Resident Evil 4 VR Releases On Oculus Later This Month

Resident Evil 4 is arguably one of the best games of all time and has been ported to more consoles than almost any other game. But Capcom’s not done rereleasing the title, on October 21 the  survival horror game makes its way to VR. 

Capcom partnered with Oculus Studios and Armature Studio to bring Leon’s journey to VR for the first time. 

In a blog post Oculus said, “Standing or seated, players will enjoy plenty of comfort options. Support for both teleportation and room-scale movement means you can explore the game’s world your way. You’ll still move by using the analog stick, but Armature has added a full upper-body rig on top of Leon’s character to combine his movement with the dual-handed interactivity achieved with Touch controllers. Weapons and items have been re-engineered as physical objects, so you can pick them up and interact with them. Lastly, rather than navigating a menu to swap out weapons, you can grab them off your body.”

Resident Evil 4 VR launches exclusively on Oculus Quest 2 on October 21. 

Oculus Quest 2 Now Comes In 128GB Option

Facebook’s new Oculus Quest 2 (128GB model) is now available to buy. You can purchase the VR headset from the company’s website for the same $299 price as the previous 64GB base model. “Long story short? We’ve created this 128GB model so that players can easily store and access more games and apps on a single device,” Facebook says on the new storage option. 

Facebook Buys Beat Saber Developer Beat Games

Facebook has purchased Beat Saber developer Beat Games. It'll continue operating as an independently operated studio in Prague only it'll be under the umbrella of Oculus Studios.

Beat Games will "continue to ship content and updates for Beat Saber at the same time across all currently supported platforms," Oculus director of content Mike Verdu wrote in a blog post. As for Beat Saber's modding scene, Verdu noted Facebook and Oculus still plan to support mods, but those including pirated content might not be allowed:

"We understand and appreciate the value that modding brings to Beat Saber when done so legally and within our policies. We're going to do our best to preserve the value that mods bring to the Beat Saber player base. As a reminder, our most recent policy updates give more clarity to how developer mode is intended to be used, such as helping developers build their apps or for enthusiasts to explore new concepts. It is not intended for engaging in piracy or illicit modding, including mods that infringe on third-party IP rights or contain malicious code."

Oculus Link Will Turn Your Quest Into A Rift This November

During Oculus Connect 6 event, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced Oculus Link, a new feature that'll let Oculus Quest owners connect their headsets to gaming PCs via a USB-C cable. This will basically turn the standalone headset into a fully functional Oculus Rift.

Zuckerberg said the feature will work with most USB-C cables, and it'll be available this November. The idea of being able to use the Quest anyway you want it and being a gateway to VR is a game changer for sure. 

Finger Tracking Coming To Oculus Quest In 2020

During Oculus Connect 6 event, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced that the Oculus' Touch controllers could soon become a thing of the past. Users will be able to interact with their virtual environment using only their hands. The experimental feature will be available on the Quest starting in 2020 as part of the SDK. From there, developers will be able to integrate the tracking system into their software.

Respawn Entertainment’s VR Will Be Revealed In September

Facebook and Oculus Studios have announced that we'll get our first look at that Respawn Entertainment’s VR game at Oculus Connect in September.

The news comes from Oculus' post announcing the dates for Oculus Connect 6, the annual convention for all things Oculus. It also details a bit about what we can expect from the game, not that any of it is particularly shocking for a virtual reality game made by Respawn.

"OC6 is also an amazing opportunity to see the latest from game developers around the world," the post reads. "Respawn Entertainment (Apex Legends and Star Wars: Jedi Fallen Order) will join us at this year’s show to reveal a new AAA first-person combat title made in partnership with Oculus Studios, including the first hands-on playable demo." Oculus Connect takes place on September 25 - 26.

Here’s The Launch Lineup For The Oculus Quest

The launch lineup for the Oculus Quest consists of 53 games and apps, but Oculus says this list could change in the weeks leading up to launch.

You can get your hands on Oculus Quest on May 21. For more details of the hardware, click here. 

