Gamers Are Going to Go Nuts Over Oculus Rift's New Features

Impact

Virtual reality headset Oculus Rift gets a lot of press for its porn possibilities, its role in the future of law enforcement and its promise to make shopping easier — but its real purpose often gets lost. Above everything else, Oculus is an amazing gaming system. And the pre-E3 press conference on Thursday proved it.

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The headset is engineered to be light; it won't strain your neck if you play a massive, extremely long game like "EVE: Valkyrie." The sound system takes depth into account to make, say, a berserk dinosaur or killer robot get louder as it approaches.

Along with announcing the free inclusion of an Xbox One controller and a Windows 10 operating system with each headset, Oculus VR founder Palmer Luckey introduced Oculus Touch, handsets that give you realistic in-game hand movements. 

"You need to be able to pick up a gun from a table and be able to fire it or throw it effortlessly, without even having to think about it," Luckey said, adding, "You can pull robots limb from limb."

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Accoridng to Luckey, they're ergonomic and incredibly comfortable for long play periods. They mirror each other (just like real hands!) and can detect finger positions, like when you throw a weapon or give a thumbs-up.

In other words, Oculus Rift is the futuristic virtual reality system you always pined while watching sci-fi movies. And it's finally available in early 2016, though there's no specific retail date yet.