160°

Microsoft Has Several Gaming Studios Working on HoloLens Projects - Here’s Who’s Working On Them

An interesting article was made recently by ‘steverulez’ outlining what Microsoft’s largest and smallest studios are currently working on.The most interesting thing about this discovery is that nearly all of Microsoft’s recent studios are creating HoloLens projects. These studios are under Microsoft Studios like your AAA Xbox game studios like 343 Industries and Turn 10.

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rectifygaming.com
StrayaKNT3378d ago

Im actually very excited to see what games can be made using hololens and im eager to see minecraft in my living room that would be insane lol.... Does anyone have any ideas what type of games these guys would be making?

poppinslops3378d ago

They're all very hush-hush at the moment... I'm sure the GDC will have some details as to who's doing what, so keep an eye out for that (pretty sure it'll be streamed).

Mojang and Team Dakota are both working on hololens, which almost certainly means Minecraft and Project Spark... Also Phil Spencer has hinted at an Age of Empires/Mythology 'reboot', which could be great on Hololens.

343 are probably working on a holographic Cortana, Turn 10 might working on some kind of virtual garage/showroom for Forza... The article also lists a bunch of devs that I've never heard of, so God knows what they're working on.

I'm guessing one of them is trying to get that 'illumiroom' effect to work through the headset, which would be an economically viable alternative to the prototype... But that's just speculation.

I like to speculate.

StrayaKNT3378d ago

Has phil hinted at an Age of Empires/Mythology because that will honestly make my dreams come true. They were my favourite pc games when i was younger.

poppinslops3378d ago

Well... Yes and no.

He's said they're looking at bringing a "well-loved" PC strategy title back to life, then later mentioned how much he liked Age of Mythology.

Whether or not it's actually happening is anyboy's guess.

Fez3378d ago

AoE reboot would be incredible! I'd probably drop money on a decent gaming machine with a 21:9 monitor to enjoy that bad boy on :)

freshslicepizza3378d ago

the concept seems very cool but they certainly don't want to go in the direction they did with kinect. that is making hololens games at the expense of regular game support.

subtenko3378d ago

Hololens is gonna release 2016+ and will cost a lot they said. Well over $300 for sure but below $1000 (It was mentioned that the illumiroom was going to be $1000 but it failed)

P.S. anyone who wants illumiroom can get the same tech at a good price, search around for 360 projection. There are also affordable AR headsets already out. (Yes AR, not VR like oculous and morpheous)

UnHoly_One3378d ago (Edited 3378d ago )

All I think of in regards to holo lens are menus floating in front of me like the inventory in Dead Space, while the whole screen is used for my game.

If they do that I'm buying one.

Like this mockup using Borderlands 2, for example.

https://hololens.wordpress....

+ Show (3) more repliesLast reply 3378d ago
NuggetsOfGod3378d ago (Edited 3378d ago )

MS have to get the prices right!

This is not just a headset it's a full windows pc.

How much will that be?

$199? I hope.

I want this to successed but everyone is trying to save a buck.

I would pay $599+ for it.

It seems noone talks about that potential limitation that would slow adoption.

People would be buying a pc for xbox or a pc to work with a gaming pc.

Everyone talks like this thing will be cheap. Even if it's not cheap i'll get it.
Km
But the masses might rather buy a new crappy $299 tablet.

We shall see if the masses will hold back technology again and just buy another iphone with butt recognition unlock phone technology.

R.i.p google glasses.

Ps. I want to see hololens work with zbrush and to create up to four virtual screens. So ready for the future! Hope everyone else is to.

JqD3378d ago (Edited 3378d ago )

Wish I shared your optimism. I remember when they showed off the PS move demo with the whole tank RTS thingy, was so pumped. I dont believe any marketing bull anymore. Kinect hololens, PS move, Morpheus, and the slick misleading inaccurate ads. All that sh**t is pipe dreams as far as im concerned until someone can actually show me something practical with real dev support. Tired of hearing this "a ton of devs are excited and working on projects" "heres a giant list of devs for you to stair at" and in the end we get fricking Kinectimals and damn harry potter book of lies. FRICKING KINECTIMAL MAN!

halfblackcanadian3378d ago

Biggest difference is that a bunch of people have used it and reported that it works as advertised (so far). The same cannot be said for early Kinect impressions.
I agree that we need to see working games, but the tech is there.

