Ubisoft hypes up Trackmania Turbo’s VR capabilities with 360-degree video app

Someone should follow the money to see if Ubisoft chief executive Yves Guillemot has invested heavily in Dramamine or a barf-bag company, because his publisher is preparing to release a game that I’m not sure anyone will have the stomach to handle in virtual reality.

Trackmania Turbo, the attention deficit disorder of racing games, is bringing VR support with it when it launches for PC (as well as PlayStation 4 and Xbox One without VR) next month. In an effort pump up the excitement for VR Trackmania, Ubisoft is turning to a 360-degree videos on YouTube and a free iOS and Android app to convey the sensation of bolting across an impossible race course at unholy speeds. These kinds of VR-light experiences are crucial marketing tools because — while tech adviser Digi-Capital predicts the virtual and augmented reality markets will reach $120 billion by 2020 — no one making hardware or software for this burgeoning sector has figured out and easy and effective way to demonstrate the technology to people who haven’t physically tried it before. Even a savvy company like Sony has gone onstage and faltered while trying to show off its PlayStation VR.