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Folks are using the Oculus Rift for all sorts of interesting things. You name it, and there's probably a Rift demo for it. But this has to be the first Rift-enabled rollercoaster simulator for the internet that I've ever seen.


It's called the "Trend Coaster," and it's from Yahoo! Japan. As website IT Media explains, you wear a Rift headset as you strap into a motion sim.


[Clip: iPodStyleMovie]

Here's how it works: You enter a keyword, such as "tennis" or "iPhone 6." Yahoo! Japan's program then generates a rollercoaster track that corresponds to how the word is trending. The track's shape is based on things like search results and even "positive" and "negative" comments. As you ride the internet rollercoaster, corresponding photos and tweets fly by.

[Clip: iPodStyleMovie]

Sounds rather amazing, no? It's an internet-based rollercoaster!


[Clip: iPodStyleMovie]

That's comedian Takashi Yoshimura. He seems impressed.

If you are in Tokyo, you can check out the Trend Coaster free of charge at Tokyo Leisure Land until September 15, and at AD Tech Tokyo from September 17 to 18. And if you can't make it to those, check out the YouTube videos in the links below by iPodStyleMovie.


Oculus Riftでジェットコースター体験！ [IT Media]

Trend Coaster [Yahoo! Japan]

ヤフートレンドコースター 発表会 [iPodStyleMovie]

ヤフートレンドコースターにiPod Styleがチャレンジ [iPodStyleMovie]

Top clip: iPodStyleMovie ]

To contact the author of this post, write to bashcraftATkotaku.com or find him on Twitter @Brian_Ashcraft .

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