The Immersive Wire - 10 March 2021 (news edition)

NEWS DIGEST EDITIONCurated VR/AR analysis every Wednesday and Sunday 

// 10 March 2021

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Google stopped selling its Cardboard viewers, and I have mixed feelings about it. 

• On paper, it was a great idea. The headset was the cheapest possible way to deliver immersive experiences, which can be distributed cheaply and easily. It was the most accessible way to view *dramatic air quotes* 'VR' content. It was your grandma's first experience. 

• Yet the cheap cardboard frame couldn't bear the weight of hype, and crumpled under the high expectations. Many mainstream people (outside our VR bubble) still think it is comparable to dedicated VR solutions - and got burned when expectations were not met. 

• We are still slowly repairing the expectations today, as we claw up Gartner's Slope of Enlightenment. As Google formally pulls support, it feels like the end of an era. In any case, we may see the Augmented Roaring Twenties™ coming in, right? Right?*

 HTC teased their newest headset, with big red signs indicating that it is a standalone VR unit. 

• Alvin Graylin said that a standalone device is coming this year, and also said that they don't see themselves as direct competitors to Oculus. 

• Will it be consumer-facing? Probably not, as HTC has historically focused on its enterprise offering. Still, an effective standalone unit geared for training and simulations will help boost HTC's specialism in the space. 

*The phrase is from

Emerging Tech Brew

, which is definitely worth a look!

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• Apple may launch a headset by 2022, specs by 2025, and lenses by 2040, according to analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.

  • As always, treat Apple rumors with a bucket of salt. Timelines may also change depending on tech developments. 

• Bangor University unveiled Virtual Reality Immersive Analytics, created to visualise data in an engaging way. 

• Chocolate Milk & Donuts unveiled Lena's Journey, a VR mini-series to help hospital staff empathise with patients

• CYBORN unveiled Hubris VR, a VR action-adventure game coming Autumn 2021. 

• Facebook Reality Labs explored their work on human-computer interaction (HCI).

• Fast Travel Games announced that Wraith: The Oblivion - Afterlife, will launch on April 22.

• Lethbridge College launched its VR and AR program, open for September 2021.

• Miro Shot announced that sections of their XR SXSW will be available for NFT artists to share their work.

• Pico announced that their Neo 3 is coming in Q2 2021

• PRELOADED unveiled their report on AR for kids. 

• Rec Room plans to give $1m to content creators through 2021.

  • Remember, Rec Room has extensive services beyond VR; Roblox is a closer competitor than VRChat.  

• Reggie Watts, Looking Glass Factory, and Panther Modern unveiled the first-ever crypto art hologram. 

  • See Sunday's edition for my thoughts on NFTs; in summary, it's overhyped with some slivers of promise.

• StoryFutures Academy and InGAME announced the winner of their Immersive Game Lab & Commission, ‘Duality.'

• Without Walls announced 21 new projects, including immersive additions that bring streets to life.

• XRSI launched a whitepaper on developing safety standards for XR environments. 

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