Windows developers.
Microsoft is showing some commitment to the idea of Windows Mixed Reality (formally known as Windows Holographic) with not just a single headset, but with five headsets. Acer, Asus, Dell, HP and Lenovo are all on board with Microsoft to put mixed reality into the hands of the consumers when Microsoft launches Project Scorpio, a high-end, 4K capable version of the XBox One.
Though Microsoft will first target Windows 10 based machines and Project Scorpio, XBox One owners will be thrilled to know that they won’t feel like the kid that’s been picked last during a kickball game because the headsets will not only work on Windows 10 PC’s and Project Scorpio, but they will also work with the the standard XBox One, starting with Acer.
During the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco this past week, Microsoft provided some information on Acer’s mixed reality headset, which will ship to developers in the upcoming weeks. The headset will feature two LCD screen with 1440 x 1440 resolution and a 90Hz refresh rate along with an inside-out tracking, which means you can move around in the mixed reality environment without the need for external sensors. Microsoft plans to seed early version of the Acer devices to developers so they can have a solid foundation of mixed reality experiences readily available to consumers for its eventual launch. The Acer device will be priced around $299.00 when it becomes available to consumers.
Back in February, Sony announced that they sold 915,000 PlayStation VR headsets since it launched in mid-October, while Microsoft focused on their HoloLens MR headset. Now it seems that Microsoft is ready to throw their hat into the ring to go up against PlayStation, Oculus Rift (which recently lowered their prices), and HTC. Only they are throwing five hats into the ring.
Game developers interested in building content for Windows Mixed Reality can sign up for ID@Xbox. All other developers can learn about the Windows Mixed Reality program here.
