Technologies

HTC’s New Standalone VR Headset Is Like Nothing We’ve Ever Seen

Best of CES: The compact, depth-sensing, $1,099 headset arrives in February. Vive boss Dan O’Brien explains the strategy.

VR has suddenly gotten more expensive. It seems like the worst possible timing, but HTC’s newest high-end headset announced at CES, the Vive XR Elite, follows a similar playbook to Meta’s recent Quest Pro, and possibly Apple’s awaited device as well. It raises a question: Are we truly ready for the rise of the $1,000-plus VR rigs? The standalone Vive XR Elite is sleek and looks a lot more compact than the Quest Pro, and is trying to test the higher-end waters.

The $1,099 headset, available for preorder Thursday, is arriving by the end of February — remarkably soon for a CES product. That means it’ll be available alongside Sony’s PlayStation 5-connected PSVR 2. While less expensive than the Quest Pro, the XR Elite’s price costs about as much as buying a PS5 and a PSVR 2 together. It’s far from an impulse purchase. But the hardware, which shrinks down the VR form to a pair of nearly glasses-like goggles and includes mixed-reality capabilities that could allow for AR apps, looks to solve how we’ll be using the metaverse for more in our lives than just games, simulation and fitness.

No other company has really cracked this challenge either. But this Vive headset looks, more than ever, like it’s a stepping stone to future AR glasses.

«We see where mixed reality is going to create a whole new suite of use cases. We know the virtual reality use cases are great. I think the AR side is amazing, too,» Dan O’Brien, HTC’s general manager of Vive, told me in a conversation at CES in Las Vegas. He acknowledged that HTC tried to make an AR device in 2015 but stopped because of the complications. O’Brien sees 5G and cloud computing as a key next step. «You need a 5G network, a really robust one to make AR go to scale — you need a cloud infrastructure to deliver to those types of wearables.»

The XR Elite is primarily a standalone VR headset, and it looks like an impressive piece of tech: It has a familiar Qualcomm Snapdragon XR2 chip much like the Meta Quest 2, Quest Pro and Vive’s existing business-focused Focus 3. But it adds a higher-resolution 110-degree field of view, LCD displays with 2K resolution per eye that can run at 90Hz. There’s also a boosted 12GB of RAM along with 128GB of storage. It can connect to PCs to run SteamVR or HTC’s VivePort software, or connect with Android phones. But its potential as a bridge to AR experiences seems like the most impressive feature.

Those are just specs, though. The XR Elite is a VR headset with a similar proposition to previous models, but with expanded capabilities. Its compact size is the most surprising part: At 340 grams, it’s less than half the weight of the Quest Pro. The rear hot-swappable battery gives about two hours of life. It gets even smaller by unclipping the back battery strap and adding glasses arms that can turn the headset into a modified pair of VR glasses, which could just plug into an external USB-C charger or battery for power. It’s small enough to fit in a compact carrying case tube.

But that compact size comes with a twist: Instead of fitting on top of glasses, the XR Elite uses adjusting dials, or diopters, which can change the lens prescription on the fly without you needing to wear glasses at all — for some people, at least. The diopters only accommodate up to a -6 prescription, but my own vision is over -8 for nearsightedness. It’s a challenge HTC faced with its even smaller Vive Flow phone-connected VR goggles, which also went for the glasses-free approach.

The XR Elite has a dedicated depth sensor on the front, along with color passthrough cameras that can eventually show mixed reality-experiences, similar to the Quest Pro. The Quest Pro doesn’t have the Elite’s added depth sensor, but it accommodates for that with its onboard cameras.

The XR Elite could also adapt further. While the hardware doesn’t have its own eye-tracking tools onboard, eye- and face-tracking add-ons are coming later in the year. The headset’s controllers are the same standard ones that HTC has for the Vive Focus 3, which follow the same game controller-like playbook as the Meta Quest 2 and others. But HTC already has its own line of wearable VR body trackers and wristbands, and more accessories could follow.

