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Augmented reality and virtual reality products are expected to drastically increase, from 2.5 million units sold in 2015 up to 24 million units in 2018, according to the Augmented and Virtual Reality Device Forecast, 2015-2019 report. As more consumers begin to test AR and VR solutions, the market will have an estimated net value of more than $4 billion.

"Most consumers find virtual reality a mind-blowing experience the first time they try it," said Ben Wood, Chief of Research at CCS Insight, in a statement published by Forbes. "We believe it has tremendous potential and it's not just about expensive high-end devices such as the Oculus Rift. For only a few dollars, consumers can dip their toe in the water with an inexpensive cardboard holder for a compatible smartphone."

Even with Sony's Project Morpheus, Oculus Rift, and other high-end VR solutions gaining a lot of attention, CCS Insight doesn't want people to forget about the Made for Google Cardboard and Samsung Gear VR devices.

You could one day play Disney Infinity games using virtual reality, with new VR-centric games possibly on the roadmap, according to James Pitaro, president of Disney Interactive. He noted that he was impressed with VR and thinks there are great possibilities for next-generation game development.

The studio has reached $1 billion in retail sales, and uses popular characters from Disney, Pixar and Marvel in its game titles.

"You could easily imagine a scenario where we were to expand the toy box component of Infinity into AR or VR," said Pitaro, while speaking with Reuters at E3. "I do not think this is going to be a fad."

SoftBank will begin selling its Pepper humanoid robot in Japan on Saturday, with each unit available for $1,600. It'll be possible to rent a Pepper unit for about $12 per hour, in an effort to draw attention from the public. The company expects to manufacture around 1,000 robots per month, with sales in the US and Europe opening in 2016.

Along with the robot, SoftBank will include a support plan for around $120 per month, providing access to an app store and voice-recognition software. Interested customers can expect around 100 apps at launch, with additional software currently in development.

The robot is able to remember faces identify human emotions, and could be programmed to spot speech functions.

Microsoft's decision to support backward compatibility for Xbox One gamers trying to play their Xbox 360 game consoles has earned praise from GameStop. In addition to supporting gamers, the decision could make for an easier transition from the Xbox 360 to Xbox One, according to a GameStop official.

"Microsoft, at this E3, decided to introduce backward compatibility into their system. That's obviously something people are looking for," said Eric Bright, director of merchandising for GameStop, in a statement to GameSpot. "And GameStop will be ready, whether you're looking to purchase Xbox 360 games or trade yours in, we'll be there."

The new backward compatibility is available for Xbox Preview members, and will expand to more Xbox One gamers before the end of the year.

The Anonymous hacker collective targeted Canadian government websites in retribution for the recent passing of the anti-terror Bill C-51. The distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks took place on Wednesday and temporarily disrupted web sites belonging to the Canadian Senate, Justice Department and two different spy agencies.

The Canadian Security and Intelligence Service (CSIS) has been awarded new powers to investigate and disrupt suspected terror-related activities after Bill C-51 passed. The bill, which was heavily criticized by privacy and citizen watch groups, has angered many Canadian citizens - and Anonymous was more than willing to take aim. There is fear that the government will be able to monitor legitimate Internet activity, and then sweep it under the rug.

Here is what Anonymous said regarding the hack: "Greetings citizens of Canada, we are Anonymous. Today, this 17th of June 2015 we launched an attack against the Canadian Senate and government of Canada websites in protest against the recent passing of Bill C-51. A bill which is a clear violation of the universal declaration of human rights, as well as removing our legal protections that have stood, enshrined in the Magna Carta for 800 years."

Don't count Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime as a fan of current virtual reality products, as he recently said "it's just tech." Even with much attention at E3 focused on what we can expect from VR and augmented reality, Nintendo has been relatively quiet regarding the booming technologies.

Nintendo released the Virtual Boy in 1995 and previously found success with AR, but that doesn't mean a Virtual Boy 2 is planned anytime soon. Instead, the company is watching how the Oculus Rift, PlayStation Project Morpheus, and Microsoft HoloLens platforms develop.

"We have knowledge of the technical space, and we've been experimenting with this for a long, long time," Fils-Aime told Polygon during E3. "What we believe is that, in order for this technology to move forward, you need to make it fun and you need to make it social. I haven't walked the floor, so I can't say in terms of what's on the floor today, but at least based on what I've seen to date, it's not fun, and it's not social. It's just tech."

The Apple Watch has created a new revenue stream for Apple, and there is something else the company is able to sell along with the wearable: extra watch bands. Almost 20 percent of Apple Watch customers are purchasing at least one extra watch band, according to data Reuters has received from Slice Intelligence.

