The Ghost Howls

FEBRUARY 18, 2025

Im back in Italy, tired but happy. More info (Mentra and Vuzix partner on AugmentOS) More info (AugmentOS official website) News worth a mention (Image by Sony Interactive Entertainment) PSVR 2 had great holiday sales numbers Thanks to the huge price discount from $550 to $350, the sales of PSVR 2 had a huge boost in 2024.

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Road to VR

NOVEMBER 15, 2017

(2017), is dialing in on CS:GO territory with its recently released trailer which shows all of the trappings of the popular PC shooter, replete with Italy-inspired map, AWPs, and bomb planting galore. The game is slated for a 2018 with its release targeting cross-play for PSVR, Oculus Rift and HTC Vive.

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The Ghost Howls

MARCH 4, 2025

Today is the last day of the Carnival celebrations, and there are many people having fun in the streets here in Italy. When a few weeks ago, Sony started discounting it, the device started to sell much better , so it seems to me a great decision that now they have applied a permanent discount.

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The Ghost Howls

FEBRUARY 13, 2023

I’m back in Italy! More info (Quest 3 coming in 2023) More info (New layoffs planned at Meta) Other relevant news (Image by Sony Interactive Entertainment) New information on PSVR 2 is unveiled Sony Interactive Entertainment is keeping growing the hype for the upcoming launch of the PSVR 2.

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Road to VR

MARCH 11, 2020

COVID-19 has now spread to 114 countries and territories, with China, Italy, Iran, and Korea seeing the greatest number of cases so far. Big players like Oculus, Sony, and HTC have used the event to showcase their latest VR hardware and content. E3 has long been among a handful of key conferences for the VR industry.

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The Ghost Howls

JANUARY 29, 2021

The story goes back to the end of 2016 when Sony proposed us to integrate their SED-100A, that is their holographic waveguide, into a pair of glasses suitable for prolonged use : comfortable, reliable, and light. How is the XR ecosystem in Italy, and how does it compare to the one that is in other countries?

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The Ghost Howls

MARCH 20, 2023

I’m back in Italy! First of all, Sony CFO Hiroki Totoki has said that he thinks that PSVR 2 may sell more than the 5–6 million units that the original PSVR sold. This shows that Sony is pretty bullish about its device, and it is confident that it will be appreciated by a good share of its base market.

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The Ghost Howls

SEPTEMBER 3, 2023

PSVR 2 Hero view of PSVR 2 (Image by Sony Interactive Entertainment) I had big hopes for PSVR 2. I’m pretty sure that Sony is waiting the next few months to make some moves, there’s still the Black Friday and the Christmas Holiday that have to happen, but at the moment I do not see this device as disruptive to our ecosystem.

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The Ghost Howls

AUGUST 10, 2020

Image by Sony). It is not clear, and we hope that Sony will clarify his.(Theoretically Theoretically yes, but Sony always talked about the compatibility of old games with PS5 + old PSVR, not also about new games). These people must preferably stay in Italy, but we are also open to remote collaborations. Some XR fun.

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The Ghost Howls

JUNE 26, 2023

More info Sony is working on reprojection improvements for PSVR 2 One of the biggest issues of PSVR 2 is the reprojection that is causing ghosting and other artifacts. According to the creators of Hubris, Sony is working on solving the issue , but he said nothing about when this update will be released.

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The Ghost Howls

JANUARY 20, 2021

And in fact, some weeks ago Sony has made everyone understand that it has delayed the launch of the PSVR 2 because the market is not there yet. Sony believes in VR, and we definitely believe at some point in the future, VR will represent a meaningful component of interactive entertainment. PlayStation believes in VR. PSVR headset.

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The Ghost Howls

JANUARY 16, 2021

Sony and Verizon have partnered to create the next generation of VR concerts and have announced this partnership at CES. For now, kudos to Sony, Verizon and all the others that have collaborated for this amazing project! Google has partnered with FCA (Fiat Chrysler Automobiles… do you know that Fiat is from my city in Italy?)

