Would You Like to Watch 3-D Movies on Oculus VR Headsets? FandangoNOW Thinks You Do
FandangoNOW now offers movies and TV shows for rent or purchase on Oculus VR headsets, including some in 3-D.
Oculus Go and Quest headset users can now access the 90,000 movies and TV shows already available FandangoNOW, which is available on the headset app. The VOD service will also offer, for the first time, hundreds of 3-D titles, including “Spider-Man: Far from Home.”
“We are constantly looking for innovative ways to deliver high-quality entertainment to movie and TV fans on pioneering platforms,” said Fandango president Paul Yanover. “Our new initiative with Oculus will give fans a new and exciting way to explore, discover and truly immerse themselves in the movies, bringing them to new cinematic worlds they’ve never visited before.”
Oculus, Facebook’s VR division, previously launched its own video store but appears to be phasing that out. It shut down the version available on Rift headsets a year ago. It’s unclear whether support for the homegrown store will end on the Go headset with the launch of the FandangoNOW store, Variety reported.
“We know how much people love experiencing media in VR,” said Oculus head of media Colum Slevin. “The immersive nature of VR along with the extensive catalog of 3D and traditional films coming with FandangoNOW is a winning combination.”
The news was announced as part of the Oculus Connect conference, where Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg drove home his belief that investing in VR technology and an associated ecosystem will help Oculus tap into the next big thing in computing.
Since Facebook bought the company in 2014 for $2 billion, prices have come down, making VR more accessible. The Rift headset was $599 when it launched in 2016. The newer Rift S is now only $399, but requires a gaming computer to power it.
The gaming-focused Quest is also $399 and doesn’t need a computer to run it. The self-contained Go, made for all-around entertainment, is $199.
Other headset options include console-style games like the latest Star Wars installment “Vader Immortal: Episode II,” announced at the conference, plus fitness apps, a platform for viewing live concerts and sporting events, and more.