• Angry Birds VR: Isle of Pigs, Resolution Games
• Apex Construct, Fast Travel Games
• Apollo 11, Immersive VR Education
• Bait!, Resolution Games
• Ballista, High Voltage Software
• Beat Saber, Beat Games
• Bigscreen Beta, Bigscreen VR
• Bogo, Oculus
• Bonfire, Baobab
• Box VR, Fit XR
• Creed, Survios
• Dance Central, Harmonix
• Dead and Buried II, Oculus Studios
• Drop Dead: Duel Strike, Pixel Toys
• Electronauts, Survios
• Epic Roller Coasters, B4T Games
• Face Your Fears 2, Turtle Rock Studios
• First Contact, Oculus
• Fruit Ninja VR, Halfbrick
• Guided Tai Chi, Cubicle Ninjas
• I Expect You To Die,Schell Games
• Job Simulator, Owlchemy Labs
• Journey of the Gods, Turtle Rock Studios
• Keep Talking And Nobody Explodes, Steel Crate Games
• Moss, Polyarc
• National Geographic VR Explore, Force Field VR
• Nature Treks, Greener Games
• Ocean Rift, Dr. Llyr Ap Cenydd
• Oculus Browser, Oculus
• Oculus Gallery, Oculus
• Oculus TV, Oculus
• Oculus Video, Oculus
• Orbus VR, Orbus Online
• PokerStars VR, LuckyVR
• Racket Fury: Table Tennis, Pixel Edge Games
• Rec Room, Against Gravity
• Robo Recall, Drifter Entertainment
• Rush, Binary Mill
• Shadow Point, Coatsink
• Skybox VR Video Player, Source Technology Inc
• Space Pirate Trainer, I-Illusions
• Sports Scramble, Armature Studios
• Superhot VR, Superhot Team
• The Exorcist: Legion VR, Developer Wolf & Wood
• Thumper, Drool
• Tilt Brush, Google
• Ultrawings, BitPlanet Games
• Vader Immortal, ILMxLab
• Virtual Desktop,Virtual Desktop, Inc.
• Virtual Virtual Reality, Tender Claws
• VR Karts, Viewpoint Games
• VRChat, VRChat
• Wander, Parkline Interactive

Oculus Rift S And Oculus Quest Releasing At The End Of May

Oculus has revealed that both the Oculus Rift S and Oculus Quest are releasing globally on May 21. Both headsets will include a pair of the new, redesigned Touch controllers and will be $399.99 (or $499.99 for a version of Quest with 128 GB of space). Pre-orders for the headset are opening today.

The Oculus Rift S removes the need for external sensors, has a single cable that splits into two inputs and other upgrades like a higher resolution screen.

While the Oculus Quest is completely a standalone VR headset that has no external sensors and does not plug into a PC, but shares much of its library with a regular Oculus headset.

Oculus Announces The Rift S, Will Release This Spring

Oculus has revealed The Rift S, the new standard model going forward for the company. Priced at $399 and due out this Spring, the S brings plenty of new enhancements over the older models.

Among the enhancements over the original Rift, Oculus says that S was developed in partnership with Lenovo in order to make the headset more comfortable. The resolution for the headset has also been raised to 1280×1440 for each eye, and external sensors have been removed in favor of new tracking technology.

Beat Saber Coming To Oculus Quest

The Oculus Quest, has removed one of the major obstacles barring VR headsets from mainstream success. Instead of being tethered to a PC or console, the Quest is its own standalone system with no wires to worry about. Now, the Oculus Quest also has a killer app as Beat Games announced that it will be bringing Beat Saber to the headset.

Darth Vader VR Title Coming To Oculus Quest In 2019

Oculus has announced a new interactive VR series for the Oculus Quest, a stand alone VR headset. Taking place in the Star Wars universe, Vader Immortal: A Star Wars VR Story puts players in the role of a Darth Vader subordinate as you witness the tale unfolding around him. Vader Immortal is scheduled for release in 2019.

Oculus Quest Is An All-In-One VR Gaming Headset

Oculus has announced a new VR headset called Oculus Quest, a gaming-focused standalone headset. With Oculus Quest there's no need for a  computer or wires, everything you need is in the headset, except for the controllers you use to interact with it.

Oculus has only named a few of the 50 launch titles they expect to release, but they include Robo Recall, The Climb, Moss and Beat Saber.

The Oculus Quest is scheduled to release in Spring 2019 for $399.

Oculus Go VR Headset Is Now Available For Purchase

Oculus G, the all-in-one VR headset that isn't powered by a PC or phone was announced last fall, but now, for $199, you can get an Oculus Go VR Headset that contains 32 GB of storage (the 64 GB model is $249). While this headset doesn't need to connect to a phone or PC for power, you will need to connect to a free iOS or Android mobile app during setup. The Oculus Go headset is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 chip paired with Oculus’ automatic Dynamic Throttling feature that theoretically offers a smoother frame rate. Meanwhile, the Go’s new display panel features 538 pixels-per-inch for a resolution of 2560 x 1440. Obviously, battery life will vary based on use, but a built-in lithium ion battery should provide about two hours of playtime for games or up to 2.5 hours for streaming media and video. Go users will have access to a variety of content, which includes (text from Oculus):

