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The Immersive Wire - 23 February 2022 (News edition)

The Immersive Wire - 23 February 2022 (News edition)

February 23, 2022

By Tom Ffiske

VR/AR and metaverse analysis every Wednesday and Sunday // 23 February 2022

Sad to see the passing of Wayne Cheong, host of the Metaverse Asia Podcast. He was a passionate man, and I found it remarkable how he managed to be an expert across so many different areas. Rest in peace.

TOP STORIESPlaySation VR2 and sub-par content on Roblox

Sony unveiled the images of the PlayStation VR2.

  • A shame it is tethered, but the design is slick and it complements the PlayStation 5 well.

  • The screen is step up from the competition as well. The display will be 2000×2040 and OLED (as opposed to Quest 2 being 1832×1920 and LCD), and has around 110 degrees FOV (as opposed to Quest 2's 90). Also, eye tracking. Nice.

  • While it looks great, the hardware will live or die on the quality of its titles. Not an earth-shattering revelation, I know; but with the hullabaloo of the design of the headset as well as a trickle of specs, we know very little about the device or how it feels to play. Once we know that for sure, we can give a proper assessment.

Roblox is getting some heat for its content

  • I won't detail the types of content here, but needless to say, it's not the kind that young children should play.

  • It also raises a few questions on who polices the content. In cases like Roblox, it is the platform's responsibility to ensure that there is no abusive content within its walls, and the company should be policing it effectively to avoid situations like this. So far, so obvious.

  • But it gets murkier if we want an open metaverse. An ideal scenario is that no single company is policing what types of content is allowable, and it gives people the personal autonomy to build and share what they like - the fertile ground of innovation and creativity. But the more open it is, the more likely it is that abuse content will exist in the network. Whose responsibility is it then?

  • While hypothetical - the macro-metaverse doesn't exist yet - it's worth keeping in the back of our heads as it develops. I don't want a single company judging what can and cannot exist; but I also want users to be empowered with the education and tools to shut down truly harmful content when necessary.

Don't get any colourful smudges on it. Photo credit: Sony.

Metaverse hype is driving more and more enterprises to get started with VR. VRdirect is the standard VR software solution for enterprises like Siemens, Nestle and Deutsche Telekom, and enables many more companies to take the first steps into the metaverse.

Now is the time for enterprises to develop a VR strategy and gain a competitive edge for the future. VRdirect is the easiest solution to get started with VR projects.

OTHER NEWSInclusive fitness and hunting

Got a story? Let me know at tom (at) immersivewire (dot) com.

  • Beem, which lets people live stream AR, got $4m in funding.

  • Fast Travel Games announced that Virtuoso, a virtual music creation sandbox, will come out 10 March.

  • FitXR partnered with Zion Clark to deliver inclusive fitness content.

    • Absolutely love this, and would love to see more in the future.

  • Incuvo Games unveiled the trailer for Green Hell VR.

  • Make Real won The Learning Performance Institute (LPI)'s Learning Technology Award (bronze) for their standalone VR training tool 'SkillShield'.

  • ORamaVR is launching MAGES on 1 March.

  • Paranormal Hunter, the VR-supported co-op survival horror game, will be demo'd during the Steam Next Fest, 21 to 28 February.

  • Sokin announced that they can give e-commerce payments in the metaverse.

    • One that warrants further digging when I have the time.

  • YAHAHA, Altergaze, and Dimoso, in partnership with Spitfire Music, announced they will take rock music to the metaverse.

Jobs boardDISTRIBUTION AND TOURING PRODUCER. Marshmallow Laser Feast is looking for someone to join our team as a Distribution & Touring Producer. You will have a desire to work at the bleeding edge of immersive storytelling and help shape how that work is distributed globally. We see the development and distribution of MLF’s own work as key to the future success of the business, a key revenue stream and integral in building global brand awareness. This new role will be a vital part of the core team that formulates and realises this ambitious vision. Learn more. RENDERING AND C++ ENGINEER, Wikitude, a Qualcomm company. Qualcomm is a company of inventors that unlocked 5G ushering in an age of rapid acceleration in connectivity. Under this dynamic umbrella, Wikitude, a Qualcomm company, shapes the future of augmented reality by empowering businesses and developers. We are looking for the XR Software Engineer Design to design, test, and implement core parts of the Wikitude XR toolkit – particularly rendering pipelines for XR systems. Do you have a high affinity for real-time rendering pipelines and optimizing code to fit 16ms (or less)? Learn more and apply! SENIOR COMPUTER SCIENCE and SOFTWARE DEVELOPER (3D, Linear Algebra, C++). MetaVRse is a web-based 3D game engine for building immersive experiences without needing to code. We are looking for a unicorn computer scientist from anywhere in the world who can help us improve the core rendering technology that will serve creators to build custom products in training, marketing, sales, retail and learning in photorealistic, real-time 3D delivered on any device in a browser. Working with our Head of R&D, you will be responsible for creating and implementing new 3D graphics solutions to push the limits of our technology stack. Solid understanding of Real-time 3D libraries (OpenGL, Vulkan), Linear Algebra, C++ and 3D rendering and game engine technologies. Apply Here.XR SOFTWARE ENGINEER NETWORKING, Wikitude, a Qualcomm company. Qualcomm is a company of inventors that unlocked 5G ushering in an age of rapid acceleration in connectivity. Under this dynamic umbrella, Wikitude, a Qualcomm company, shapes the future of augmented reality by empowering businesses and developers. We are looking for an experienced XR Software Engineer Networking to drive the architecture, development, and deployment of core parts of our XR toolkit. A successful candidate has extensive experience in multiplayer streaming and can apply it to XR experiences. Do you have a solid technical background, a passion for the XR industry, and enjoy working with engineering teams? Apply hereXR CONTENT DIRECTOR, Pixo VR. The VR marketplace is exploding, and PIXO is leading the way in on-demand generation and adoption in our industry. With our groundbreaking PIXO ApexTM platform, we provide comprehensive, end-to-end VR content, distribution, and management solutions for enterprise. PIXO VR is searching for an XR Content Director to join our team. Reporting to the COO, the Content Director will manage the overall production, procurement and growth strategy for our XR content library. Working with a team of offshore and onshore designers, engineers, artists, marketers, and 3rd party content developers, the Content Director will ensure PIXO is delivering an exceptional content experience to all our end users. Check out further details here. SDK TECHNICAL ENGINEER, Pico Interactive Europe. As SDK Technical Engineer you will be responsible for investigating/troubleshooting issues reported, and collecting/consolidating customer requirements back to the Beijing DevSupport team. Through this role you will be the technical liaison between Pico Interactive Europe customers and Pico product teams to ensure Europe region's commercial success. In Europe, Pico is one of the premier enterprise hardware companies in the rapidly growing VR market. Click here for more.TECHNICAL PROJECT MANAGER, Pico Interactive Europe. As Technical Project Manager you will be responsible for evaluating improvements to the devices, services, logistics, and operations to continue the high growth business of Pico Interactive Europe. In Europe, Pico is one of the premier enterprise hardware companies in the rapidly growing VR market. The Pico Europe business is responsible for all business opportunities in Europe, Israel, Russian Federation and India. Click here for more.  Display your vacancy in front of thousands of talented VR/AR professionals in just a few clicks. Click here for more info.

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That's all for this week! Want to have a chat, let me know about a news story, or talk business? Either reply to this email, or contact tom (at) immersivewire (dot) com. Have an excellent day!