Launch of Sony PlayStation VR could be game changer for industry
Sony Corp.'s PlayStation VR hit the stores on Thursday, capping 2016 as the year that many have called the dawn of virtual reality. Rival manufacturers Facebook-owned Oculus and Taiwanese smartphone maker HTC launched high-end VR headsets this year, the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive, respectively, ...
Virtual reality helps treat phantom pain by letting missing, injured limbs move again
Virtual reality, more often than not, is touted as a feature of state-of-the-art video games with headsets that allow players to see all around them, beyond the boundaries of their monitors. But the technology's potential extends beyond games. A team led by Masahiko Sumitani, head of ...
Fove Inc. to debut VR goggles that track eyeball movements
Virtual reality is on the cusp of becoming mainstream, but one startup in Japan is betting the technology won't really succeed unless it cracks a critical piece of the puzzle: human eyeballs. Fove Inc. is introducing the world's first commercially available VR goggles equipped with ...
From the latest in virtual reality to a nostalgic return to 2-D
Virtual Reality gets real Virtual Reality is proving to be the next big thing in gaming, taking players into game environments like never before. Sony has joined the ranks with its brand new VR headset, dubbed PlayStation VR. This is not Sony's first VR headset, ...
App maker aims to revive wedding industry with virtual reality nuptials
A couple put on a pair of goggles and a wedding aisle appeared in front of them as flowers rained down. The virtual video experience was thanks to Nagoya-based smartphone games developer Ateam Inc.'s wedding simulation software, which the company hopes will help engaged couples ...
At Tokyo Game Show, virtual technology is the highest scorer
The Tokyo Game Show kicked off Thursday, with virtual reality products grabbing the lion's share of attention at one of the central fixtures in the global gaming calendar. At Chiba's massive Makuhari Messe venue on Thursday, industry insiders and journalists lined up to try VR ...
Twenty years ago, two new video game trade shows launched in Tokyo with the hopes of capturing the attention — and yen — of gamers in Japan. The first Tokyo Game Show (TGS) took place from Aug. 22 to 24, 1996, and was followed ...
Tech world wraps head around 360-degree photography
As virtual reality makes strides in the tech world, the next big thing is tipped to be a visual technology that can capture and show what people see in 360 degrees. "It's like in the 1920s with Hollywood and film: There was just the brand ...
New PlayStation 4 models change life cycle of gaming consoles
Sony Corp. has released two new versions of its PlayStation 4: the PlayStation 4 Pro and a slimmer, more efficient version of the PlayStation 4.
Tokyo VR attraction puts you in the heart of a Gundam battle
In 2009, anime fans were delighted when a life-size statue of a Gundam robot was unveiled in Tokyo's Odaiba district. The statue has now become a landmark attraction in the shopping and entertainment area. And this year, there's finally some action as Gundam fights with ...
Chinese testing virtual reality classrooms and computer-based adaptive teaching
Deep within a building shaped like the starship Enterprise, a little-known company is working on the future of education in Fuzhou, China. Vast banks of servers are amassing a database that will be used to build intimate profiles of millions of kids by recording ...
BitSummit reveals the reach of indie games
BitSummit, the independent game festival annually held in Kyoto, has grown rapidly in the four years since it went from being an idea in founder James Mielke's head to a respected event that developers and fans from around the globe look forward to each ...
