Global esports company ESL will host the world’s first virtual reality gaming tournament broadcast later in November, giving esports fanatics an immersive view of the action through VR headsets.
Presented in a partnership with virtual reality entertainment platform Sliver.tv, ESL’s upcoming broadcast will feature gameplay from Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and League of Legends and live stat-tracking with VR overlays will keep viewers updated on tournament standings.
Streaming live from the upcoming Intel Extreme Masters tournament in Oakland, California, ESL’s premiere VR broadcast offers players a 360-degree view of the venue and its featured competitors. When experiencing the event through VR headsets, viewers can expect to see real-time cutaways, replays, and stats that track player kill-death ratios, scoring streaks, and other key factors over the course of each match.
During breaks in the action, viewers can observe the bustling show floor via either a bird’s-eye view or through a unique real-time camera feed that captures the action from a first-person perspective. Supported VR platforms range from gyroscope-equipped mobile devices to dedicated headsets like GearVR, Oculus Rift, and HTC Vive. Viewers across all platforms can access the live feed through the Sliver.tv app.
“Sliver.tv is helping us raise the bar for VR live-streaming with VRLiveStats,” ESL Product Manager Stuart Ewen said in a statement. “Having a real-time in-depth look at everything that happens in a CS:GO match is something unique to a VR broadcast. Now, viewers not only have a bird’s-eye view of all the action and a first-person feed, but also all of the statistics to put together a high-level view of how a round or match unfolds. All of this is only possible in a VR environment.”
Sliver.tv CEO and co-founder Mitch Liu adds: “We’re thrilled to work with ESL to showcase our VRLiveStats technology. Our vision is to transform the esports spectator landscape forever, and incorporating augmented live stats into our VR 360 live-streams of CS:GO and LoL is a big step towards this vision. Fans around the world can now access valuable game stats and information in real-time, all within a natural, immersive VR experience.”
The Intel Extreme Masters tournament kicks off on November 19 at Oracle Arena in Oakland.
Mozilla is giving Firefox’s Smart Window two new tricks. If you haven’t tried it yet, Smart Window is an optional AI mode in Firefox with a built-in chat that helps you get things done while you browse. With this update, it can fill out online forms using details from your tabs and keep an eye on websites for you.
Tired of typing the same details into every form?
The absolutely absurd idea of putting a touchscreen display on a mouse isn't exactly new. Turtle Beach already did it with its Command Series MC7, which features a 2.25-inch control screen. But apparently, even that wasn't ridiculous enough for Arctic Fox Technologies. Its new Super Mouse looks like someone took the chunky old Atari ST mouse, slapped a touchscreen and scroll wheel on it, and called it an upgrade.
The result is a rather unusual-looking mouse that is now on Kickstarter, starting at $199. And as ridiculous as it looks, some of its features are genuinely intriguing.
Apple is less than a day away from launching its highly anticipated OLED MacBook Pro with a touch-sensitive screen. But it appears that the upgrade is going to cost a pretty penny. According to a report by Bloomberg, Apple is reportedly eyeing a starting price of $2,899 for the 14-inch MacBook Pro, while the 16-inch version could start at $3,399 in the US.
"At $2,899, the 14-inch model would mark the highest starting price for a new MacBook Pro model, surpassing the $2,799 Apple charged for a 17-inch version introduced in 2006," says the report. The report claims that Apple is targeting a minimum price hike of $400 for its upcoming redesigned 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models.