One of the biggest VR stories of the year so far is LG’s entry into the market revealed at GDC.
We were the first to go hands-on with the early kit and found it to be roughly on par with the HTC Vive, though its specifications suggest the headset could potentially exceed the visuals seen inside its SteamVR cousin. In addition, the headset includes a slick flip up feature that would make switching between the real world and VR much easier.
We’ve been itching for more information about the headset and recently got some questions answered by LG. Among the information shared is plans for a second developer kit the company plans to release in larger quantities.
“Unfortunately, the first dev kit was limited in quantity,” an LG representative wrote in an email. “We would like to ask the developers for their patience. However, in the second dev kit, we will prepare more quantity and prepare them for distribution to many developers.”
More tantalizing, however, is the promise of trying to reduce the screen door effect through both the lenses and panels used — with this second kit providing a “much better experience through various improvements.”
We also asked whether the headset would ultimately be compatible with content from Viveport and Oculus. According to LG, they’ve “not reviewed compatibility” with those stores yet, though the headset will be “100% compatible with SteamVR. We think Steam is [the] most powerful and broad platform in the world.”
We would hope for compatibility with Viveport at least, and even Vive users can use a hack to get access to Oculus content — but given the newness of this industry we try not to count any chickens before they are hatched.
We can’t wait to hear more from LG about this forthcoming kit and will keep you updated.