O’Brien acknowledges that the sticky, mass-market appeal of VR and AR aren’t here yet. «I think developers will be using cloud computing, being able to actually get their content into the metaverse much faster, and much more efficiently,» he said. «If you think about the streaming business, these streamers, these TikTokkers, all these kids that create the really compelling, fun experiences that just keep drawing you back in? That’s not in the metaverse today, We need to create more opportunities for less sophisticated immersive content creators to get involved, and then create more [of an] economy.»

O’Brien sees cloud computing, driven by eye tracking’s ability to compress graphics data via a technology called foveated rendering, as a way of eventually shrinking the processors on future headsets, getting smaller and fitting on more people.

My concern is about the limited prescription options at the moment. «As we get to much lighter glasses, people will probably be bringing more of their prescriptions to it in the future,» says O’Brien. «For now, what we can do is just try to address the majority of the market as best we can with these types of setting changes, because we have to get the headsets lighter. We’ve got to get them more comfortable. And if you’re going to have these big eye relief areas inside of these headsets, they’re going to stay really big.»

O’Brien sees the included VR controllers as possibly becoming optional one day, even maybe being left out of the box and bought separately, but not yet. Hand tracking isn’t reliable enough. «Hand tracking has to make massive advancements over the next two to three years to really become much more of a natural input tool.» But O’Brien suggests it’s a way for future headsets to get more affordable. «If a user can just put on glasses and interact with content [with their hands], that’s going to be a much less expensive product.»

This product has been selected as one of the best products of CES 2023. Check out the other Best of CES 2023 award winners.

Technologies

The Duskbloods Is New FromSoftware Gaming Action Coming to Switch 2 in 2026

Talk about a surprise for the new Switch.

FromSoftware had a big day with the Switch 2 Direct. The company revealed a new game called The Duskbloods and confirmed that its smash-hit action RPG Elden Ring is coming to the new console, which launches on June 5 for $450.

The Duskbloods is exclusive to the Switch 2, which was a surprise announcement during the Switch 2 Direct. According to FromSoftware, the game is a player vs. player vs. enemy, or PvPvE, online multiplayer game similar to the developer’s upcoming Elden Ring: Nightreign.

Players will be part of the Bloodsworn, which is a group that has «transcended human strength thanks to their special blood.» Each individual will be playing against each other as well as taking on other foes.

The game features some mainstays for FromSoftware games, with a gothic tone and a focus on gore, like its popular Bloodborne game for the PS4. It does appear that characters have a few more abilities than seen in previous games from the cult developer.

The Duskbloods will release sometime in It will be released in 2026.

The Switch 2 will launch on June 5 and preorders will start on April 9 at retailers. The new console will feature plenty of third-party support, with major games like Borderlands 4, Madden and Civilization 7 coming from other publishers.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Thursday, April 3

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for April 3.

Looking for the most recent Mini Crossword answer? Click here for today’s Mini Crossword hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Wordle, Strands, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword has two similar clues, 5-Across and 6-Across. They both play off the same idea — using the first part of two words to make one, all food-related. I didn’t get that at first, so I struggled with those two clues. Need some help with today’s Mini Crossword? Read on. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

The Mini Crossword is just one of many games in the Times’ games collection. If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get at those Mini Crossword clues and answers.

Mini across clues and answers

1A clue: Hit the ___ (go to bed)
Answer: SACK

5A clue: Misleading name for a sub/shish kebab restaurant?
Answer: SUSHI

6A clue: Misleading name for a taco/pasta restaurant?
Answer: TAPAS

7A clue: Certain sports bets
Answer: OVERS

8A clue: Cooped (up)
Answer: PENT

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: Almost *too* sophisticated and charming
Answer: SUAVE

2D clue: Upscale Colorado skiing destination
Answer: ASPEN

3D clue: Word after bar or pie
Answer: CHART

4D clue: Smooch
Answer: KISS

5D clue: Word on an eight-sided traffic sign
Answer: STOP

How to play more Mini Crosswords

The New York Times Games section offers a large number of online games, but only some of them are free for all to play. You can play the current day’s Mini Crossword for free, but you’ll need a subscription to the Times Games section to play older puzzles from the archives.

