For anyone waiting for groundbreaking augmented reality or virtual reality news from Apple yesterday, sorry, you’re still going to wait. But the announcements that came from the mothership (pun intended, since this presentation came from the new starship-like Cupertino campus) show the sort of incremental support that AR needs as it prepares to grow.
Tuesday, Apple’s announcements for its ARKit augmented reality tech included The Machines, a new game from Directive Games and support of several existing apps. We didn’t see anything groundbreaking, but that Apple was willing to give precious stage time to not just two games but small updates that add AR capability to existing apps (MLB At Bat and Warhammer 40K: Freeblade).
I found this encouraging. MLB At Bat is popular, but Freeblade hasn’t found the critical mass of other mobile games yet, ranking 330 in action games and 139 in RPGs (according to tracking firm App Annie). Considering the huge number of options in the iOS store, Freeblade has made a solid showing. But it’s no Pokémon Go or Clash of Clans.
Yet Apple still felt Freeblade merited a presence on the stage thanks to AR. It singled out a game from a smaller studio, Pixel Toys, and gave it a presence at one of its major events. That’s invaluable exposure (it’s got me interested in downloading this game, to see what Apple finds so exciting about it).
All because Pixel Toys is ready to tinker with ARKit — as I’m sure dozens (likely hundreds) of other studios are ready, and eager, to also do.
For AR/VR coverage, send news tips to Dean Takahashi and Jeff Grubb (for those that cross over into PC gaming). Please send guest post submissions to Rowan Kaiser. Please be sure to visit our AR/VR Channel.
—Jason Wilson, GamesBeat managing editor
P.S. Are you ready for some football … in virtual reality?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZ-TI6498-4
From GamesBeat
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The Machines is Directive Games’ augmented reality game for iOS
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Beyond GamesBeat
Learn A New Language With MondlyVR, Now On Daydream
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Nintendo Still Not Ready For VR, Not Enough “Truly Fun” Experiences
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CAA Signs First Fully Virtual Reality Director In Kevin Cornish
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