We all know that 2016 is going to be the year of VR, but no one is talking about AR (augmented reality). Both of these technologies are right around the corner for consumers, but AR has a little catching up to do. Make no mistake, though, the technology is just as ground-breaking and just as immersive as virtual reality, and it actually has many more practical, real-world applications. One of the most imminent consumer AR headsets that we know of is Microsoft’s HoloLens. A development edition of the HoloLens is now ready, and developers can apply to pre-order theirs immediately, assuming that they have $3,000 to spend on the thing. We still don’t know what the consumer model will cost.
The headset will come with a few games. Young Conker , a platformer featuring a, well, young Conker, will be the most familiar. It appears to be an intelligently adaptive platformer where your room basically becomes the level. Fragments is a mixed reality puzzle game styled as a crime drama; you’ll interact with characters who exist in the space around you, and search about your room for hidden clues to solve a mystery. RoboRaid is something you may have seen before, as it was shown off at last year’s E3. The game has you fight off waves of robots that burst through the walls of your room using a variety of holographic weapons. HoloLens is a Windows 10 machine, so Microsoft is promising that developing for it will be a piece of cake for creative devs familiar with the platform. We’ll keep you guys updated with any news regarding the consumer model in the near future.
Source: Polygon