Technologies

Nintendo Switch 2: Everything We Know About the Console, New Games, Release Date

The $450 console will get Mario Kart World at launch, 4K gaming when docked, Switch 2 Edition game enhancements and new mouse controls.

The Nintendo Switch 2 console’s biggest reveal yet arrived Wednesday morning as part of the company’s Nintendo Direct event. This teed up a day of Switch 2 reveals that include its June 5 release date, a $450 price, its specs, and its initial game lineup that extends from launch into 2026.

The console will be further buoyed by having Mario Kart World as a launch title, which will go on sale in either a $500 bundle with the Switch 2 or on its own for $80 — making the open-world racing game one of Nintendo’s most expensive yet. Other games announced, such as Donkey Kong Bananza, are being priced around $70, which matches the cost of 2023’s The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. That Zelda game and Breath of the Wild are among the original Switch titles that will get enhanced Nintendo Switch 2 Edition upgrades, a premium upgrade allowing players to get new features, modes and graphical enhancements that take advantage of the newer system’s capabilities.

Here are the top highlights from Nintendo’s console event, all of the games we’ve heard about so far (including new titles, Nintendo Switch 2 Edition titles and GameCube games coming to Nintendo Switch Online) and all of our coverage so far. You can also check out our Nintendo Switch 2 live blog for even more updates about the Switch 2 as we learn them.

Nintendo Switch 2 console

The Nintendo Switch 2’s specs saw a noticeable technical bump over the Switch. The Nintendo Switch 2 has a 7.9-inch, 1080p resolution LCD that supports a 120Hz refresh rate — matching what we now see on most Android phones. When the Switch 2 is docked, compatible games can run in 4K resolution. The new dock also includes a cooling fan.

The Switch 2 comes with 256GB of internal storage, and the new Switch 2 Game Cards will load games faster. For digital libraries, however, the Switch 2 will only work with microSD Express cards, which are different from the microSD cards that are compatible with the prior Nintendo Switch. Nintendo will have a Software Transfer feature available to help move games and data from the original Switch to the Switch 2.

The new Joy-Con for the controllers will support mouse controls, and a new C button will be part of a new GameChat communication feature that allows both voice and video chat. There’s also a Nintendo Switch 2 Camera, allowing players to see each other.

The Switch 2 also adds a second USB-C port to the top of the system, which Nintendo says can help connect its new camera accessory or charge the console when playing in tabletop mode. Nintendo also revealed a new Switch 2 Pro Controller with the C button and customizable GL and GR buttons on the back.

Following the presentation, Nintendo unveiled the system’s price of $450 in the US. It will also sell the Switch 2 bundled with a digital version of Mario Kart World for $500.

Mario Kart World

Mario Kart World removes its traditional boundaries and lets drivers roam freely across an entire world of race courses. The game will get its own Nintendo Direct later this month, where we’ll see additional details, but we already know it’ll include traditional races and a Free Roam mode, much like in the Forza Horizon series.

Getting the game bundled for an extra $50 on the cost of the Switch 2 might be the move if you are interested in the game, because Nintendo announced on its website that standalone copies of Mario Kart World will cost $80.

Joy-Con 2 C button and GameChat

Nintendo’s rolling out its new C button across several new Switch 2 controllers. The button will be used for the new GameChat communication features without a headset. The button will be used alongside a microphone on the console itself, which Nintendo says can be used whether it’s docked to a TV or in handheld mode.

In its teaser video, Nintendo promises the microphone will be able to cancel out loud background noises. GameChat will also work with a Nintendo Switch 2 Camera, allowing video chat and various camera-based game modes in supported titles. GameChat will be free at launch through March 31, 2026.

Nintendo Switch 2 Edition games upgrade titles

The Nintendo Switch 2 will play three types of games: original Switch games, Switch 2 games and Switch 2 Edition games that will receive substantial enhancements. For many of these Switch 2 Edition games, you’ll need to buy an upgrade pack if you own the original for Switch. Many of them will get more than just enhanced graphics in the upgrade; for example, Super Mario Party Jamboree will get new games that support the new Joy-Cons’ mouse controls, audio recognition and video camera gameplay options through the Switch 2 Camera.