Apple hasn't issued a statement regarding the number of smartwatch units sold, but Slice believes around 2.79 million units have been sold. However, the entry-level sports band costs just $2.05 to make and sells for $49 - so there is plenty of extra room for Apple to cash in.

The Black Sport Band, Milanese Loop and White Sport Band appear to be the top three favorite extra bands that consumers are picking up. The Milanese Loop is $149, so consumers are seeking an added bit of luxury with their Apple Watch.

We knew it was coming before it was announced, and this was one of the cards I was most excited about. AMD has finally detailed the Radeon R9 Nano, based on its new Fiji architecture and High Bandwidth Memory (HBM).

The AMD Radeon R9 Nano features the Fiji GPU, 4GB of HBM on a 4096-bit wide memory bus with 512GB/sec of bandwidth. We're looking at 200% the performance per watt of the Radeon R9 290X, with the Radeon R9 Nano only featuring one 8-pin PCIe power connector and a TDP of just 175W.

AMD is expected to launch the Radeon R9 Nano later this summer.

NVIDIA released the GeForce GTX 980 Ti at Computex 2015, blowing us away initially, but we were more excited over what the AIB partners were going to provide with custom cards. Well, here we are with GAINWARD teasing its new GeForce GTX 980 Ti PHOENIX "Golden Sample" card.

The GAINWARD GeForce GTX 980 Ti PHOENIX "Golden Sample" card features a Base Clock of 1152MHz (1241MHz Boost) and 6GB of VRAM at 7GHz. This represents an 11% overclock on the reference design from NVIDIA. Better yet, GAINWARD has used a triple-fan design to keep it cool, with a "Zero RPM fan design" that sees the fans stay stationary until the GPU itself reaches 60C.

We have reached out to GAINWARD to secure a sample, so with my fingers crossed we should have a review of this beast sometime in July.

Did the United States really land on the moon? Well, it looks like that's a topic Russian Investigative Commission spokesman Vladimir Markin thinks should be investigated.

In his op-ed, Markin begins speaking about FIFA corruption, and somehow eventually finds his way to discussing the Apollo missions:

"We are not contending that they did not fly [to the moon], and simply made a film about it. But all of those scientific - or perhaps cultural - artifacts are part of the legacy of humanity, and their disappearance without a trace is our common loss. An investigation will reveal what happened," Markin said in a published column for the Izvestia newspaper.

E3 2015 - Audio company Polk Audio has unveiled the debut of the Striker Pro Hitman Contract Edition, with the new product designed for the PC, Sony PlayStation 4, Microsoft Xbox One, Nintendo Wii U, laptops and smartphones.

The Striker Pro includes a mobile connect cable, dual-jack console controller connect cable, and a dual-jack, detachable, extra-long pro PC connect cable. Interested gamers will find the headset includes an omni-directional microphone for console and PC gaming, along with an in-line microphone for mobile use.

The Polk Audio Striker Pro Hitman Contract Edition Gaming Headset will be available starting in September for $129.

Microsoft recently announced that backward compatibility will allow Xbox One owners to play Xbox 360 game titles, and it was a unique offering. For Sony PlayStation 4 gamers, don't expect the same feature anytime soon so you can play your old PlayStation 3 games.

"The backward compatibility news was interesting," said Shuhei Yoshida, head of worldwide studios at Sony Computers Entertainment, in a statement to Polygon. "The technology involved must be very challenging. I'm interested in seeing the list of titles."

Instead, paying PS4 gamers can use PlayStation Now to play older game titles - but native backward compatibility shouldn't be expected. However, Sony will continue developing and supporting new features for the PS4, as more gamers look to upgrade their consoles.

It looks like DayZ creator Dean Hall is working on a new virtual reality video game that'll be supported by SteamVR, Eurogamer has learned. RocketWerkz is investing more time in VR, but not for the Ion space simulation game which the studio recently announced.

When speaking with Eurogamer, Hall mentioned one game that we now know is a VR title, though additional details remain unknown. It's unknown when gamers can expect to hear more about this mysterious project that Hall is currently working on for SteamVR.

"[Valve's] Chet Faliszek was like a huge mentor to me. He contacted me very early on in DayZ's development and he's been all through everything - he's been a huge mentor. And I actually got a chance to see him speak, and I spoke myself, at Slush Play [a gaming and VR conference] in Iceland. And, to be honest, that was the final convincing for me. So I really liked what he had to say."

E3 2015 - The Coalition Studio announced Gears of War: Ultimate Edition during the PC Gaming Show at E3 2015, something that will be hitting the PC with 4K resolution and DirectX 12 support when Windows 10 launches next month.

Gears of War: Ultimate Edition will be rocking mouse and keyboard support, as well as the typical controller support that console gamers are used to. On the Xbox One, we can expect Gears of War: Ultimate Edition to rock along at 1080p 60FPS, which is a very nice touch for the Xbox One. The beta is available for Xbox One users, too.

