A happy customer tries out the Oculus Rift virtual reality headset. Picture: Jae C. Hong
FACEBOOK-owned virtual reality firm Oculus has aimed squarely at video game lovers as it unveiled Rift headsets to go on sale early next year.
Oculus has showed off Rift along with a dazzling array of games promised to be ready at launch, the exact date of which was not disclosed.
“In virtual reality, you are going to find yourself reminding your brain that this is not real,” Oculus chief executive Brendan Iribe said during a media event on Thursday in San Francisco.
“It is a paradigm change.” Oculus did not disclose pricing for Rift, which will come with an Xbox controller because of an alliance with console-maker Microsoft.
“The opportunity for us to bring our wireless controller to every Oculus user at launch is incredibly exciting for us,” Xbox division leader Phil Spencer said at the event.
“We believe we will be able to create state-of-the-art virtual reality experiences on the Oculus on top of Windows (computer operating system).”
Combining Xbox controllers with Oculus is a win for Microsoft and Oculus, according to Gartner analyst Brian Blau.
Photographers crowding around the new Oculus Rift virtual reality headset is an indication of the hype behind this product.Source:AP
The alliance raises the potential for Oculus virtual reality gear to synch with Xbox consoles as well as across the range of devices that will be powered by Windows 10 computer operating software set for release later this year, the analyst said.
Spencer said that virtual reality “experiences” would be built on top of Windows, but didn’t go into details.
No mention was made of whether Oculus would work with Xbox console games.
“I think this does more for Microsoft and PC (personal computer) games than anything they have done in years, in terms of exciting new things,” Blau said.
Microsoft has promised that applications written to work on Windows 10 machines will be at home on Xbox consoles.
Oculus founder Palmer Luckey also showed off a “Touch” accessory that will let people essentially reach into virtual worlds to manipulate objects or issue commands with gestures.
“You need to be able to pick up a gun from a table, fire it, and throw it away without even thinking about it,” Luckey said.
“You can light explosives, pull robots limb from limb, punch garden gnomes … lots of cool experiences.”
Oculus founder Palmer Luckey reveals a ‘Touch’ device the virtual reality firm is creating to let people reach into digital worlds and interact with faux objects. Picture: Glenn ChapmanSource:AFP
Oculus promised hands-on demonstrations of titles promised at a major Electronic Entertainment Expo event next week in Los Angeles.
“There was always this distance between players and the game,” said Oculus studios head Jason Rubin.
“Virtual reality lets you step through that window; finally we can create worlds that feel real. 2016 is going to be an absolutely incredible year for gaming.”
Oculus said the headset will hit the market in the first quarter of next year.
Facebook last year bought Oculus for about $AU2.58 billion.
[Source:-news.com.au]