Snookies123378d ago (Edited 3378d ago )

That's pretty cool, I'm really interested to see what comes of this tech. I'm more of an Oculus/Morpheus kind of guy, but it's exciting to see differing tech that touches upon a similar field.

jb2273378d ago

I'm more of a VR guy myself as well. It just seems like it's uses at home are more widespread than what AR is capable of, for gaming & most forms of media. It's a shame MS don't have access to the talented folks at Media Molecule, these games they are mentioning for HoloLens remind me of the tech demo they put together for the PS4 launch event and it seems to me that in terms of innovation & marrying games to technology, Media Molecule stand head & shoulders above the competition. Hopefully some of these studios can reach that caliber of experimentation in solid & fun ways.

lee_jung3378d ago

جميل مايكروسوفت هي الافضل بجانب ابل .. انا انتظر اكثر شي gaers of war 4 اتمنا نزولة بأسرع وقت ممكن

Ricegum3378d ago

Yes. What this guy said ^

jhoward5853378d ago

Google translate

Beautiful Microsoft is the best next to Apple .. I'll wait for something more gaers of war 4 descends I hope as soon as possible

MegaRay3378d ago (Edited 3378d ago )

...

I can read Arabic and to be honest, this sentence doesnt make any sense. *confused*

antikbaka3378d ago

My appartment isn't as nice and neat as developers studios, I wonna play in full simulated world and not among my clothes, sheet and table where i keep my PC and papers.

mark3214uk3378d ago

is this tech ready tho? i know they showed a great concept video the other week and it looked great, but it was all just a video i think showing what they would like AR to look like 1 day?

LexHazard793378d ago

They showed a concept video and demo(lady made quad copter and made a 3d copy of her project. Which they were flying around.) Very excited to see how they make use of HoloLens on Xbox.

3378d ago
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450°

Microsoft has laid off entire teams behind Virtual, Mixed Reality, and HoloLens

Windowscentral writes: "HoloLens, Virtual Reality, and Mixed Reality are all but dead at Microsoft."

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windowscentral.com
crazyCoconuts488d ago

Yeah last thing I'd want going to battle would be windows strapped to my head

Orchard488d ago

Lol resupply breaks would become reformat breaks. Plus windows updates mid combat.

I also can’t imagine wearing a Hololens or any other headset for hours like that. Especially when you’re already carrying all the other equipment our soldiers carry today.

Philaroni488d ago

I would suck to go in to war and get... a blue screen of death.... literally.

I want this to be the most down voted comment. Sorry for my dark sense of humor.

Orchard488d ago

@Phil Sorry to disappoint but you’re getting an upvote from me :p

shinoff2183488d ago

Damn orchard, you almost had some form of virtual to praise to the high mountains about , least for the time being you can continue to down psvr2

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Knushwood Butt488d ago (Edited 488d ago )

'Headaches and nausea'

I get those symptoms using Microsoft Edge.

Good-Smurf488d ago

Darn thing locked up my laptop a few times and threw a no signal bug at my external or internal screen when it tries to load certain websites.

Knushwood Butt488d ago

It's so bloated and frustrating to use. Always spamming me with pop up dialogues and stuff.

I don't use my laptop much, but yesterday made the time to set Chrome as my default.

lonewolf10488d ago

It mentions that in the article, confused slightly as to whole divisions being laid off as The Verge article makes it seem that there is a 1.2 version of the headsets in testing and MSoft have received 165 Mill to carry on with them.

Christopher488d ago

That's a different product, actually, not HoloLens. It is poorly written, but the 1.2 version they're going with is a different product they have also been testing.

1Victor488d ago (Edited 488d ago )

Well there you have it folks Microsoft officially buried its room temperature foliage on a form of VR😢.
The good news for the team they might get a job at Sony or meta for their vr departments

I feel sorry for the hardcore Xbox fans that was holding up the wish of something coming out of mixed reality/HoloLens.

+ Show (2) more repliesLast reply 488d ago
Orchard488d ago

Not super surprising given how poorly VR and AR and all the metaverse stuff have taken off really.

Also outside of the military, you barely see or hear anything about Hololens these days.

blackblades488d ago

I remember them talking about hololens back in the day. Showing that Minecraft with it to maybe compete with VR and now it's dead like everything else.

Orchard488d ago

Yep lol, also the thing was like $5000. I wouldn’t pay $500 nevermind $5000 to play Minecraft in VR/AR.

ApocalypseShadow488d ago (Edited 488d ago )

AR is growing. Already used in cellphones. VR is growing everywhere else. It's just taking longer to integrate it in a pair of glasses.

Microsoft tried to use Hololens at E3 against VR and failed with that little window nonsense. Then, they played like they weren't pushing it for gaming when they actually were displaying games like Minecraft in it. Then, sold the tech against employee wishes to the military and failed because it's nauseating and having lights on a battlefield will get you killed. I had night vision in the army and could tell when an enemy inhaled on a cigarette. You could pop them right there. It's a good science fiction idea. But nothing replaces real battlefield awareness with your own eyes and ears in training or real war.

You're saying it failed because Microsoft is failing with Hololens. They partnered with 7 or so PC manufacturers to put out Windows VR headsets. But just like on console, they made NO GAMES for their headsets and expected others to pick up the slack. All those headsets hit fire sales and were discontinued. Microsoft's fault again for no Halo VR, no Forza VR, etc.

