Professional gaming has always been a serious pursuit that attracted dedicated players and a large audience, and with immersive technologies becoming more pervasive, the esports crowd is increasingly embracing VR.

“For the first time in generations, we’re witnessing the birth of a new major sport, and it’s happening with unprecedented speed,” says ESPN The Magazine, Senior Editor, Megan Greenwall.

This trend is in large part spurred by hardware manufacturers, who recognize that without “sticky” content that keeps punters coming back and hooks them for longer, they are unlikely to reach consumer adoption critical mass anytime soon.

VR esports are the latest rage, especially for location-based entertainment
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“VR esports are the latest rage, especially for location-based entertainment. The Omni motion platform adds the physical engagement of walking and running to the gaming experience and that physical element combined with multiplayer gameplay and competition results in high repeat play. We’re not a stand-in-place VR attraction that players try just once. Our core players come back every week,” says Jan Goetgeluk, founder and CEO of Virtuix.

Virtuix is a Texas-based start-up founded in 2013 best known for developing the Omni VR treadmill. They raised over $20M and have shipped more than 3,000 Omni systems to 500+ commercial entertainment venues around the world. Recently, HTC and HP announced a partnership with the company, putting down a $50,000 Prize pool for ESPORTS tournaments in 2019.

VR hardware manufacturers recognize that without 'sticky' content that keeps punters coming back and hooks them for longer, they are unlikely to reach consumer adoption critical mass anytime soon
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Esports is a cloud-based competitive gaming platform that offers weekly and monthly prize contests where players at participating venues in 45 countries compete for the top spot on global leaderboards and earn cash prizes. As part of that, Omniverse tournaments are four-day contests each month that feature two-player teams battling in one of several games, with the top 10 teams winning a combination of cash and prizes such as VIVE systems. Virtuix has held several esports events so far, including a tournament at CES in Las Vegas and, in conjunction with Huawei, a tournament in Shenzhen, China, that reached 11 million viewers.

During 2018 there were over 2.6 billion hours of esports content consumed globally across a multitude of online platforms
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“Virtuix has built a competitive gaming experience that requires both videogaming skills and physical fitness. Such active esports offer a unique way for entertainment venues to reach a new audience of gamers and build a community of frequent players,” says Joanna Popper, Global Head of Virtual Reality for Location Based Entertainment at HP

The first Omniverse global competition of 2019 will be held on January 24-27, features two-player teams battling for the highest score in the popular first-person shooter game Omni Arena. Interested players can find more information and sign up here.

And the move towards investing in esports as a way to advance broader VR adoption is far from restricted to commercial players. UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), the UK Government’s non-departmental public body for innovation and research, recently awarded £4m to the Weavr Consortium which will fund a project exploring a cross-reality, data driven personalised viewing experience for esports.

Esports is competitive video gaming at a professional level which has a current global audience of around 380 million people
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“Esports is competitive video gaming at a professional level which has a current global audience of around 380 million people. The esports audience is the ‘audience of the future’ here and now with 80% of the demographic being made up of 18-35 year olds,” explains Margot James MP, Minister for Digital and the Creative Industries. “During 2018 there were over 2.6 billion hours of esports content consumed globally across a multitude of online platforms including; Twitch, Youtube, Mixer, Facebook, Twitter etc. As well as a wide variety of consumption points such as live audience, VR and traditional single screen content.”

The consortium – which consists of ESL UK (the largest esports company in the world), York University, dock10 and Cybula – promises to transform the experiences of millions of fans not only in esports, but in traditional sports broadcast and live entertainment more broadly.

The consortium – which consists of ESL UK, York University, dock10 and Cybula – promises to transform the experiences of millions of fans not only in esports, but in traditional sports broadcast
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ESL will be focusing on the overall project management, utilisation of their esports events for proof of concept and the user experience feedback for those tests. University of York will be bringing their expertise in machine learning, UX design, Human Computer Interaction & research into the convergent space between games, interactive media & TV to help sculpt the overall framework. dock10

will leverage their production facilities to test the framework during ESL’s live esports events. Focal Point VR will contribute their live 8k 360° video capture hardware & software with immersive content studio REWIND helping to create the VR & XR apps & environments for the viewer experience. Cybula’s performance computing clusters will be utilised for big data analysis & delivery.

“At the forefront of an emerging and rapidly growing esports industry, we’re in a unique position to have insight in the live viewing habits and interactivity of young, tech savvy and early adopting audiences” said James Dean, MD ESL UK. “Weavr will create cross-reality viewing experiences allowing fans to immerse themselves in high fidelity statistics, visualisations and data-driven stories that give them deeper insights into live matches, enabling viewers to switch seamlessly between virtual and physical viewing, as well as utilise second screens to watch immersive esports content on the move.”

