Microsoft trademarks 'Direct Reality', but no one knows what it means
With the annual video game mega-trade show, the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3), just days away, everyone is going crazy over any little new morsel of information relating to the Xbox, PS4, or Nintendo Switch.
It doesn't get any littler than an unexplained trademark filing, but the timing is right for Microsoft's new "Direct Reality" trademark to have something to do with what the company plans to reveal next week.
The trademark, discovered by GameSpot, was filed just a matter of days ago, on June 2. According to the filing, the Direct Reality name applies to "computer game software" and "online computer game software." The most interesting category it lists, though, is "computer software for holographic applications."
This discovery, which of course Microsoft has not referenced in any kind of official statement or press release, may give some hope to gamers who thought the software giant was stepping away from virtual and augmented reality at this year's E3.
From a hardware perspective, Microsoft is going to have the most eyes on it next week as it will reveal the newest Xbox, codenamed Project Scorpio. Nintendo will also have a lot of attention for its Switch console which just debuted a few months ago, but the focus there will be on software. Sony is not expected to reveal any new hardware.
However, even though Project Scorpio will include support for virtual reality gaming, Microsoft has confirmed that that particular feature will not be demonstrated at all during E3.
That hasn't stopped some spectators from parsing out the language, and realizing that "virtual reality" is not the same thing as augmented reality, or holographic gaming. Microsoft tried to steal the show a couple years ago with its HoloLens demo of Minecraft, but since then, it has been a largely quiet player in a space that is dominated by the Oculus Rift, Samsung Gear VR, and PlayStation VR.
All of the questions and speculation will be closed on June 11 at 2:00 PM in Los Angeles, when Microsoft will reveal everything it's been holding onto at its annual pre-E3 theatrical presentation.