It was only last week HoloLens creator Alex Kipman said he wanted to hold off selling HoloLens until it was ready with a library of killer apps. In the spirit of that, pre-orders are available for the development kit now, if you don’t mind spending $3,000 and you live in Canada or the US.
Just like HoloLens, our picks of 2016’s upcoming PC games aren’t out just yet.
Microsoft have said they want to inspire developers to create great things for HoloLens. To that end, not only will the HoloLens dev kit ship with a suite of tutorials, but it will also come with a selection of apps.
“These experiences are available to all developers at no cost in the Windows Store and represent the development knowledge and expertise our teams have acquired over years of working on this holographic platform,” says the blurb.
“Each of these experiences have been delivered to highlight unique capabilities of HoloLens and to illustrate for developers how they can be used in every day applications. It is our hope that these example applications can be used as a jumping off point for how any developer can create amazing 3D content for HoloLens.”
HoloStudio will allow developers to create 3D models for use in their apps, and also aids developers by showing off the HoloLens interaction model of gaze, gesture, and voice.
Meanwhile, Skype goes beyond video calls and will allow developers to collaborate and work together on holographic models.
HoloTour will also come bundled with the kit and will let you take virtual tours of places around the world. You could be walking around your living room while seeing “high-resolution 360-degree panoramic displays of places like Rome and Machu Picchu,” according to the blurb, all while “the sounds of the city surround you.”
It’s not just these sci-fi style extras, though. The HoloLens will come with a handful of games too.
Fragments is a mixed reality crime drama that takes place wherever you are, its characters walking onto the scene and sitting down on your sofa.
Young Conker subjects a platforming mascot to the cruel fate of hopping around your house. Levels are based around your surroundings, so presumably it will be a great excuse to never clean up. You have to keep the little guy challenged. The small viewing window shown in the video for this does make you worry a bit about the device’s limitations, mind.
Next up is RoboRaid, a first-person AR shooter that has aliens breaking through the walls of your house and firing lasers at your head. The great thing about HoloLens is that, unlike VR, you can see everyone you love mocking you as you dance around the room like a tit.
And lastly there’s Actiongram, an app for creating 3D video sequences without the need to buy expensive effect packages.
The developer edition of the HoloLens starts shipping on March 30 and you can order it here if you meet the criteria and have $3,000 to gamble.