Every Oculus Rift Will Ship With a Free Xbox One Controller

[Steven Bogos]

Every Oculus Rift Will Ship With a Free Xbox One Controller

Thanks to a partnership with Microsoft, all Oculus Rift purchasers will get a free Xbox One controller and wireless adapter.

It's hard to use a keyboard and mouse together with a VR headset like the launches next year [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/tag/view/oculus%20rift]. Right? Wrong. Due to a partnership with Microsoft, every single Oculus Rift will come packaged with an Xbox One controller, and a wireless adapter.

"We believe we'll be able to create state of the art virtual reality experiences with the Oculus Rift on top of Windows," announced Microsoft's Phil Spencer. He added that the Oculus Rift will work natively on Windows 10, and will allow gamers to stream Xbox One games to the headset.

Of course, while the Xbox One controller will work with all versions of Windows, you'll have to upgrade to Windows 10 in order to take advantage of its wireless adapter.

It does seem a little strange of Microsoft to throw its support behind the Rift, when its own VR experience, Morpheus [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/139553-Microsoft-Windows-Holographic-Augmented-Reality-Holograms-HoloLens] hits the market.

Source: The Verge [http://www.theverge.com/2015/6/11/8766917/oculus-rift-xbox-one-controller]

Permalink

 

[Covarr]

"Free" free, or "included in the price" free? I can't say I'm terribly pumped to spend 40 bucks more because they included a controller when I already have a couple of 360 controllers.

P.S. Thanks

 

[Jeremy Dawkins]

Further cementing how much I don't want or need an oculus.

 

[Sight Unseen]

So Oculus is now partnered with both Facebook and Microsoft? My interest in Oculus has dropped even further. I'll wait and see if the HTC Vive or other 3rd party products can compete with this before considering an Oculus at this rate.

 

[Bix96]

So Oculus is now partnered with both Facebook and Microsoft? My interest in Oculus has dropped even further. I'll wait and see if the HTC Vive or other 3rd party products can compete with this before considering an Oculus at this rate.

Yep... leave it to big greedy corporations to kill anything new or fun.
This seems like a sneaky way to get people to use windows 10 since you can't use the damn thing without it.

 

[Asclepion]

Did you see Microsoft's demo of Forza on Oculus?


My sides have entered orbit.

 

[MazokuRanma]

Honestly, I think it's a good call. I buy every console, and as far as games went, I preferred my PS3 over my 360, and I currently prefer my PS4 over my XB1 (Though I don't think either of the MS systems are terrible or anything). That said, MS nailed the controller. The PS controller may evoke a sense of nostalgia in me, but from a pure usability standpoint, I have to give to the 360 and the XB1. The 360 did a great job and the One just refined it.

 

[Kameburger]

I honestly have to say I have no interest in the Xbox. So are they saying that i'm gonna have this extra controller sitting around that I won't be using? Oculus is now the game industries largest "sell out" in history. Here you have a crowdfunded indie rebel, that got bought out by one of the largest personal information data bank on the planet, and then partners with one of the largest tech monopolies on the planet. What with all the fundraising and time spent on M&A and redesigns and hype, now there are at least 3 other major potential competitors to this item, I frankly don't see what makes this one special to begin with now, and now much less so because its going to bundle a bunch of garbage I don't need. I don't know if I'm being unfair but there is really almost literally nothing they could do to get me excited about this whole thing. Absolutely nothing.

 

[Joccaren]

I guess its a nice thought, but if I end up getting an Oculus the controller is going straight on Ebay for a very low price. No need for one. Can touch type and mouse like a boss, so there's really not a problem with controls for me. I don't even look at my keyboard or mouse when I'm playing games normally anyway, so its not like an oculus would make a huge difference.

 

[mysecondlife]

Did you see Microsoft's demo of Forza on Oculus?


My sides have entered orbit.

That awkward silence at the end of the video...

 

[klaynexas3]

Eh, I'd prefer a PS4 controller as that feels so much more comfortable in my hands, but I won't scoff at another controller, especially one with native support, so I can play some co-op games with my friends on other games.

Also, them partnering with bigger corporations isn't something I'm majorly worried about. There's enough competitors now that they couldn't get away with too much bullshitting, and I'd rather see it have as much funding as it needs versus going the way of the Ouya.

 

[Hairless Mammoth]

"Free" free, or "included in the price" free? I can't say I'm terribly pumped to spend 40 bucks more because they included a controller when I already have a couple of 360 controllers.

P.S. Thanks

Yeah I'd like to know if the end user is paying for at least some of the cost of the controller. It's nice of them to announce this news before the price of the Rift, so we might not know if it really is free.

