Pokémon Go’s live events drove nearly $250 million in tourism revenue last year

Photo by Dani Deahl / The Verge Niantic Labs says its live events for augmented reality hit Pokémon Go contributed $247 million in tourism revenue last year across three cities. The announcement on Wednesday was paired with the new schedule for 2020 ... more - theverge

Oculus is dropping the Oculus Go from its business platform

Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge Oculus’ virtual reality business software program is dropping support for the budget Go headset, pushing users toward the fuller-featured Quest. UploadVR noted today that the “Oculus for Business” page no longer ... more - theverge

While you wait for Half-Life: Alyx, catch up on every classic Half-Life game for free

Half-Life: Alyx will launch in March 2020 for PC-based VR headsets, but right now, Valve is giving gamers the opportunity to catch up on (almost) everything Half-Life- related at no expense. For the next two months, each of the Half-Life games will be ... more - theverge

Lenovo is building another standalone VR headset

Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge Lenovo hasn’t made the best bets in virtual reality so far, but it seems like the company’s about to try again — according to a new FCC filing for the “Lenovo VR3030S,” which company docs identify as an upcoming ... more - theverge

Valve says it’s ‘absolutely not working’ on Left 4 Dead 3

Valve Valve has put an end to rumors about Left 4 Dead 3 being in development, by stating that the studio hasn’t been working on it for years. “We’ve seen rumors to this effect for the last couple of months,” Valve said in a statement to IGN . “We did ... more - theverge

Facebook gives Oculus Go permanent $50 price cut

Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge Facebook has permanently cut the price of its Oculus Go VR headset. “Oculus Go is now priced at $149, which is equal to a $50 price drop,” the company tells UploadVR . “We are applying comparable discounts ... more - theverge

The Vive Pro just got $200 cheaper ahead of Half-Life: Alyx

HTC has cut the price of its high-end Vive Pro virtual reality headset by $200, making one of the most expensive big-name headsets a little more affordable. The price cut applies to three different packages. The Vive Pro headset alone — without the tracking ... more - theverge

This startup wants to put a tiny display on a contact lens

A new Silicon Valley startup is trying to build the “world’s first true smart contact lens,” putting a screen right against your eye that can enhance your vision of the world. The startup, Mojo Vision, showed off a very early prototype in meetings at ... more - theverge

Your iPhone XS or XR battery case could be due a free replacement from Apple

Photo by James Bareham / The Verge Apple has launched a new replacement program for its iPhone XS, XS Max, and XR smart battery cases, after charging issues were discovered in some devices. According to the company, some of the cases may have a problem ... more - theverge

Pokémon Go never went away — 2019 was its most lucrative year ever

James Bareham / The Verge Pokémon Go , once a viral sensation all over the globe, hasn’t fallen off the map. In fact, the augmented reality game is earning more money than it ever has before. According to mobile analytics firm Sensor Tower, Pokémon Go ... more - theverge

Panasonic’s VR glasses support HDR and look pretty steampunk

The problem with VR headsets is that they still all look like VR headsets — glorified ski goggles that shut you off from the world. I’m not going to say Panasonic has solved the matter altogether with its own VR glasses at CES this year, but the project ... more - theverge

Watch Samsung show off its robotic BB-8 lookalike Ballie, AR glasses, and exoskeleton demo

Samsung’s CES 2020 press conference on Monday featured robots, exoskeletons, AI, augmented reality, smart cities, and basically every other technology category you could think of. The star of the show was Ballie, a robotic sphere with a passing resemblance ... more - theverge

Watch Sony unveil its Vision-S concept car and reveal the new PS5 logo

Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge Sony’s CES 2020 press conference was a brief one, but it did have some interesting news. The company revealed the PlayStation 5 (aka the PS5) logo for the first time, although we didn’t get to see what the next-gen game ... more - theverge

Nvidia’s new GeForce driver includes highly-requested max frame rate feature

Photo by Nick Statt / The Verge Nvidia is releasing a new GeForce game ready driver in time for CES 2020 today. While Nvidia’s 2019 driver updates have included some pretty big features, today’s update includes the highly-requested max frame rate feature. ... more - theverge

Beeple on creating a zombie Mark Zuckerberg and flesh-eating Baby Yoda to examine the times

Mike Winkelmann works in a room with side-by-side 65-inch TVs constantly tuned to CNN and Fox News and on computers that are suspended above a bathtub because their 12 combined graphics cards generate too much heat. It’s an odd setup, but perhaps it ... more - theverge

