VR or Virtual Reality gaming has been one of the biggest stories of this year’s E3, with major publishers and hardware developers coming out strong in support of a technology that many had worried would remain an expensive niche medium like previous attempts at VR gaming had been. So far several publishers have emerged with exciting new titles and VR-enabled versions of mainstays like Resident Evil and Star Trek being showcased to an enthusiastic response from crowds both present at the show and watching from home.
Now, add two more big series to the growing roster, as the Batman Arkham series and Star Wars Battlefront have both been teased for upcoming VR titles. The teasers offer up little more than brief glimpses of familiar imagery over iconic music and the reveal of “yes, this is a VR title,” the commitment of such prominent gaming/pop-culture franchises to VR is still a surprising sign given the newness of the technology – and it will likely be greeted as a big show of industry confidence in the medium sure to be agreeable with fans who’ve already become early adopters of the format.
While the prospective Batman Arkham title doesn’t offer anything in the way of gameplay, favoring instead a series of closeups of (presumably) Batman’s cape and armor with accompanying Joker narration, it ends with a close-up of the eyes of the Caped Crusader’s cowl lighting up and glowing, implying that players will experience gameplay from the first-person perspective of Batman himself. This is the second major Batman-related title to be shown off at E3 so far, the first being Telltale’s episodic narrative title.
The Star Wars Battlefront tease, on the other hand, gives potential players much more to chew on, including a quick reveal of the view from inside an X-Wing cockpit and a title: Star Wars Battlefront X-Wing VR Mission – confirming the game will be part of the popular Battlefront series and allow players to pilot an X-Wing from a first-person view. The reveal came mere hours after the similarly hyped reveal of Star Trek: Bridge Crew, which places players in the role of a Starfleet crew member.
Multiple console and PC/Steam-enabled versions of the VR format have already been released, with Microsoft said to be planning a VR setup of their own as well. While less likely given the history of the company, much of the industry is still keeping an eye on shocking (if true) rumors from last month that gaming stalwart Nintendo may have delayed its upcoming NX console in order to add VR functionality.
Screen Rant will have more details on both the Batman Arkham VR and Star Wars Battlefront VR games as they made available.
Source: IGN
