With the rise of interactive media, producers of entertainment content are recognizing the rapid transition to virtual reality among video games, particularly games that usually put the player in a first-person perspective. With controls as intuitive as using the human body, Virtuix, creators of the virtual reality motion Omni platform, have paired with Hero Entertainment to bring a gaming experience that surpasses the likes of first-person gaming on a dual-analog gaming controller.
Hero Entertainment will be utilizing their eSports affiliate Hero Sports to invest in this joint venture. Virtuix aims to gain plentiful insight from a company so heavily invested in gaming.
“With the Hero deal, we are teaming up with China’s premier FPS developer,” commented Jan Goetgeluk, Virtuix’s founder and CEO. “Their content combined with our Omni motion platform provides an unbeatable Active VR experience that we predict will take the China market by storm.”
Virtuix is working hard to better integrate itself in the Chinese marketplace, having received a “strategic investment” from Chinese electronic manufacturer Leyard, a multi-billion-dollar, publicly listed Beijing firm. Teaming with Leyard will likely help in manufacturing as well as help install Omni’s in some of the country’s entertainment centers and theme parks where it already has a presence.
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With guaranteed hardware comes high expectations for games, so Virtuix is fortunate to be working with a company with plenty of experience in the field. Hero Entertainment already has a foot in that door thanks to the popularity of some of its games as well as its huge mobile eSports league Hero Pro League. Virtuix aims to partner directly with Hero Sports for eSports promotion, providing more hardware and expertise to help grow the eSports trend.
“We are excited to enter China’s rapidly growing VR market together with Virtuix and to make the Omni available to our millions of players,” stated Daniel Wu, Hero’s President.
Virtuix has pre-sold a little over 5,000 units through its Kickstarter campaign and direct sales through its own website. The partnership with Hero Entertainment has even garnered the company a major contract that will more than double the company’s current sales.
With gaming that encourages consumers to engage their entire body to transform the gaming experience, the limitations are hard to encounter. With the ability to run, strafe, sit, or jump in 360 degrees to steer a video game character without restraints, immersing oneself into the virtual world will be conducive to Virtuix’s design and Hero Entertainments’ ability to develop a more realistic VR experience.