Traditionally, the middle-child can be the most problematic, but Oculus is hoping that its new Oculus Quest virtual reality headset bucks that trend. Revealed at Oculus Connect 5 today, the Facebook-owned company's annual VR developer event, the Quest slots in-between the existing Rift and Go headsets and, as I eagerly put to the test, promises the best of both.
Seven major games were shown at OC5 today by Oculus, by in Oculus Studios and in Oculus Publishing, too. In the Oculus Studio Titles category were Stormland by Insomniac Games, Lone Echo II by Ready At Dawn, Echo Combat (also by Ready at Dawn), and Defector by Twisted Pixel. Under the Oculus Publishing Titles umbrella were three titles: VOX Machinae by Space Bullet, Space Junkies by Ubisoft, and Final Assault by Phaser Lock.
![Star Wars: Vader Immortal trailer and release info revealed [UPDATE]](https://c.slashgear.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/oculus-connect-5-2018-9-980x620.jpg)
This week the folks at ILMxLAB spoke at Oculus Connect 5 about their new title "Vader Immortal." This is a virtual reality experience that takes place in three parts - the first of which is called Vader Immortal: Episode I. In the game, users will travel to Mustafar, to Darth Vader's palace. This experience will take place in the Star Wars universe in the period of time between Revenge of the Sith and Star Wars: A New Hope.
While the Oculus Quest may have been the big-ticket item during today's Oculus Connect 5 keynote, Facebook still took a little time to cover the software side of things. More specifically, the company gave us a launch window for the next version of the Rift's system software. Dubbed Oculus Rift Core 2.0, this new system software is exiting beta today and launching to all Rift owners at some point next month.
Oculus will launch personalized expressive avatars later this year, adding the ability to show facial expressions and more through the virtual versions of each VR user. It's part of the Facebook-owned company's attempt to reach a billion users, something social network CEO Mark Zuckerberg concedes that Oculus is only around 1-percent of the way to completing so far.
YouTube VR finally made its way to Oculus GO this week at OC5. That's Oculus Connect, the 5th in a row, bringing with it a wide array of new games and experiences in each of the three Oculus VR headsets. This app brings the entire world of YouTube to Oculus GO in more ways than one.
Oculus Quest is Facebook's big-time next-generation VR headset. This device is wireless, comes with Touch Controllers, and offers 6DoF (6 degrees of freedom.) It has built-in audio (with a system similar to previous all-in-one mobile VR systems) - and it's running its own OS (based on Android). Inside the device is a series of sensors that allows the device to run free from other devices.
Virtual reality is all about immersing yourself in a made-up world that looks (in theory) like you’re really in it. The last thing you need is a flat floating rectangle that shatters that illusion. That said, if you ever need to access the Web, that’s exactly the only way. Mozilla, however, says it doesn’t have to be a painful and disconcerting experience. With Firefox Reality now in its version 1.0 stable release, one of the world’s biggest web browsers is taking a step towards blending the 2D web and the immersive web.
Much like Xerxes the first, the team behind Viveport are generous gods, and do not want to keep the service to themselves alone. As such, the Viveport subscription service just came to Oculus this morning. With the Viveport VR Store on Oculus Rift, users can drop in on the subscription service with 200 compatible titles OR buy games individually.
Ahead of the game's release later this month comes the Marvel Powers United VR Special Edition Rift + Touch Bundle, a kit containing the Oculus VR headset and controllers, as well as the new Marvel virtual reality game. Gamers who already own the Oculus hardware can also preorder the new Marvel game now, ensuring they'll have it as soon as it goes live next week.
Oculus Go is almost like a the middle child of Oculus’ other existing VR devices, the full-featured Oculus Rift and the smartphone-powered Samsung Gear VR. The device, which almost resembles a smartphone in terms of specs, tries to offer the mobility of a Gear VR but without the hassles of having to slot in a phone. To make sure that the Oculus Go doesn’t get treated like a middle child, the VR pioneer has launched Oculus TV so you can enjoy your video streaming anytime, anywhere, perhaps even when you’re not supposed to.
Be cautious when you see the headlines for this device - most people want to say one of two things. One, this is the device that will bring VR mainstream! Two, this device isn't any different than any smartphone VR system, and isn't worth your time. Today we're going to be real about this situation: If you've got $200, you want to own a VR headset, but you don't want to pay $400 for a full-powered PC headset plus full-powered PC (probably a thousand more dollars, or more), then this is your key: Oculus Go.