Oculus Touch Launching December 6th For $199

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It's official, the Oculus Rift Touch will launch on December 6th for $199, preorders start on October 10th. What do you guys think of the price? The two hundred dollar price tag puts it right in line with the HTC Vive.

Until now, the Oculus Rift has been incomplete. It's a comfortable, high-end VR headset, but without Touch the experience feels like a preview. A taste of the platform's full potential. Thankfully, that's all about to change: At Oculus Connect, the company announced that its motion controllers will be out on December 6th. They'll cost $199, putting the combined Rift price at $798. For reference, the HTC Vive with its wand controllers costs $799. PlayStation VR launches next week for $400, but that's only the headset -- you'll need to pay extra for the camera and Move controllers.
 
I think the Touch controllers look so much better than the Vive wands. I can't wait to get my hands on them.
 
They also feel a hell of a lot better. They're absolutely worth it.
 
Wasn't there something about Oculus preorders getting a discount on these? Or was it just 'first dibs'? I don't see anything in my account. :(
 
I'd be curious to know if they set the price tag that high just because it makes it equally priced with the Vive. Two controllers and an extra light sensor for $200 is pretty damn steep no matter how you look at it. That's 1/3rd the cost of the Oculus on it's own and I can guarantee they are cheaper to manufacture than the headset itself.
 
PiERiT said:
Wasn't there something about Oculus preorders getting a discount on these? Or was it just 'first dibs'? I don't see anything in my account. :(
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Oculus Rift preorders came with a preorder for Touch. I've never heard anything about preorders getting a discount outside of rumors and wishful thinking on reddit.
 
Sonicks said:
I'd be curious to know if they set the price tag that high just because it makes it equally priced with the Vive. Two controllers and an extra light sensor for $200 is pretty damn steep no matter how you look at it. That's 1/3rd the cost of the Oculus on it's own and I can guarantee they are cheaper to manufacture than the headset itself.
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It's not just about cost to build. They probably spent a lot in R&D. They need to recoup that cost too.
 
twonunpackmule said:
It's not just about cost to build. They probably spent a lot in R&D. They need to recoup that cost too.
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I get that but that is still a very steep price for three items. It really just seems like they chose the highest possible price they could pick without going over the Vive's price since that'll immediately put the Vive as the more cost effective option.
 
Sonicks said:
I get that but that is still a very steep price for three items. It really just seems like they chose the highest possible price they could pick without going over the Vive's price since that'll immediately put the Vive as the more cost effective option.
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Two guys in town, maximum profits. Want lower cost? Need more competition. Oculus will fight that with their exclusivity.
 
Just received the following email from Oculus. Looks like those who preordered the Rift can preorder Touch on Oct 10th!

Capture.PNG
 
Hmm, no email for me yet, wonder if KS backers will get another freebie.

Got to use the Touch controllers at PAX West, definately feel better in your hands than the Vive wands and have a better button and other control layout.

It will be interesting to see how many cameras SteamVR requires for roomscale setup.
 
Am i mistaken, I thought a single replacement Vive controller was like $150?

I'm definitely not upset about this price.
 
qwidmeyer said:
Am i mistaken, I thought a single replacement Vive controller was like $150?

I'm definitely not upset about this price.
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I believe they are around $120, which is probably what a replacement Touch controller would run you individually. So yeah, it's pretty competitive.
 
Im curious as to whether or not pre-orders will get their controllers on launch day/week. I'd hate for it to turn out like the Rift did where some people could buy it in store before they ever got the pre-order. I mean I'll be pre-ordering, lol...I just don't want it to be that way.
 
Hmm, trying my best but cannot get the Touch preorder to show for me. :(
 
Wife preordered mine. Ship date between Dec 6 - 15th. She won't let me open it up until Christmas. Fair enough.
 
Got mine ordered too. Hehe, although I do not own a Rift any more.
 
Won't the touch controllers work with the Vive via SteamVR?
 
noko said:
Won't the touch controllers work with the Vive via SteamVR?
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Nope, each headset uses a completely different method of tracking. The Vive has sensors on the headset/wands that pickup IR light emitted by base stations. The Oculus has sensors placed in the play area that pick up IR light emitted by the headset/controllers.
 
USMCGrunt said:
Nope, each headset uses a completely different method of tracking. The Vive has sensors on the headset/wands that pickup IR light emitted by base stations. The Oculus has sensors placed in the play area that pick up IR light emitted by the headset/controllers.
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Also for both systems the controllers communicate with the headset. Even if you have Oculus cameras and vive basestations in the same room, you can't use touch controllers without a rift headset.
 
pj- said:
Also for both systems the controllers communicate with the headset. Even if you have Oculus cameras and vive basestations in the same room, you can't use touch controllers without a rift headset.
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Where's your source for that regarding the Rift? As far as I've seen, the controllers only have an array of IR emitters on the front and the headset has no signal reception methods built into it.
 
USMCGrunt said:
Where's your source for that regarding the Rift? As far as I've seen, the controllers only have an array of IR emitters on the front and the headset has no signal reception methods built into it.
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The controllers have to relay their IMU data to the PC somehow..
 
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Thanks for the answers on the touch controller compatibility with other HMD's. So in essence Occulus peripherals looks like they will be proprietary and you will need to depend upon Occulus to supply any unique items like guns etc. or am I reading too much into this? Any third party support for Occulus peripherals?

I can see Sony and PSVR control over peripherals but for the PC any locked in one company only source for peripherals (if the case) usually does not work well over time.
 
It doesn't have anything to do with Oculus' exclusivity. The Vive's controllers also require the Vive headset in order to function.
 
