Oculus Rift Touch Wireless Controllers Finally Available Online And In Retail Stores
Originally scheduled to launch in the first quarter of 2016 along with the Oculus Rift virtual reality (VR) headset, the Oculus Touch controllers were instead delayed in order to work out bugs, improve performance and make the experience more reliable for users.
“Precise tracking and ergonomic handle design work in tandem to bring hand poses and social gestures into VR for a more immersive experience,” writes the Oculus Team. “Thanks to balanced weight distribution, Touch feels natural in your hand so you can relax and enjoy the virtual world. Hand presence opens up new opportunities to interact with others while experiencing VR—and this is just the first step.”
Oculus says that you will be able to demo Touch in over 500 retail locations spread through the United States, Canada, Germany, France and the UK. In addition, 54 VR titles await you that give you the full hands-on experience with Oculus Touch. Oculus First Contact was singled out for its ability to transport you back to 1980s retro sci-fi (just watching the trailer below wants me to pop in my old Short Circuit DVD).
The Oculus Touch controllers are priced at $199, which when combined with the $599 outlay for an Oculus Rift makes for an $800 gaming accessory. Coincidentally, this is the exact same price as the HTC Vive, which comes bundled with motion controllers in the box.
Now all you need is a $2,000 backpack PC from MSI or Zotac to get the full unencumbered VR experience.