New Apple patent imagines virtual speakers that can simulate sound from anywhere in the room

Image: USPTO Apple has just been granted a patent — concerning virtual positioning of audio — that could eventually lay the groundwork for new, more immersive audio applications. It builds on a previous patent Apple filed last month that enabled users ... more - theverge

The 10 best streaming shows on Netflix

You’ve got an evening to kill and a Netflix subscription — don’t waste any time browsing. These ten picks aren’t going to even begin to cover all of the great stuff on Netflix, but it’s a good start. Here’s what you should definitely watch. We’ve rounded ... more - theverge

The 11 best new sci-fi books to check out on your new Kindle

Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge The holidays are here, and if you’re unwrapping a new Kindle (or a non-Amazon-branded e-reader, or just a device with an e-book app on it), you might be looking for some new books to read. If you need some ... more - theverge

The 10 best apps for your new Windows PC

Photo by Avery White for The Verge Anyone who has used Windows through more than one version knows that, no matter how many utilities Microsoft adds to its operating system, there are always apps and utilities that will enhance your use. We listed several ... more - theverge

Here are 9 great apps for your new Android device

Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales Setting up a new phone is a flurry of entering passwords, transferring contact data, downloading must-have social media apps, and entering even more passwords. Once that’s all done, it’s time to fill your phone with everything ... more - theverge

The 14 best games to download for your new VR gaming headset

Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge Got a VR headset for the holidays this year and unsure of where to start? Not to worry — whether you’ve got an Oculus Quest, Vive Cosmos, or a Nintendo Labo VR kit, here are recommendations for some of our ... more - theverge

Teslasuit’s new VR gloves let you feel virtual objects and track your pulse

Teslasuit Teslasuit — known for its full-body haptic feedback suit — is introducing a glove that can let users feel virtual textures and gather biometric data. The device is called simply the “Teslasuit Glove,” and it will debut at CES in January, with ... more - theverge

Employees warned North that its Focals AR glasses were overpriced and too male-focused

Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge Employees at North, the company behind the augmented reality Focals glasses, warned their CEO that the glasses weren’t ready to ship two months before the January 2019 launch. In an eight-page letter obtained ... more - theverge

Richie Hawtin’s new app lets you deconstruct his DJ shows

Image: Richie Hawtin Techno titan Richie Hawtin has always been able to tweak existing ideas in a way that completely upends them. This time, it’s concert video. CLOSER is Hawtin’s app 10 years in the making. It’s an interactive audiovisual “experiment” ... more - theverge

Watch Tested explain how Half-Life: Alyx will work on every big PC VR headset

Image: Valve Valve Software’s Half-Life: Alyx is less than six months away, and since it requires a VR headset, lots of players might be considering a major hardware purchase right now. The gold standard is Valve’s own Index, with its high-end construction ... more - theverge

Facebook is working on its own OS that could reduce its reliance on Android

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Facebook is developing its own operating system that could one day reduce the company’s reliance on Google’s Android, according to a new report by The Information . Development is currently being led by Mark Lucovsky, ... more - theverge

Katamari creator Keita Takahashi on why his games are both silly and serious

Wattam. It’s been a decade since Keita Takahashi released a commercial video game — the last title from the creator of the Katamari Damacy series was Noby Noby Boy in 2009 — but that doesn’t mean he wasn’t busy. He’s continued working on games, dabbled ... more - theverge

Sony’s new Back Button Attachment brings customizable paddles to the DualShock 4

Sony has announced a new accessory that adds two customizable back paddle buttons to a DualShock 4 controller. It’s called the Back Button Attachment, and it features a crisp OLED display and a dedicated button that allows you to quickly remap controls ... more - theverge

Niantic says Pokémon Go’s AR multiplayer Buddy Adventure feature is ‘coming soon’

Image: Niantic Labs Pokémon Go creator Niantic Labs says its augmented reality multiplayer feature, Buddy Adventure, is coming “very soon” to the iOS and Android versions of the mobile game. Buddy Adventure was first shown off last month at a press event, ... more - theverge

No Man’s Sky adds a full audio application just in time for the holidays

Since No Man’s Sky ’s release in 2016, the game’s developers have been adding updates and new features — now there’s multiplayer, base building, and a virtual reality mode, among other things — that have kept the game fresh and kept players coming back. ... more - theverge