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The Ghost Howls

MAY 23, 2023

So the next 2–3 weeks are going to be crazy for me, so sorry if I will make the comments on the newsletter a bit shorter than usual. On the personal side, I’m a bit devasted by the flood that happened in central Italy.

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The Ghost Howls

MARCH 20, 2022

Today, while I’m packing my stuff up to go back to Italy, I want to tell you a few words about my experience there, and if I think it has been worth going. I was not so sure I wanted to go, because from Italy to Austin is a long trip, but I decided to try this new adventure… and well, I’m more than happy of having done that.

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The Ghost Howls

JANUARY 25, 2021

Regarding the Valve Index , GabeN explained that it went out of stock because one of the needed components came from Wuhan (yes, exactly that city…) and during the pandemic, Sony and Microsoft got all the supplies , so Valve had enormous problems in manufacturing the device. And it kickstarts with amazing Italian XR professionals as speakers!

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The Ghost Howls

FEBRUARY 9, 2020

Sony closes its game studio in Manchester. According to GamesIndustry.biz, Sony is closing its Manchester-based game studio, that it opened in 2015 to produce ‘AAA’ PSVR exclusives. It is to be understood if the projects it was working on have been scrapped or they have been transferred to another studio internal to Sony.

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The Ghost Howls

JULY 4, 2022

Inflation here in Italy is ramping up, and the impression I have is that we are entering into a recession phase. Then, PSVR Without Parole has reported that Sony has learned from the errors of the PSVR 1, and so it has made the cable of the PSVR 2 detachable. And all these problems are also creating unfavorable economic conditions.

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The Ghost Howls

OCTOBER 12, 2018

They were mostly made by Italian indie developers and startuppers , but there was also the presence of some big brands like Sony that made people try Astro Bot and Moss with PSVR. The first startup that I interviewed has been AnotheReality , that is an interesting VR company in Milan, Italy. Anyway, I had a pleasant day in Milan.

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The Ghost Howls

NOVEMBER 29, 2021

If you were wondering, we in Italy do not celebrate Thanksgiving, but I would love one year to participate in its celebration hosted by an American family. The visuals would be provided by two 4K OLED microdisplays from Sony. Mr. Kuo says that the headset should be released in Q4 2022.

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The Ghost Howls

AUGUST 15, 2021

August, 15th is a special day in Italy: it is called “Ferragosto”, and people go out with their friends and families and grill some BBQ in the parks, have picnics, or just chill together. Almost no one works, and people are focused on enjoying good food and good company.

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The Ghost Howls

MAY 4, 2020

While in Italy we get ready for the “Phase 2” of the lockdown, I write the best AR/VR news of the week just for you! Sony reveals finger tracking technology for controllers. In a research paper released by Sony and presented at CHI2020 it is possible to see the work that Sony is doing in finger tracking inside VR controllers.

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The Ghost Howls

APRIL 13, 2020

This week Sony has showcased the new DualShock controller for the PS5, dubbed DualSens. PSVR2 will surely have its dedicated controllers, but since Sony is trying to guarantee retro-compatibility of games (especially gems like AstroBot), this headset should also be able to work with the DualSens controller. Funny link. Funny link.

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The Ghost Howls

OCTOBER 26, 2020

Coronavirus is back in Italy and from yesterday we’re having new restrictions like a night curfew, some kind of shops closed, etc… I hope that you and the people you love are safe. Sony will give PS4 camera adapters for PS5 for free. Sony has answered this question in the weekend.

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The Ghost Howls

OCTOBER 1, 2024

It was also the week when I returned to Italy, and eating my mother’s pasta again made me excited, too. The past week was the week of the Meta Connect, with all its amazing announcements that made all of us excited. Next year, I should eat my mother’s pasta while watching the Meta Connect to have double excitement!

