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11/21/2024 06:43:33 pm

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HTC Re Vive Gains Rave First Impressions, Surpasses Oculus In Terms Of Immersion

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(Photo : HTC) Valve is looking for a wide range of talent for its Steam VR platform.

HTC launched the One M9, Re Grip and Re Vive at Mobile World Congress earlier this week, and while the One M9 should be grabbing all the press headlines, it's actually the Re Vive that's gaining the most attention.

This is partly due to the Game Developer Conference in San Francisco this week, too, where Valve is showing-off the capabilities of the HTC Re Vive to the press.

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It's also partly to do with the high-level of immersion many of the testers are experiencing,. Testers claim the Re Vive is more advanced than the most recent version of the Oculus Rift, Crescent Bay.

The Re Vive uses positional tracking to keep the head, body and hands inside the game, meaning instead of feeling out of sync once you move your feet or shift your head, the game naturally adapts to your new position.

This is a first in virtual reality. It works through a few camera dotted around the room keeping track of the user's position. Valve has also created a pair of controllers similar to the Wii nunchuk controllers with an interface for resting hands.

The additional weight from all of these modules is not a concern for Valve as it looks for the most optimal way to play video games in virtual reality. If this includes a tick VR headset and hand controllers, so be it.

Even though HTC has its branding on the VR headset, it's clear most of the work has been done by Valve as part of its secret VR project it's been working on ever since the release of the first developer's kit for the Oculus Rift.

Valve's chief Gabe Newell finds VR an important avenue for his company and has integrated the Steam brand to make developers and publishers turn heads, and potentially turn backs on Oculus.

Even in its early stage, it's clear the Re Vive is just a step above the competition and is a major worry for the $2 billion Facebook-owned Oculus. Valve wants a consumer edition out by late 2015 while Oculus is still working on a commercial edition with no release date in sight.

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