Games/Interactive
VR to Again Feature Prominently at E3
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Virtual reality (VR) will be playing a major role again at the annual Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) June 13-15 in Los Angeles.
All the major VR hardware players will be on hand, exhibiting at the show, including Facebook/Oculus, Google, HTC Vive and Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) with its PlayStation VR system for the PlayStation 4 (PS4). While it remains to be seen if any of them will be unveiling new VR devices at the show rather than just demonstrating new games for their current systems, attendees can expect to see new VR devices from newer entrants to the market.
Relative newcomers to the VR hardware market include Cambridge, Mass.-based VirZOOM, with its bike that combines VR with fitness functionality.
There is also a chance that Microsoft or Nintendo could introduce VR accessories for their consoles. Microsoft will be holding its annual pre-E3 news briefing June 11 and Nintendo will follow June 13 with another online Nintendo Direct presentation in lieu of the news briefings it used to hold each year. Sony’s E3 news briefing will be held the evening of June 12.
Aside from VR, E3 attendees – and those watching the streamed news briefings from L.A. — are also expected to hear more details, including pricing, for Microsoft’s next-generation “Project Scorpio” console that it disclosed plans for at last year’s show. Scorpio will ship this holiday season and offer “true 4K gaming and high-fidelity” virtual reality, Phil Spencer, head of Xbox, said at E3 last year. It will be “the most powerful console ever built,” with 6 teraflops of power, he said, without disclosing how much it will cost.
Ahead of E3, Sony already announced plans for a new, gold version of its current PS4 on June 6. At the company’s PlayStation Blog, John Koller, VP of PlayStation Brand Marketing at SIE America, said the company would introduce the slim Gold PS4 with 1 TB of HDD storage at the limited-time promotional price of $249.99 in the U.S. June 9. That’s $50 cheaper than the current regular SKU of the console. The new SKU comes with a matching DualShock 4 wireless controller, and will only be available for a limited time, he said. The new SKU is part of a “Days of Play” promotional event running through June 17 that also includes discounts on hardware, peripherals and PS4 exclusive games, he said.
