While VR headset makers are busy peddling the hardware for gaming, Acer has joined forces with Starbreeze to developed a “high-end” version designed for use in arcades and theme parks. We have already seen Samsung doing that to create a more immersive (if not nauseating) roller coaster experience, but unlike the South Korea electronics giant who banks on mobile device to power the VR, Acer and Starbreeze hardware will leverage on Starbreeze’s StarVR headset that is purposed built for crazy level of immersion. How so? Unlike the usual 110-degree field of view many VR headsets are offering, StarVR touts an incredible 210-degree FoV which is said to be closer to a person real life field of view, right down to peripheral vision.
Not sure where this headset will be implemented nor is there hint of any collaboration with existing theme parks or arcades. Anywho, in this agreement, Acer and Starbreeze “aim to cooperate on the design, manufacturing, promotion, marketing and sales of the StarVR HMD to the professional- and location-based entertainment market.” Starbreeze CEO, Bo Andersson Klint said in the official PR, “Since our launch in June 2015, we have had an amazing start with StarVR…
By partnering with Acer we shift gears yet again to firmly position us as the leader in top-end VR experiences. Acer is an excellent, experienced and prominent hardware partner that will accelerate us in realizing and producing a high-definition, high-fidelity VR headset,” adding that “We’ve been working with a clear roadmap for our VR strategy from day one, and are now about to realize one of the first major collaborations we set out to achieve. The future for StarVR is now set and extremely exciting.”
So, will we see StarVR in theme parks’ rides in near future? Perhaps, we will, but everything else is still in its infancy and subject to both companies’ board approval.
Image via StarVR.
via The Verge