They failed again by not making good with their promise of high fidelity VR on Xbox One. When they have 2 TRILLION worth. Billions to buy up publishers. But not release VR because they want gamers on subscriptions and are buying up franchises to get them on game pass. But Sony is going to DELIVER high fidelity VR that Microsoft isn't.

PSVR sold at profit DAY ONE. Sony made millions in revenue on games and accessories proving that money can be made in VR and grow the market and platform. There are developers like Beat Games or even an indie making gorilla tag, can make money in VR. Sony are releasing their second one with even more potential to make more money that proves Microsoft wrong again.

Saying VR or AR is failing as a whole is FALSE. Education, automotive and building construction, real estate sales, music entertainment, medicine for PTSD help or cancer patients wanting to see things other than hospital walls, job instruction for places like Walmart... And GAMING, means they are not failing. Only in your mind.

The growth is real. You're just trying to deny it because of Microsoft. This isn't 3D TV or Wii waggle or your daddy's Kinect. VR and AR is here to stay.

Orchard488d ago

“This isn't 3D TV or Wii waggle or your daddy's Kinect.”

That awkward moment when the failed products you’re using to defend another product had far higher attach rate and sales than the one you’re trying to defend 👀💀

GamingSinceForever488d ago

“Not super surprising given how poorly VR and AR and all the metaverse stuff have taken off really for Microsoft”

Thought I’d fix that for you.

Orchard488d ago (Edited 488d ago )

So where is the VR and metaverse success story? Quest 2?

Facebooks metaverse is dead too.

488d ago Replies(1)
GamingSinceForever488d ago

Sony seems to have gotten VR right. Wouldn’t you agree?

Meta Quest is doing fairly well too.

Now I agree that MS was right in letting it go because they weren’t having much success themselves.

Orchard488d ago

No one has gotten it right yet, if by right you mean made it popular. The attach rate for PSVR is too low to call it that.

Quest is a little harder to judge since it's not attached to any device we can reasonably measure like PSVR is.

But until a good amount of gamers care, and/or it's considered mainstream, I would say VR hasn't landed.

As for MS, at the time it seemed like a risky bet, but in hindsight, they made the right decision if you look at where VR is today.

Bathyj488d ago

So Orchard you wouldn't consider VR a success unless it has a high attach rate to a parent device?

Bollocks
I consider VR a success if it gives you a good experience, an experience to can't get in any other format, and a decent amount of people use it and are happy with it regardless of attach rates.

Porsche doesn't consider themselves a failure because Toyota sell 100 times more cars.

If there's demand for a product and it makes profit then it's a viable business so get over your hangups.

And as for Microsoft making the right decision sitting back and watching because it's risky, well all that proves is they are participants in this industry, not leaders. If they had done VR and it was half-decent I can't help but think you would have a totally different opinion about it.

Orchard488d ago (Edited 488d ago )

"So Orchard you wouldn't consider VR a success unless it has a high attach rate to a parent device?"

Correct. a 4% attach rate, for a gaming accessory on a parent device that is dedicated to gaming is unsuccessful. Kinect had a higher attach rate than that, and it was considered a failure too.

"Porsche doesn't consider themselves a failure because Toyota sell 100 times more cars."

Not comparable at all. Porsche being a premium, rare product that only the very rich can afford is part of their brand, meanwhile Toyota is the cheap, mainstream, 'most people can buy one of these' brand.

PlayStation products are more Toyota than Porsche.

"well all that proves is they are participants in this industry, not leaders."

Participating in VR isn't what defines you as a leader or participant in this industry. Nintendo are blowing the PS5 and XSX away, and they are not participating in VR. VR just isn't that popular or important 🤷

Crows90488d ago

@ Orchard
"Not comparable at all. Porsche being a premium, rare product that only the very rich can afford is part of their brand, meanwhile Toyota is the cheap, mainstream, 'most people can buy one of these' brand."

Well actually within the gaming space you actually nailed it. Xbox is the toyota and Playstation is the Porsche..since it is more expensive in other parts of the world.

"Correct. a 4% attach rate, for a gaming accessory on a parent device that is dedicated to gaming is unsuccessful. Kinect had a higher attach rate than that, and it was considered a failure too."

Except nobody actually wanted kinect. It was forced onto IP and consoles with the xbox one. PSVR on the other hand is an optional device. An optional device that sold to 5million players. That is a success for a typical game and also embodies the hardcore audience. Most Playstation exclusives are guaranteed 5 million in sales. The attach rate for a non essential and expensive device shouldnt be seen in the same light as say an actual game or cheap subscription service. If it was actually a failure im pretty sure Sony wouldnt be wasting money on it.

