Oculus revealed a pair of new headsets earlier today which make their next generation wireless. Or nearly wireless, that is to say - they still need to be charged up with wires. Both the Oculus GO and the "Oculus Santa Cruz" are made to expand the VR universe to a new place - one that does not connect to the PC with a big fat cord, and one that does not require a separate smartphone to function.
Oculus has announced the upcoming arrival of Rift Core 2.0, its biggest Rift software update ever, according to the company. The update will bring a new Oculus Dash to the company's VR headset software, as well as a new Home user interface that enables customization with things like artwork, toys, and furniture.
Bad news if you're a Facebook user who hasn't been swayed by the magic that is virtual reality yet. The social network may not have had its name on above of the door of the fourth annual Oculus Connect conference, but ways to squirt increasing amounts of VR into your Facebook experience were a frequent topic during the opening keynote. Indeed, Mark Zuckerberg himself made the intention clear.
This week the folks at Oculus cut the price of bundle packages for the Oculus Rift. The headset's price point is a permanent change, coming because the company suggests they want to "get VR into more people's hands." This comes a few months after Oculus Rift's main opposition - the HTC VIVE - got its own price drop to $599 - that's below the whopping $799 the device cost in the first place.
Oculus may have a more affordable Oculus Go in the pipeline, but true virtual reality fans know what they really want: a full VR headset with desktop PC power. That's the idea behind Oculus Santa Cruz, an untethered VR experience that promises the potency and graphical intensity of an Oculus Rift, but without the wires. The company showed off the latest iteration at Oculus Connect 4 today, its annual developer conference.
Oculus has revealed its newest headset, Oculus Go, aiming to bridge the gap between mobile-based virtual reality headsets and PC-tethered versions. Unveiled today at Oculus Connect 4, the company's annual developer conference, Oculus Go promises the pricing we're used to from phone-based VR headsets, but the quality and performance of a PC-powered system.
Oculus today announced that a new version of its Rift Development Kit - aptly named Rift Development Kit 2 - is now available for DIYers to peruse. This open source kit comes will all the information you need to begin making your own VR headset, and offers quite a few improvements over the original RDK. If you're interested in what it might take to build a VR headset on your own, this is definitely worth checking out.
Oculus is spending the day rolling out a big quality of life improvement to both the Rift and the Gear VR. The company took the time today to reflect on some of the big changes its made to both headsets over the course of the summer, but it seems it's saved the best for last: refunds. After testing a refund option in the UK, Oculus is ready to roll it out on a larger scale.
Almost every other movie these days has a virtual reality tie in. It’s almost unavoidable considering how popular VR is. That’s especially true if the film in question is fantasy or, better yet, sci-fi. With the San Diego Comic Con kicking into full gear this week, there is no better time to promote such virtual reality experiences. Blade Runner 2049, the sequel to a sci-fi cult classic, is no different, and Oculus is only too happy to bring Gear VR owners an appetizer of what’s to come later this year.
It appears that Oculus really wants to take the fight to HTC VIVE. The Oculus Rift has been on sale in a bundle with its Touch controllers for a few days now, dropping the package's price to $399 and severely undercutting the cost of a VIVE headset. Today, Oculus announced that the Rift will be getting a permanent price cut once the Summer of Rift sale wraps up.
When it comes to VR, customers have options on both the high-end and the low-end, but nothing that's firmly in the mid-range. If you want an introduction to virtual reality, Samsung's Gear VR makes a good jumping off point, as all you need is a Samsung phone to make it work. On the other side of the coin, HTC and Oculus have the high-end on lock down with headsets that cost hundreds of dollars and require a beefy PC to work. What about everyone else who may want a reasonably powerful headset that doesn't require a PC? Oculus may be gearing up to unveil a headset aimed at that very segment.
Oculus has announced plans to shutter Story Studio, the company's division for creating VR-based storytelling content. According to Oculus, Story Studio was initially intended to produce short and creative virtual reality content that would 'inspire traditional filmmakers' to create their own similar VR offerings. We're two years into the future now, and VR video creation is a quickly growing category among digital creatives. In light of that, Oculus has decided to stop producing its own internal content and to instead focus on supporting 'external production.'