Other Nintendo Switch games that are getting Switch 2 Edition options include The Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild, The Legend of Zelda Tears of the Kingdom, Kirby and the Forgotten Land, Metroid Prime 4 Beyond and Pokemon Legends: Z-A. Enhancements vary: The Zelda games will start working with a companion phone app for maps and sending schematics to friends, while Kirby will get a new story that’s exclusive to the Switch 2 Edition. On the third-party side, Civilization 7 will get mouse controls.

Nintendo did not announce what upgrade packs will cost. However, some Switch games will get free updates that will improve performance or enhance features when playing them on the Switch 2. The Switch games getting these updates include:

Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment

Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment is a new game set in the world of Zelda that tells the story that leads into The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. This appears to be similar to how Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity told the story of a war that led to the events of Breath of the Wild. The teaser shows Zelda discovering that she’s arrived in the past of Hyrule, and the game will expand on how she gets involved in the corresponding Imprisonment War.

Nintendo Switch 2 games

Several other first- and third-party games were spotlighted during the Switch 2 Direct. These include Donkey Bananza, one of the first 3D platforming games featuring DK since 1999’s Donkey Kong 64. Kirby will also return to the racing genre in Kirby Air Riders, which comes more than 20 years after the GameCube racer Kirby’s Air Ride. DragXDrive will use mouse controls to control a futuristic wheelchair basketball game in which players will simulate push and pull motions to control their character.

An onslaught of Switch 2 third-party games were quickly shuffled through during the Direct, which I list below. An unnamed James Bond game is in development at Hitman studio IO Interactive, as is a darker title from Elden Ring creator FromSoftware called The Duskbloods, which will be exclusive to the Switch 2.

The full list of announced Nintendo Switch 2 games includes:

Borderlands 4
Bravely Default Flying Fairy HD Remaster
Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition
Daemon X Machina: Titanic Scion
Deltarune
Donkey Kong Bananza
Drag x Drive
EA Sports FC
EA Sports Madden NFL
Elden Ring Tarnished Edition
Enter the Gungeon 2
Fast Fusion
Final Fantasy 7 Remake Intergrade
Fortnite
Hades 2
Hitman World of Assassination — Signature Edition
Hogwarts Legacy
Hollow Knight: Silksong
Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment
Kirby Air Riders
Kirby and the Forgotten Land — Nintendo Switch 2 Edition and Star-Crossed World
Kunitsu-Gai: Path of the Goddess
Mario Kart World
Metroid Prime 4: Beyond — Nintendo Switch 2 Edition
NBA 2K
Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour
Nobunaga’s Ambition: Awakening Complete Edition
Pokemon Legends: Z-A — Nintendo Switch 2 Edition
Project 007
Puyo Puyo Tetris 2S
Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma — Nintendo Switch 2 Edition
Sid Meier’s Civilization 7 — Nintendo Switch 2 Edition
Split Fiction
Star Wars Outlaws
Starseeker: Astroneer Expeditions
Street Fighter 6
Super Mario Party Jamboree — Nintendo Switch 2 Edition and Jamboree TV
Survival Kids
The Duskbloods
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild — Nintendo Switch 2 Edition
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom — Nintendo Switch 2 Edition
Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 and 4
WWE 2K
Yakuza 0 Definitive Edition

Among these titles, you can see the full list of June 5 Switch 2 launch day games here.

Nintendo GameCube library coming to Switch 2

The Nintendo Switch Online game library will add GameCube games to the Switch 2. On launch day, these games will initially include The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, SoulCalibur 2 and F-Zero GX, with each game getting enhanced graphics. Online multiplayer will also be added to certain titles. Super Mario Sunshine, Super Mario Strikers and Luigi’s Mansion are among the games set to arrive later. At launch, Nintendo will also sell a GameCube controller, which will be wireless and include a C button for GameChat.