This Article was originally published on VRScout

Esports Continues Its Push Towards VR via @alicebonasio https://t.co/frhFsgDrJe pic.twitter.com/5b7T3hxy2c

— VRScout (@VRScout) January 23, 2019

For companies looking to get into Immersive technologies our VR Consultancy service offers comprehensive support in strategic deployment of Virtual, Augmented and Mixed Reality

Alice Bonasio is a VR Consultant and Tech Trends’ Editor in Chief. She also regularly writes for Fast Company, Ars Technica, Quartz, Wired and others. Connect with her on LinkedIn and follow @alicebonasio on Twitter.

The post Esports Pushing VR Adoption appeared first on Tech Trends.

Soylent lets you dodge those pesky food cravings.

We’ve all been there. As the long months of winter drag on, getting home after another long commute through the cold and the rain. You turn on the news, and switch it straight off, because Brexit is still not a bad dream after all. It’s ever so tempting to dial for that takeaway or reach for the comfort food, but it’s only January and you’re trying hard to be good.

As @Schwarzenegger will tell you, there is simply no magic pill where it comes to keeping fit
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As Arnold Schwarzenegger will tell you, there is simply no magic pill where it comes to keeping fit, but there are things that can help you stay on the right track. One of those things is not being hungry while making decisions about what to eat, and that’s where drinks like Soylent come in handy. It’s a ready-to-drink high protein concoction that has been specially designed to give you the nutrients you need while avoiding those pesky cravings.

There is no magic pill. There are no shortcuts. There are only reps, reps, reps. To be your best, you’re going to have to work your butt off. But we are here to help at @weareladder. Join us: https://t.co/O45VLvWEXt #lifeisaworkout #thereisnomagicpill pic.twitter.com/HsTAkDpIjy

— Arnold (@Schwarzenegger) January 3, 2019

I like it specially because it doesn’t need be refrigerated, so you can keep an emergency bottle in your bag or car for whenever the need arises. I took it with me on a massive road trip a while back and was pretty fine with not eating anything else, plus it’s available in a coffee blend that helped to keep me alert without resorting to energy drinks, most of which I can’t stand. As a bonus, it’s also a really environmentally-friendly product.

“Soylent has been developed with the planet in mind. A vegan and nut-free drink, it uses plant-based protein to ensure less water is utilized and less CO2 is produced compared to the process to source protein from livestock. The innovative drink design also reduces food waste – with a year-long shelf life from the manufacture and no need for refrigeration until opened, Soylent is able to stay fresh and tasting great for longer,” explained Andrew Thomas, VP of Brand Marketing for Soylent.

Soylent has been developed with the planet in mind. A vegan and nut-free drink, it uses plant-based protein to ensure less water is utilized and less CO2 is produced compared to the process to source protein from livestock
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Now Soylent announced a partnership with Endpoint team, supporting them in their campaign to become the first UK esports league team to reach the global top 30. Just a few days ago, the team competed in the ESL CS:GO Premiership Winter Finals, the world’s longest-running professional CS:GO league which they’ve dominated for the past two years and saw them pip top esports teams to the post in the Counterstrike tournament.

“Soylent was developed to help people dodge food voids, which is our way of describing those situations in which you make unwise food decisions you’ll likely regret. Food Voids are usually borne out of a lack of time to find a healthy meal, so it was a natural fit for us to help fuel the Endpoint’s success with our ready-to-drink meals, which contain the nutrition they need when training and competing,” says Thomas. “The Endpoint team is on the cusp of becoming one of the most successful esports teams in the UK, so this partnership was a no-brainer.”

Research conducted by Soylent in the UK  uncovered that almost a quarter of gamers skip one meal every day, especially when in the heat of (an online) battle or the midst of an epic quest. Currently Endpoint have a gaming house in the north of England which they use as a boot camping facility, and last year Soylent fuelled an Endpoint boot camp which took place 10 days before Insomnia Gaming Tournament 2018 in which the team championed.

It’s ever so tempting to dial for that takeaway or reach for the comfort food, but it’s only January and you’re trying hard to be good
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Research conducted by Soylent in the UK uncovered that almost a quarter of gamers skip one meal every day
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Soylent was originally developed in Silicon Valley and has been doing really well in the U.S. (In January it was the top grocery product on Amazon.com) being stocked by Walmart, 7-11, Kroger and other retail giants. You can now also order Soylent in the UK via Amazon priced at £39.00 for a case of 12 bottles (£3.25 per bottle).

Alice Bonasio is a VR and Digital Transformation Consultant and Tech Trends’ Editor in Chief. She also regularly writes for Fast Company, Ars Technica, Quartz, Wired and others. Connect with her on LinkedIn and follow @alicebonasio on Twitter.

The post Healthy High-Tech Fuel For Your New Year’s Resolutions appeared first on Tech Trends.