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By 12 June 2015 | Categories: news

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Today marks one of Oculus' biggest events to date. The Virtual Reality specialists took this morning, before E3 kicks off next week, in order to drum up interest in a slew of new games, devices and developments it has planned.

The first thing that draws attention is a new Rift VR headset, which was revealed in a rather cinematic trailer (shown below) that any smartphone manufacturer would be proud of. Although in no ways a radical departure from the look of previous VR headsets, this Rift seems far more polished than previous iterations. Oculus also notes that it is more comfortable to wear, and easier to slip on and off, although the exact dimensions and weight are not detailed.   

Along with the Rift, also showcased was an all-new controller for its VR system, which they refer to as Oculus Touch. It is by far the most interesting thing that Oculus showcased, purely because it does not look like any conventional controller we've encountered to date. For one, it is not a single controller, but rather two wireless units, each with its own analog stick and two buttons, as well as a trigger button up front. Designed to give gamers a bit more freedom of movement while playing a VR title, the Oculus Touch controllers are still in the prototype phase, with no official word on an actual release.

Last but not least were a bevy of new titles designed specifically for the Oculus VR system, including EVE: Valkyrie and Edge of Nowhere. To show some of the new gaming content on offer, Oculus released a YouTube video (shown below). We are quite pleased to see that the games on offer are not simply first-person in nature, with third person and overhead views (as in RTS games) all receiving the VR treatment.     

As interesting as Oculus' showcase was, there is still no word on when any of this content will hit the mainstream, but it is however nice to see that the company is not resting on their laurels. Not it’s time for Sony and its Project Morpheus platform to do the same.


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