The Immersive Wire - 31 March 2021 (News edition)

The Immersive Wire - 31 March 2021 (News edition)

March 31, 2021

NEWS DIGEST EDITIONCurated VR/AR analysis every Wednesday and Sunday 

// 31 March 2021

 

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Facebook Reality Labs said the Oculus Quest 2 outsold all of its predecessors combined. 

  • While Facebook didn't reveal exact numbers, it is still a huge amount and an indication of market growth. 

  • What are they doing on the headsets? Well, CCS Insight took a gander...

 CCS Insight launched their report, with some ludicrous stats on the industry. 

  • Over 60 per cent of VR users don the headset every day. That's really high, and makes me wonder which hyper-engaged communities they are a part of. One is certainly exercise, cited in the report as a growing application. 

  • Growth is high too; 70 per cent of VR owners getting their device in the past 12 months, suggesting a rapid expansion.

  • As always, treat analyst stats with a pinch of salt; Facebook has not been open with their headset numbers. But they are useful as an overarching barometer, and the rapid increase of VR users is a promising sign. The full report is here, if you wish to take a peek. 

 Rec Room, a social app, is a VR tech unicorn. Well, with a slight caveat. 

  • While the VR media goes wild about this landmark - and it is huge - its worth noting that Rec Room targets mobile as the main entry point for users, moving away from their VR roots.

  • The company surpassed 15 million users and revenues leap-frogged by 500%. But don't mistake this to be all within VR; its expansion into other platforms is the main driver for user acquisition. 

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  • Argil, a VR sculpting app, will be available from 21 April. 

    • Disclaimer: I supported the announcement of the game as a freelance PR and communications specialist. 

  • Bodyswaps partnered with human-services agency Viability, Link To VR, CleanBox, and MRC to transform vocational rehabilitation services.

  • Down and Out, a first-person VR brawler is releasing May 2021 for Steam and Oculus, and around June 2021 for PSVR.

  • Hong Kong's Tourism Board released an AR app that profiles young artists. 

  • HTC VIVE announced it will be partnering with Sansar to deliver Lost Horizon. Viveport users can access the events for free here. 

  • Immotion Group to raise £300,000 via an investment. 

  • Luxsonic announced a partnership with Radiopaedia.org to bring their radiology education catalogue into VR.

  • meetingRoom released the latest version of their enterprise-ready VR collaboration solution. 

  • MeetinVR launched on the Oculus Store.

    • Just to be clear, MeetinVR and meetingRoom are two different companies. Safe to say that the space has several competitors! 

  • Niantic teased some AR specs. 

  • Osmo & Byju's are making an education-focused AR smart display.

  • Pico's CEO wants the Neo 3 VR ehadset to sell 10x more than the Neo 2.

  • Sandbox VR lept from bankruptcy, and moved into the former The Void location.

    • In summary, think of it like this: You and a competitor run bakeries. Both have financial issues and close. But one rises from the grave and replaces the location of the other with a very similar cake shop, selling slightly different cakes. (Yes, I am hungry today.)

  • Sweden VR is running a competition where VR/AR devs could win 10,000 euros.  

  • Warhammer Age of Sigmar: Tempestfall is a VR-exclusive game, coming Summer 2021 on Steam and Oculus. 

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) virtualperceptions (dot) com. Have an excellent day!