'Sword Art Online: The Beginning' Release Date, News & Update: VRMMO Game Unveils New Video, Disappoints

A new video featuring “Sword Art Online: The Beginning” shows the lengths that developments in virtual reality has reached in gaming, and it’s pretty interesting. The video shows a 3D world where other players fight against monsters like in other MMOs.

However, the players are represented by avatars produced by a full-body scan, and these avatars move not by using controllers or keyboards, but rather a player’s own movement. Exciting? Yes, reports Niche Gamer, but also quite disheartening.

“Sword Art Online” is a popular light novel that has a virtual reality massively multiplayer online game (VRMMO) for a story. In it, the players wear VR equpments called NerveGear to play. In the story, however, the players get locked up in the game, and need to survive in the game to live in real life.

While “SAO’s” popularity is so widespread and several games have been based on it, it’s only now that a computer company has successfully tried in making a live-version of the VRMMO that “SAO” features.

“The VRMMO sponsored by IBM, replaced the NerveGear helmets with Oculus Rift and HTC Vive VR headsets,” an IBM blog reads. “After a 3D body scan, gamers are transformed into avatars of themselves that live inside the game. No controllers are required as players use their body to make moves.”

However, even though a video (and game) appears to have been successfully made for “SAO,” in reality it simply is a a demo made by IBM to showcase their technology, reports Forbes. Many were excited at the thought that “SAO” will be turned into a real game, but were disappointed to know that the game won’t happen – because the video was only a marketing ad for IBM’s Watson technology.

“The event showcases IBM’s SoftLayer cloud technology with the high performing, cognitive computing big data power of Watson to take the video gaming industry into completely new worlds of game play,” the blog continues.

 Apparently, IBM’s marketing backfired not only because of the disappointment that it gave to many fans who were hoping for the real deal, but also because of the video’s “terrible” appearance as well.