HTC's VSports app was introduced recently at the Game Developers Conference. Owners of the HTC Vive VR headset will now have ping-pong and tennis among the games they can enjoy in virtual reality.
The VRSports app is one of the latest creations of Vive Studios. The new app, which will be released on March 14, is strikingly similar to Nintendo's Wii Sports game as both incorporate sports into a virtual reality environment. VRSports will pit users against virtual ping-pong and tennis players.
Venture Beat, which tested the new app, reported that the responsiveness of the game is commendable though it may take some getting used to. The reporter mentioned that playing ping-pong in real life is a tad easier than doing so in virtual reality because of the difficulty of timing the swing to the approach of the ball. What's more impressive about the virtual ping-pong and tennis games is that they simulate the spins and bounces of the balls accurately.
Aside from the VRSports app, Vive Studios will also release Front Defense, a first-person shooter played in a room-scale virtual environment. Engadget noted that the concept of defending something using guns is a bit old but Front Defense managed to make things interesting with the ability to hold a virtual weapon with two hands. The World War II-themed game lets the player pick up and handle different weapons including a machine gun, bazooka, grenades, and the Tommy gun. It will be available in April on Viveport Arcade.
As mentioned, the new games are playable on the HTC Vive VR headset. Those waiting for a new Vive VR headset may have to wait a little longer. Early this year, HTC denied rumors saying that it will introduce the Vive 2 at the CES 2017. Since then, nothing concrete has surfaced though rumors persist that the follow-up to the original Vive VR headset is currently in development under the codename "Oasis". The new Vive controllers did make an appearance at last year's Steam Dev Days while the Vive Tracker, a device that can turn a third-party accessory into a VR controller, was released in January, further fuelling speculations of an upcoming HTC Vive 2.
