The gaming industry has been shaken up the past few years by the implementation of virtual reality (VR), specifically the Oculus Rift. While other VR headsets have been announced since the Rift project started, none of them have made it to customer hands like the Oculus Developer Kit 1 (DK1) and DK2. This has allowed early adaptors to play with VR and discover the pros and cons of it.
During this trial time it became clear that VR did one thing very well, simulate racing. Many people have called it the most immersive racing experience they’ve ever had. You can see why.
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Of course, there were some drawbacks. The loudest complaint about DK2 was the ho-hum resolution compared to 1080p monitors that most of us are familiar with these days. The DK2 also required a good amount of ‘fiddling’ to get it working correctly. Of course, it was a development kit so this was to be expected. But now Oculus is ready for the big stage.
Today, Oculus showed off the consumer version of the Rift for the first time. Unfortunately, no hard specs were given but those will probably be revealed next week at E3. Here’s what we did find out.
Oculus did say that the two OLED screens have been upgraded for better resolution and a wider field of view. On the flip side, Oculus CEO Brendan Iribe did leave us with this somewhat sobering comment of, “maybe not quite as high-resolution as you one day want.” Hmmm…I see.
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The consumer version looks very similar to DK2, with the most noticeable differences being new integrated earphones and more padding added. Smartly, the ear phones can be removed…I don’t see many sim racers using them. The consumer Rift tracking camera is new compared to the DK2 but acts in the same manner.
Oculus also announced that they have partnered with Microsoft to help with Windows 10 and Xbox One integration. This partnership also means that each Oculus Rift will come with a wireless Xbox One controller….a nice feature if you’re an Xbox One person…but unnecessary if you’re a wheel and pedal sim racer. Hopefully there will be a sans Xbox controller option.
Speaking of controllers, Oculus also unveiled the Oculus Touch, a pair of controllers that sense your hand position. Kind of neat…just not useful for racing.
What I do think is helpful for racing is the software side of the partnership with Microsoft. This should mean a lot of effort into drivers for Windows 10 and the Xbox One. With many racing titles currently on the PC and the ever growing list of quality titles on / coming to the Xbox One (Project CARS, Assetto Corsa, Forza Horizon 2, Forza Motorsports 6), this is good news. I’m expecting the process of installing the Rift to become very user friendly, because the console audience demands it.
The consumer version of the Oculus Rift is on schedule for a Q1 2016 release. Keep in mind, Q1 can extend all the way to May.
Does the consumer Rift make you want to take the VR jump?
Oh sure, now you tell me, AFTER I upgrade to triple screens. LOL!
No matter, if it turns out to be revolutionary, I’ll be happy to make the switch.
dk2 is pretty damn awesome with iracing. That’s all I play it on. You’ve been missing out. I can only imagine how much better it’ll be in cv1
It would be cool, but for $1,500 I can buy two more 47″ and make my triple screens pretty epic. I have vision problems that would make it a less than desireable result. However, I am glad to see the evolution… If it was a better fit, I would love to give it a go.
It’s going to be nowhere near $1,500. Closer to the $300-350 range.
Motion sickness