The remastered version of Gears of War features refreshed visuals and reworked cutscenes thanks to animation studio Plastic Wax. According to Polygon's sources, the Gears of War remake is being worked on by Splash Damage, which worked on Brink and Dirty Bomb.

E3 2015 - Much of the attention during E3 has been on PC and console games, but there is a growing presence of mobile game titles. Electronic Arts CEO Andrew Wilson recently spoke about how critical mobile gaming is for the company, which has almost 250 different mobile titles available to gamers.

"Mobile is already important. We had more than 700 million downloads of our games last year. We have 160, 170 million monthly active users playing our games every month," Wilson said in a statement to GamesBeat. "There's going to be another 300 or 600 million devices or something launched this year alone. We went from 200 million players to two billion players in large part because of mobile devices. It's already super important to us. I'm proud of what we're doing.

Hardcore games such as Madden NFL being streamlined to Madden NFL Mobile indicate how EA wants to cater to Apple iOS and Google Android smartphone and tablet owners. Looking ahead, Wilson said that GMs are reporting the importance of mobile gaming directly to him - and he's listening to the feedback.

Audio maker V-MODA is embracing innovation by spearheading a project for the world's first 3D printed personalized wearable technology. The company has introduced custom 3D printed shields using materials such as stainless steel, raw, plated and other precious materials - creating the "first time in history" that mass customization "merges jewel-grade 3D printing with consumer electronics."

Using the V-MODA website, consumers can customize their products by choosing a base color, 3D shield material of choice, and then the design and monogram of their product. As for precious metals, the following choices are available: sterling silver, solid 14k gold, 14k rose gold, 14k white gold, or platinum.

"3D printing has captured the imaginations of people, but this is the first application that can be worn every day on an award-winning product," said Val Kolton, CEO of V-MODA. "This technology ends the ubiquity of carbon copy, plastic consumer electronics and ushers in an era of bespoke designs and metals that transform products into handcrafted designer relics."

Swann Security has announced the SwannCloud Plug & Play security camera and SwannCloud HD Pan & Tilt security camera.

Both cameras are able to record and capture 720p HD video and 1280 x 720 HD images, which can be saved to a smartphone or tablet. In addition, the Pan & Tilt camera can be remotely operated using the SwannCloud app for Google Android and Apple iOS users. Both cameras also make use of on-board infrared LEDs to provide higher quality nighttime video and image viewing.

The SwannCloud HD Plug & Play has a $129.99 MSRP, while the SwannCLoud HD Pan & Tilt is available for $179.99.

When it comes to virtual reality growing into a mainstream technology, it looks like video games will be one of the most important driving forces. Jason Rubin, head of studios at Oculus VR, is tasked with helping predict that types of apps, games, and other software VR adopters will use - and he's banking heavily on video games.

Oculus VR will invest at least $10 million in independent game development, and has studios such as Insomniac Games and Ready at Dawn onboard to help create VR-themed titles.

"My guess is, what's going to happen is we'll start with a lot of experiences that developers know how to make," said Rubin while speaking with GamesBeat. "They're going to be great experiences. But as time passes, and also with new input devices, we're going to branch out into new experiences. There are going to be old genres that don't translate, old genres that translate with a little work, old genres that are awesome and made even better, and then a ton of new genres that are called for in VR."

In an interview with GameSpot, a Capcom employee stated that Street Fighter V will not be released on Xbox - even though previous titles have been.

Although fans were speculating an Xbox release, the representative stated: "the reality is that this is a real partnership [with Sony]. We are console exclusive for this franchise for this numbered run." Claiming its new buddy Sony is certainly a helpful one, the source from Capcom continued "We're not talking about how we're handling post-launch content, but I can say the relationship with Sony does open doors for things we haven't been able to do in the past."

Phil Spencer, Xbox Games executive, told GameSpot that these things sometimes happen, adding that "I'd love it if Xbox fans could play all the games, but business just makes some deals happen. It's all part of competition."

E3 2015 - If you've got a little more violence in mind, Devolver Digital has shown off its new title Mother Russia Bleeds through Sony in its E3 Keynote recently. Reminding us a little of the games of yesteryear, Devolver has added it's traditional pixelated blood bath twist to things.

With pre-Alpha footage all that is currently on hand, this PC and PlayStation 4 title is expected for launch in 2016 and features an ultra-violent co-op brawler playstyle centered around an alternate universe U.S.S.R regime. Based on a crew of street brawlers, you can team up with three of your friends to join in on the action.

The fighters are apparently vying for freedom, fighting against "an oppressive criminal authority and crippling drug addictions through any means necessary" as stated in a recent press release.