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With the arrival of Windows MR compatible headsets and a new consumer Augmented Reality HMD for mobile Star Wars games, this Christmas is brimming with options for those interested in entering the world of VR and AR. Buyers will find is that there are a robust and growing selection of both free and paid experiences now, including new VR versions of AAA games like “Doom” and “Fallout.” The bad news is that for the high-end Oculus Rift and HTC Vive, a gaming computer, which features a super fast advanced graphics card, is required.
These computers have not come down in price, one of the factors that forced the makers of high-end VR, including Playstation VR, to cut prices this summer. This helped 10%. The fact that there are only 20M VR capable PCs in the market, and their stubbornly high prices, puts high-end VR out of reach for most consumers. If you already own a Playstation 4, you’re only $300 away from the best VR has to offer in the home, which has made PSVR the most popular advanced platform, with nearly two million sold (out of a VR-capable install base of 60M consoles).
There are several good lower cost mobile VR options for less than $100, provided you have a compatible phone. For Google Daydream this is well-reviewed new Pixel 2 (the camera is crazy good), and for Samsung Gear VR (which uses the Oculus store) you need their Galaxy phone.
At the moment, I’m partial to Star Wars Jedi Challenge, a very powerful mobile AR head mounted display from Lenovo for $200. The whole family would can fun with this over the holidays. If you love Star Wars and want to get a glimpse of what real AR entertainment looks like, you have to buy this. I bought one for my adult son (who btw does not read my columns; maybe he should get a $14.97 Merge Cube instead?)
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Holochess isn’t just for Wookies anymore.
Although we’re focused here on AR & VR, we are offering legit advice for the holidays, so we’d be remiss to leave out digital home assistants (home AI), Google Home ($49-$129) and Amazon Alexa ($49-$149). These are wonderful, low priced and useful (“Alexa, play news”, “Alexa, play Misty for Me”, “Google, how do I say ‘dog’ in German?”, “Google, Turn out the lights”, etc.). If you’ve got a limited budget and a long list, a bag full of Google Home Minis, or Alexa Echo Dots might make you very popular.
Thanks to Santa’s helpers Samuel Steinberger, Michael Eichenseer, and Samantha Wolfe for helping sort the bag below.
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It all started with the idea of an AR light sabre in Mike Goslin’s group at Disney advanced consumer products.
Star Wars Jedi Challenge AR $199
By combining Augmented Reality, Star Wars, broadly appealing gameplay, an accessible $200 price, and exclusive distribution through Best Buy, Disney & Lenovo may just have the hit of the Christmas season. Slide your cell phone into the top of the plastic headset, fire up your lightsaber, and fight the stereoscopic enemies beamed onto the plastic visor of the headset, creating the illusion of ghostlike “holograms” in the real world. Jedi Challengecomes with three games: Lightsaber Battles, Strategic Combat, and Holochess. While progressing through the Galaxy, players can achieve multiple Jedi mastery levels from Padawan to Knight and eventually Master. As you unlock the ranks of the Jedi Order the lightsaber will change color. A must-have for Star Wars fans, it’s possible with frequent updates that Star Wars AR could be with us for some time. – Charlie Fink
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Acer’s Windows MR headset is lightweight and features a flip up visor and microphone. It set up in minutes.
Windows MR with the new Acer HMD $399
Was it getting dark already? I’d just taken a five-minute breather from playing Steam VR’s Paintball and realized I’d been playing for a solid four hours. I hadn’t eaten. I’d forgotten about doing my laundry. I’d completely lost track of time. My first experience with Acer’s Windows Mixed Reality headset was a smashing success.
But before I get into the details, let’s take a look at the device itself.
The Acer Windows Mixed Reality HMD is a thing of beauty. The blue and black visor is lightweight and comfortable, even over glasses. It’s an inside-out HMD, which means the position of the visor is tracked by the visor itself, not by additional outside devices that need to be installed. It also means it’s the perfect size for my tiny New York City apartment living room, which is smaller than most bedrooms.
For my first foray into Windows MR, I’d invited my girlfriend and another friend over to check out the headset and provide a broader sample of the experience. When we first paired the controllers with the computer there was an audible “ooh” as they lit up. The controllers are responsive, although, after a few hours of action-packed VR, I found my hands losing their grip at times and cramping up.
We followed the instructions on the screen to calibrate the set and fed the meager boundaries of my living room into the software. As the Windows Mixed Reality software launched, I was transported to an airy, spacious home on the side of a cliff overlooking fantastical floating islands, with a backyard view of snow-covered mountains. My home theater (I now had a home theater!) had a retractable roof. I could walk around my house, peg photos on the walls, and watch Penrose’s “The Rose and I” a short VR movie.
While my friend and girlfriend took the same VR home walk-around, I set up a Steam VR account. I’d heard about Rec Room’s Paintball game and wanted to give it a go. Little did I realize at the time that I was about to wave goodbye to all my afternoon plans.
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The Merge Cube will work with older smartphones that cannot otherwise do AR, but it may cause them to run hot and drain batteries.
The award-winning soft foam Merge Googles sold everywhere are made just for kids and they love em. Works with the Merge Cube and any VR apps on the phone. A best seller. – Charlie Fink
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At $50, Zappar makes “Magic Leap magic cheap”. Not the markers on the wall.
ZapBox Mixed Reality $30
It’s popular that with the introduction of depth-sensing cameras usings ARKit marker AR may have had its moment. Zapbox makes “Magic Leap magic cheap with its unique Cardboard HMD and controllers for your Mobile Phone
This is some good clean fun at a great price with a couple of dozen third-party apps. Unfortunately, this UK based company has the item on backorder, and it cannot arrive in time for Christmas. – Charlie Fink
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Never take your eyes off the road: NUVIZ offers a fantastic, new, easy to use Heads Up Display for bikers.
NUVIZ HUD for Motorcycles $699
Winner of a 2018 CES Innovation Award, NUVIZ is the first fully-integrated Heads-Up Display (HUD) designed specifically for the needs of motorcycle riders. It displays customizable information in the rider’s natural line of sight and features an intuitive eyes-on-the-road handlebar controller and built-in HD action camera. NUVIZ brings together all of the important functions of your navigation, communication and media devices into a single device. I tried it. It’s really nice. Surprisingly so. – Charlie Fink
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Nintendo may sell as many as 14 M of their new Switch portable game console this year.
Nintendo Switch $299
Spoiler alert: there is an elephant in the room. I can smell it. It’s called the Nintendo Switch ($299). In case you haven’t seen it, it’s a new, super popular, handheld game console that may be the toy of the year. Superdata Research, one of the leading analysts of the 98.3 BN games business, thinks the Switch could rack up another 5.6 M in sales this Christmas – 14 M since it’s launch in March. TBH, it’s hard to see how Jedi Challenge or anything else will come even close.
The Switch features some of the most popular games in the world. I worry this is going to suck away a lot of dollars and attention we’d like to see in VR. The competition in the game area is fierce. It’s almost twice as large as music and movies combined. Gamers are highly satisfied with their existing consoles and 2D games. The predicted rush to VR hasn’t happened yet. Let’s make a dent in that this year.
Source: Forbes