M+E Connections

Virtual reality already had a large presence this year at the Consumer Electronics Show, E3 and Gamescom and now it’s being heavily touted at IFA in Berlin through Sept. 7, and is expected to be spotlighted at the International Broadcasting Convention (IBC) in Amsterdam Sept. 8-13 and the GameStop Expo in Anaheim Sept. 14.

Computer maker Acer and Stockholm entertainment content creator Starbreeze said at an Aug. 31 IFA news conference that they started shipping StarVR head-mounted VR displays to IMAX as part of a previously announced joint venture. IMAX is expected to open its first IMAX VR Center showing VR content in Los Angeles later this year, with more of them to follow “in the near future,” the three companies said in a joint news release.

IMAX didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on the exact timing of the VR Center openings or the locations of the centers expected to follow the one in Los Angeles. But published reports said IMAX is looking to open the next centers in New York, London and Shanghai.

The VR Centers are part of the aggressive VR strategy that IMAX disclosed in May. IMAX and Google said May 19 that they were developing a “cinema-grade” IMAX VR camera to create 3D 360-degree content. IMAX said one day later it teamed with Starbreeze to create a “premium” VR experience using the StarVR headsets that provide a 210-degree full peripheral field of view. As part of that deal, Starbreeze is making its existing library of VR games available to IMAX VR Centers. Content will also be created for the centers using the IMAX VR camera and IMAX will also look to establish new VR content partnerships via its existing Hollywood filmmaker and studio relationships, it said.

Also on Aug. 31, game publisher Take-Two Interactive said its first VR game, “Carnival Games VR,” will be released globally for digital download at $19.99 Oct. 28 for the HTC Vive and Sony PlayStation VR, with support for Oculus Rift to follow later this year. VR is an “emerging platform that has the potential to enhance the way that interactive entertainment is created and experienced,” Sarah Anderson, SVP of marketing at Take-Two’s 2K label, said in a news release. Take-Two, on Sept. 2, declined to say why it decided to make the latest entry in its “Carnival Games” series its first VR title and whether it has plans for other VR games.

Camera maker GoPro is among the companies set to take part in a panel on VR at IBC Sept. 10. Harmonic will, meanwhile, showcase what it said will be “the industry’s first native UHD” VR technology demonstration at IBC, in collaboration with Dutch research institute TNO. The demo will use TNO’s High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC) tiling technology that enables efficient distribution of VR content at very high quality over existing content delivery networks, Harmonic said. The demo will be done using head-mounted devices offering video resolution 10 times higher than that offered by existing commercially deployed VR services, it said.

VR is also expected to be featured at the IBC’s Future Zone, where exhibitors are scheduled to include Livelike, which is planning to show an app allowing users to experience a live sports event using VR, and Argon Design, which is planning to show its Argon360 technology that stitches video from multiple cameras together to create a 360-degree panoramic movie.

Hands-on demonstrations of PlayStation VR are then expected to be given by Sony Interactive Entertainment at the GameStop Expo, which – unlike many other annual game industry events – is open to the public.