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The Ghost Howls

MAY 11, 2020

Various months ago, Jason Rubin told the press that he was investigating an exchange of exclusive titles with Sony : his purpose was the one of bringing some of the best PSVR titles, like Resident Evil 7, to the Oculus Store. Well, because it MAY be the sign of something bigger happening.

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UploadVR Between Realities podcast

MAY 4, 2017

Google and Sony both have intellectual property around waveguide designs similar in nature. Essilor is the world’s largest lens manufacturer, and recently merged with Luxottica of Italy, the world’s largest eye-frames company. They recently closed a $22M round co-led by Sony and Foxconn.

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The Ghost Howls

FEBRUARY 24, 2020

The damn coronavirus has arrived in my city in northern Italy, but I’m still alive and kicking, reporting you the most interesting XR news of the week! More info (Valve Index availability) More info (Facebook and Sony pulling out from GDC). At this point, I wonder if GDC may be canceled as the MWC.

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Peter Graham

MARCH 11, 2020

This has forced severely affected countries like Italy to shut down all but essential travel on health or professional grounds. GDC saw a similar effect when Facebook, Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) and more begin dropping out.

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Los Angeles Conference Italy Entertainment 70

The Ghost Howls

MARCH 2, 2020

The damn coronavirus continues to impact all our lives: the fact that many countries are applying restrictions on flights to and from Italy is, for example, creating various nuisances to my job. Coronavirus impacts headsets production and kills F8 and GDC. But it’s not over: Facebook has teased other big news for the future.

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The Ghost Howls

NOVEMBER 26, 2024

I’m back in Turin, Italy! The glasses should work with Google Gemini AI and have the following features: Processors : Snapdragon AR1 and NXP Camera : 12MP with Sony IMX681 Battery : 155mAh Weight : 50 grams The first batch of production should be around 500,000 units , with more to come if the glasses prove to be successful.

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The Ghost Howls

NOVEMBER 9, 2020

Image by Sony). HoloLens 2 availability has been expanded to 15 new regions : Italy (YESSS!), Header Image by Sony). I don’t feel alone because I have so many virtual friends and colleagues with which I speak every day, and VR helps me to travel wherever I want. Top news of the week. PS5 is a great console, but not for VR yet.

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ARPost

JULY 23, 2021

Where: Turin, Italy (and Online). When: October 17 – October 21. Turin becomes the hotspot for anyone passionate about VFX computer graphics.

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The Ghost Howls

NOVEMBER 27, 2023

Italy won the Tennis Davis Cup, and that was pretty cool to see (the match between Sinner and Djokovic was just incredible). Who will it be… Sony or Meta? And talking about “cool” things (pun intended), today I’m traveling to Helsinki, Finland, where I hope to have a great time at MatchXR. Will we meet there?

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The Ghost Howls

OCTOBER 30, 2022

It is also promoting the metaverse everywhere, also on mainstream media: yesterday a friend of mine who doesn’t work in tech told me to have seen a TV spot here in Italy about the metaverse. Meta has done great hardware like Quest 2 and has done a lot (truly A LOT) to accelerate the consumer adoption of XR.

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XR Today - Mixed Reality tag

SEPTEMBER 6, 2024

Leading up to this year’s event, major XR device vendors such as HTC VIVE, PICO, Sony, and others are leveraging what is being perceived as an increasing level of hype stemming from Mark Zuckberg’s upcoming showcase. September has arrived, and the month is commonly an important one for the XR industry.

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XR Today - Virtual Reality

JULY 29, 2024

EssilorLuxottica, a multinational corporation based in Italy and France, is already working with Meta on developing Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses. This chipset will reportedly be integrated into Samsung and Sony headsets, Play for Dream MR and Immersed’s Visor. Based on LSEG data, this stake could be valued at $4.73

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The Ghost Howls

OCTOBER 10, 2022

Among other things, I have written a fantastic post about the VR concerts worth millions of dollars that Pico is doing in China ; I have been interviewed in a podcast by Moonbase ; and this Saturday I will be close to Turin (Italy) speaking at a science and technology festival about my work in immersive concerts.

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