By Derrik J. Lang, Entertainment Writer
LOS ANGELES (AP) --While the lines to try virtual reality have been among the longest at the Electronic Entertainment Expo, the buzzed-about technology isn't necessarily a dominating force at the game industry's annual gathering, not when there are dozens of other queues — and immediate financial prospects — for traditional games.
Sony and Oculus VR, the startup that launched the latest VR obsession two years ago and was purchased by Facebook earlier this year for $2 billion, haven't announced plans to bring their respective headsets to market. That hasn't stopped the companies from touting VR with demonstrations in front of and behind closed doors at E3.
There are only a handful of VR creations from smaller developers on display at E3, such as "Words With Friends" co-creator Paul Bettner's cartoony platformer "Lucky's Tale," indie developer Piotr Iwanicki's time-bending shooter "Superhot" and former Microsoft creative director Adam Orth's space odyssey "Adr1ft."
"I've always wanted to work in VR," Orth said. "From the very first moment I had the idea for this game, I said it's gonna be in VR. What surprised me the most were the emotions that I feel from actually being in the world. You're able to have these moments where the player goes, 'Oh, wow!' They're not manufactured at all.'"
Richard Marks, senior director of research and development at Sony Computer Entertainment America, has been showing off the latest demos for Sony's prototype Project Morpheus headset, including a street luge game that simulates careening down a traffic-filled roadway as players lie on a beanbag in the real world.
"I think retailers are still struggling to wrap their minds around it," said Marks, who unveiled Morpheus at the Game Developers Conference in March. "E3 is just a different place. The developers at GDC were all excited to make stuff for it. It's so new. By next year, people will have had more time to think about its commercial viability."
Sony's rivals remain less optimistic about the technology, despite the strides that Oculus and the PlayStation maker have made with sharpness and latency in their headsets.
Phil Spencer, head of Microsoft's Xbox division, and Reggie Fils-Aime, president at Nintendo of America, voiced concerns about the potential of VR following their E3 briefings. Microsoft and Nintendo, which infamously released the failed Virtual Boy headset in 1995, have yet to unveil their own takes on VR.
"For us, it's all about fun gameplay," said Fils-Aime. "That's what we want. We want a fun, compelling experience. Right now, the technology isn't quite there yet, in our view. Certainly, it's something we're looking at. We look at a wide range of technologies. When it's there and enables a fun experience, we'll be there, too."
Publishers like Ubisoft and Electronic Arts have acknowledged that they're tinkering with VR behind the scenes, but their showy E3 presentations and staggering booths inside the Los Angeles Convention Center this year haven't been strictly dedicated to games intended for screens that won't be attached to gamers' noggins.
Patrick Soderlund, executive vice president at EA Studios, thinks it's only a matter of time.
"We're deep into VR," he noted. "All you have to do is to put the Oculus or Morpheus headset onto your head and realize that VR is now finally at the point where it's going to be viable. We can now do the things — and more — from 'The Lawnmower Man,' which came out 20 years ago. It has to work. I can't imagine it not working."
SAG-AFTRA Calls For A Strike Against “League of Legends”
"League of Legends" is caught in the middle of a dispute between Hollywood's actors union and an audio company that provides voiceover services for the blockbuster online multiplayer game.
The Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists called a strike against "League of Legends" on Tuesday, arguing that Formosa Interactive attempted to get around the ongoing video game strike by hiring non-union actors to work on an unrelated title.
Formosa tried to "cancel" the unnamed video game, which was covered by the strike, shortly after the start of the work stoppage, SAG-AFTRA said. The union said when Formosa learned it could not cancel the game, the company "secretly transferred the game to a shell company and sent out casting notices for 'non-union' talent only." In response, the union's interactive negotiating committee voted unanimously to file an unfair labor practice charge against the company with the National Labor Relations Board and to call a strike against "League of Legends" as part of that charge.
"League of Legends" is one of Formosa's most well-known projects. The company provides voiceover services for the game, according to SAG-AFTRA.
SAG-AFTRA has accused Formosa of interfering with protections that allow performers to form or join a union and prevent those performers from being discriminated against — a move the union called "egregious violations of core tenets of labor law."
Formosa did not immediately respond to a request for comment. "League of Legends" developer Riot Games said that the company "has nothing to do" with the union's complaint.
"We want to be clear: Since becoming a union project five years ago, 'League of Legends' has only asked Formosa to engage with union... Read More