I've got many PC controller solutions already. (PS2, Gamecube, PS3, 360) I don't really need another, and I'm sure several others don't either.

So Oculus is now partnered with both Facebook and Microsoft? My interest in Oculus has dropped even further. I'll wait and see if the HTC Vive or other 3rd party products can compete with this before considering an Oculus at this rate.

Yep... leave it to big greedy corporations to kill anything new or fun.
This seems like a sneaky way to get people to use windows 10 since you can't use the damn thing without it.

It might not be wireless, but one could use a USB micro to directly connect it to a PC. That would let them stay with Win 7/8 until Win 10 is proven reliable.

 

[gorfias]

Honestly, I think it's a good call. I buy every console, and as far as games went, I preferred my PS3 over my 360, and I currently prefer my PS4 over my XB1 (Though I don't think either of the MS systems are terrible or anything). That said, MS nailed the controller. The PS controller may evoke a sense of nostalgia in me, but from a pure usability standpoint, I have to give to the 360 and the XB1. The 360 did a great job and the One just refined it.

So much my own thoughts. So far, I prefer the PS4 to the XB1, but, I can't help but love the XB1 controller more.

I am very interested in the Rift for consoles. Might as well. As long as anyone sees me with either headphones, 3d glasses or both and calls me a nerd, might as well go full throttle with the rift. I cannot wait!

PS: You say you get everything: Wii U? Lotta fun in my book.

 

[CrystalShadow]

... Ugh. Well, that explains a few things...

Though why would hololens matter here? Do people not get this? VR =/= AR.
The important features for these two things are quite different.

This is not what I would've expected to see though.
I mean an xbox one controller is... OK, (I have one for PC gaming use)
But it is far from ideal for Virtual environments.

I'd much rather have the vr 'standard' be something along the lines of a razer hydra.
Still relatively straightforward (compared to say, a treadmill, or some kind of full-body suit or whatever), but far more interesting than a standard game controller.

Really, the only reason to do this is because it emphasises how it's nearly impossible to use a keyboard in VR, and also somewhat impractical to use a mouse.

In that regard a standard controller is better than nothing, but... Rather on the dull side of things.

 

[Strazdas]

And now i want Oculus even less. I guess at least the hype sis dieing down now.

Did you see Microsoft's demo of Forza on Oculus?

Please tell me this is a joke. Not even Microsoft can fail so hard, can they?

 

[Hawk of the Plain]

That press conference torpedoed my interest in the rift. So they raise the price of the Rift and call the controller free. Microshaft keeps trying to push it's xbox brand into PCs and it's really starting to piss me off. I don't want your brand, service, console or controller anywhere near my PC. And Oculus helping them spread the xbox infection destroys their credibility. Besides the steam controller releasing in a few months has rendered the Xbone controller redundant as far as I'm concerned.

 

[VincentX3]

Welp Vive\Morpheus is it then.

Because let's be real, ever since Facebook bought Oculus, there's no way it's going to be a 100% gaming related product.

Did you see Microsoft's demo of Forza on Oculus?


My sides have entered orbit.

That awkward silence at the end of the video...

It's so hard not to make a women driving joke right now... :'l

 

[RJ 17]

Did you see Microsoft's demo of Forza on Oculus?


My sides have entered orbit.

Sooooo we're going to be sitting in our living room with an Oculus on...just so we can enter a VR world in which we're.......sitting in a living room playing Forza? Wow...the marvels of technology never cease to amaze.

 

[synobal]

Did you see Microsoft's demo of Forza on Oculus?


My sides have entered orbit.

Sooooo we're going to be sitting in our living room with an Oculus on...just so we can enter a VR world in which we're.......sitting in a living room playing Forza? Wow...the marvels of technology never cease to amaze.

That can't be real.. I mean there is just no way microsoft could be that.. retarded.

 

[Jadak]

Sooooo we're going to be sitting in our living room with an Oculus on...just so we can enter a VR world in which we're.......sitting in a living room playing Forza? Wow...the marvels of technology never cease to amaze.

You know, it's too bad really. As it's not like the idea for a virtual environment is a bad one for those of us living in our own filth or otherwise lacking a decent home entertainment setup. They've just gone and shot themselves in the foot by not only showing a game, but showing a game where a VR cockpit view is the natural assumption, setting people up for disappointment.

For film purposes, it'd be decent. Not to mention the fact that you could be sitting in a fucking closet with no tv, making the whole thing extremely practical.

Overall, decent feature, just a major marketing fuckup to use a game and not emphasize the use case. Hell, should have had a kid in the back seat of a car watching a movie like he's in the theater.