• Over 1,000 Games and Experiences to explore including titles such as Anshar Online, They Suspect Nothing and Space Explorers (NASA), amongst others.
• An update to Oculus Rooms with a fully redesigned and customizable environment, more life-like avatars and the ability to watch full-length movies from among the hundreds of top titles in the Oculus Store. We're also bringing Hasbro games to Rooms: Boggle joins the platform this month, with Monopoly + Trivial Pursuit brand experiences coming later.
• Oculus TV is a brand-new way to experience your favorite serialized content. A custom-built 3D environment with a massive screen and virtual seating area, Oculus TV also serves as a convenient hub to launch your favorite individual VR entertainment apps, like Netflix, Hulu, and SHOWTIME.
• Oculus Venues, where you can watch live concerts, sports, comedy shows, and other events with your closest friends and an audience of thousands of people around the world (available beginning May 30).

Software Glitch Prevents Oculus Rift’s Around The World From Working

Out of nowhere today, Oculus Rift owners around the world found that their virtual reality headset wouldn't work due to a small error. "Can't reach Oculus runtime service" is the message that everyone trying to make use of their headset saw. Oculus' FAQ suggests restarting the software and restarting the hardware, neither of which seemed to do much good. The Oculus forums filled up with people complaining about the issue, with several digging into the Oculus files to see if there was anything indicating why a global glitch would occur. Sure enough, users have found and subsequently hypothesized a security certificate for the software expired today and was seemingly not renewed. Software uses security certificates to validate integrity with websites in order to prevent fraud or malicious use. Oculus has tweeted an acknowledgement of the issue, stating "We’re aware of an issue impacting people’s ability to use Rift’s software, and we’re working to fix the problem. Please visit http://ocul.us/RiftRuntime  for the latest—thanks for your patience!"

Respawn Entertainment Is Working On Oculus Rift VR Game

Titanfall developers Respawn Entertainment is promising a VR shooter for Oculus Rift in 2019. The announcement was made during the Oculus Connect event, and a blog post on the studio's website specifically mentions that it's not related to 2 of the properties the developer is working on: Titanfall and Star Wars. Thoughts ?

Oculus Announces Oculus GO For $199 + Rift Price Drop

During the Oculus Connect event, Oculus VR announced a new price drop for the Rift VR headset as well as another, cheaper way to get into VR. The Rift headset is now available for $399, that includes the headset, 2o sensors and Touch controllers, and a handful of games. If you're looking for a less-expensive VR option, the company also announced Oculus Go for $199. Oculus Go is a standalone VR headset that doesn't need a  PC to run and which comes with a single palm controller that's different than the Touch controller. More details on Oculus GO coming soon as the headset is releasing in 2018.

Play As Your Favorite Marvel Hero In Marvel Powers United VR

During the D23 Expo, Marvel announced Marvel Powers United VR for Oculus Rift. The co-op action game allows you to step inside the Marvel Universe with 3 of your friends making you feel just like one of your favorite heroes. Marvel Powers United will have over a dozen characters, and Hulk, Rocket Raccoon and Captain Marvel have been revealed so far.  The game is set to come out in 2018.

Oculus Rift And Touch Bundle Permanently Discounted To $499

The Oculus Rift and Touch bundle is permanently dropping to $499 once the sale ends in around 6 weeks. A bundle would’ve cost you almost $800 when the VR headset first became available in March. The Rift + Touch bundle includes the headset, 2 sensors, a pair of Touch controllers, cables and 6 free VR games/experiences -- Lucky's Tale, Medium, Toybox, Quill, Dead and Buried and Robo Recall. You can get the package from Oculus' official website or from retailers where the device is sold.

Oculus Rift Bundle Goes On Sale For $399

If you’ve been holding off on getting a VR headset, then now may be the time. Oculus has put a Rift bundle on sale, featuring the unit, Touch controls, several games, and more, for about $200 off the regular price. The bundle is available for $399, both on its official store and via participating retailers. The promotion is part of Oculus' Summer of Rift, which will feature daily deals on games for Rift and Gear VR.

Oculus Is Giving The Rift/Touch Bundle A Price Cut

Oculus has announced that they are slashing the price of the Rift/Touch bundle by $200. Now you can get the head mounted display and motion controllers for $598. To drive adoption rates of the Touch controllers for current Rift owners,  Oculus is also slashing that cost in half. The $199 controller set now costs $99. "The reason it's so important for us to drop the price of the Touch so much is that we've had rapid adoption of Touch by Rift users, but not 100-percent adoption," said Oculus VP of content Jason Rubin. "We don't want to leave stragglers." Additional Oculus Sensors now cost $59.What do you think of this price cut ? I’m not sure if this will help sell the rift, but only time will tell.