"Participating in VR isn't what defines you as a leader or participant in this industry. Nintendo are blowing the PS5 and XSX away, and they are not participating in VR. VR just isn't that popular or important"

Thats not how it works. Sony is a leader in the VR industry regardless of popularity. Who else is doing it? So yeah. Not to mention you have to look at the games...I know...its an issue for xbox fans to dwell on whether games are actually any good but PSVR has good titles and PSVR2 doesnt look to disappoint either.

Hofstaderman488d ago

But I thought sales and attach rates do not matter to Microsoft @Orchard.

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S2Killinit488d ago (Edited 488d ago )

VR is so much fun. One day MS will get their act together. Don't lose hope! Hope is all you have. Keep believing…

Orchard488d ago

I'd much rather MS, Nintendo and Sony all invest in traditional games instead.

Just look at PS5 in 2023, we're getting a very small handful of traditional Sony games this year because instead they've invested in appeasing ~4% of PS customers.

S2Killinit488d ago

Nah, Sony knows how to make exclusives. We are getting so much Im falling behind in my backlog. MS on the other hand cant seem to make a single proper exclusive. Promises yes, games, no. And now, seems no VR either! What are they thinking? But, dont lose hope, one day they will fix all of it.

shinoff2183488d ago

Orchy Sony can gives us traditional games and do some vr stuff. They gonna be alright. Vr is pretty dope if you'd actually try it or you can get your parents to get you one

GamingSinceForever488d ago

Orchard you can be a real character at times. If Sony felt that PSVR didn’t meet or even exceed their expectations why would they move to release PSVR2? Sony is notorious for abandoning what they feel is a failure, but it looks like they are coming on even stronger with PSVR2.

crazyCoconuts488d ago

I don't have data to prove this, but I feel like PSVR owners purchased more games and became more locked into the platform. Also more of the games were digital so no secondary market for used games. I suspect even though there weren't as many VR owners, they ended up spending a lot of money. I know I did

Orchard488d ago

"If Sony felt that PSVR didn’t meet or even exceed their expectations why would they move to release PSVR2?"

Even Kinect had two iterations. Means nothing.

"Sony is notorious for abandoning what they feel is a failure"

I wouldn't say they are any more or less notorious than Microsoft and Nintendo. Google are the ones who are really notorious for killing things.

Godmars290488d ago

The Metaverse is something the former Facebook is trying to force while having no idea how to best implement it. Trying to use the "tried and true" method of get people using it then get it working.

How long have customer driven markets vs market driven consumers been things?

frostypants488d ago (Edited 488d ago )

That is some serious cope. AR and VR are growing just fine. MS as a rule just sucks at innovation. Always has. They never see things through. Kinect was interesting but they ultimately botched that too.

Pocahontas487d ago

No one buys this narrative give up man

EazyC487d ago

I do think there has been a disappointing uptake on VR, but the reason is :

1: The upfront cost. You're literally doubling the price of the console.
2. Lack of first party support. Getting spin offs etc makes it feel like second fiddle.

I've just preordered PSVR2 for Gran Turismo 7 alone. THAT is what I want, a full blown game in VR. I don't think I'd have bothered otherwise. Until developers start making BR games from the ground up, I won't be that interested.

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Sonic1881488d ago (Edited 488d ago )

I'm surprised that the Oculus Quest and PSVR didn't have these problems

488d ago Replies(1)
EazyC487d ago

Price alone will keep VR in the "super luxury" and "specialist" categories of gaming for a long time to come.

Abnor_Mal488d ago

Halolens as some tried to call it, R.I.P.

S2Killinit488d ago

Lol they are on the right path $:

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140°

No, Breath of the Wild Is Not Available on PC, Mobile or HoloLens

It's hard to explain how in the world this listing exists

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thenerdstash.com
bovandy1611d ago

Apple store has this all the time, I'm not clear why Microsoft would allow this.

Neonridr1610d ago

bahaha.. it's almost like they just threw in popular buzz words to show up on searches. Dear god that translation was awful.

Gridknac1610d ago

Actually you can play this on pc and run it at 4k@60fps.

Shiken1610d ago

Well in order to play it legally you still have to own the game for WiiU soooo....

specialguest1609d ago

My cousin owns it on the WiiU, but since he owes me money from 5 years ago I consider myself partial legal owner of a copy of the game

Shiken1609d ago

@specialguest

Not exactly how reality work bud lol.

Shiken1610d ago

I saw a shit mobile game advertised on facebook once that literally showed gameplay from BotW...

Like I mean really? Out of all the games to use to deceive consumers, you choose one of the biggest and most recognizable IPs in history...and from their most recent game to boot?

That is a special kind of stupid right there.

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60°

Fan-Made VR Title Brings Yu-Gi-Oh! To Life

Beta set to release later this year - but what does Pot of Greed do?

adamwparker2263d ago

YuGiOh, Magic The Gathering, Pokemon......bring them ALL TO VR!