TheSmJ said:
It doesn't have anything to do with Oculus' exclusivity. The Vive's controllers also require the Vive headset in order to function.
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So a third party could make controllers for either one but would be somewhat limited or extra cost to support both Occulus and the Vive. That in itself will limit controllers or peripherals due to different standards. Probably expected at this stage for VR. The biggest aspect that made the PC successful is the ability to make stuff for it and it will just work with a good driver. While OSVR it should just work if you go by the standards there just doesn't seem to be big money pushing it like where it needs to go.
 
OSVR would also probably have peripherals that need to communicate with the headset. It's not any different than valve's "open" vr in that respect. Anyone can make a steamvr compatible device if they follow the standard.

I googled a little and the internet says the vive headset can only communicate with two controllers max so I'm not sure how peripherals will be handled. Wifi? Maybe repurpose the steam controller dongle?

I guess we will find out next week. Edit: oh wait, it is today. I guess we will find out today or tomorrow
 
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There are some 3rd party controllers coming (maybe, if they don't go under) that should work with either headset. It will be interesting to see how many of the SteamVR titles that require the Vive controllers will work with the Touch controllers. There will need to be some work on the part of the app devs to make this happen as right now I don't think many titles even allow you to remap controls. They'll want to add this as more controllers come out with different buttons, triggers, joysticks and trackpads attached to the positional tracker. Soon we'll have more than just the two handheld trackers as options as well.

PrioVR // Suit Up. Game On.
STEM System™
 
TroubleMagnet said:
There are some 3rd party controllers coming (maybe, if they don't go under) that should work with either headset. It will be interesting to see how many of the SteamVR titles that require the Vive controllers will work with the Touch controllers. There will need to be some work on the part of the app devs to make this happen as right now I don't think many titles even allow you to remap controls. They'll want to add this as more controllers come out with different buttons, triggers, joysticks and trackpads attached to the positional tracker. Soon we'll have more than just the two handheld trackers as options as well.

PrioVR // Suit Up. Game On.
STEM System™
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So far all of the "Vive games" on Steam work with Touch. The only difference between the games that officially support Touch and the ones that don't is that Touch supported games use an in-game model of the Touch controllers, while games w/o support show you holding a Vive wand. The buttons remap well automatically due to how the API was programmed to work with inputs.
 
3rd parties could probably make controllers for the Rift, they'd just have to create the software hooks into the Oculus system and VR games that can interpret the new IR sensors. Each IR sensor 'blinks' at a specific frequency, so telling them apart would be simple for a program. More than likely, we'd just get attachments like the Wii had.

pj- said:
The controllers have to relay their IMU data to the PC somehow..
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What's your source stating they have IMUs and why does their position in relation to the headset's orientation matter? I'm not saying you're wrong, just that to me, their tracking can 'easily' be accomplished by the ring of IR sensors built into each controller. Having two (at min.) IR sensors not only eliminates occlusion of the headset by the controllers but each controller occluding the other.
 
noko said:
Thanks for the answers on the touch controller compatibility with other HMD's. So in essence Occulus peripherals looks like they will be proprietary and you will need to depend upon Occulus to supply any unique items like guns etc. or am I reading too much into this? Any third party support for Occulus peripherals?

I can see Sony and PSVR control over peripherals but for the PC any locked in one company only source for peripherals (if the case) usually does not work well over time.
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I think in the past both companies have had a pretty open stance on sharing their knowledge with 3rd parties, I'd think the same thing would go with support for 3rd party controller designers. It's got nothing to do with proprietary software that either company wants to share with anyone, they both just accomplished the same thing taking different routes. The PSVR from my understanding is more akin to the Rift that it is to the Vive because it uses the PSEye to tracking lights on the PSVR and wands but that doesn't mean it's using Oculus technology. The tracking methods are fairly simple in concept, at one end of the setup you have a light emitting device and at the other end you have a sensor that can receive the light emission. Vive mounted the light emitters in the room and sensors on the headset, Oculus and Playstation mounted the light emitters on the headset and sensors in the room.
 
USMCGrunt said:
3rd parties could probably make controllers for the Rift, they'd just have to create the software hooks into the Oculus system and VR games that can interpret the new IR sensors. Each IR sensor 'blinks' at a specific frequency, so telling them apart would be simple for a program. More than likely, we'd just get attachments like the Wii had.
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The Oculus API would have to know the physical layout of the LEDs in the object to know how the LED positions map to the physical object. It is obviously capable of this, but it's not known if this is available to outside parties.


What's your source stating they have IMUs and why does their position in relation to the headset's orientation matter? I'm not saying you're wrong, just that to me, their tracking can 'easily' be accomplished by the ring of IR sensors built into each controller. Having two (at min.) IR sensors not only eliminates occlusion of the headset by the controllers but each controller occluding the other.
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Your question is like asking "What's your source on the Gameboy having a screen?"

Optical only tracking is not sufficient and every VR object announced so far (rift, touch, vive, vive wands, psvr headset, move controllers, gearvr, daydream) utilize an IMU. The position relative to the headset does not matter and I did not say anything of the sort. If the controllers have IMUs to augment the optical tracking (they do), that IMU data has to get to the PC to be used by the game somehow, and currently that communication is done: controller -- (wireless) --> headset -- (usb) --> PC.

Finding sources is left as an exercise for the reader. This is the most basic of VR facts
 
Some time has passed since launch of both the Vive and Rift, it was known before as well what the hardware was. I expected at this point in time devices to supplement those HMD would be available or at least being shown. Some of the prices for the linked controllers looks to be very expensive. VR at this stage could be one hell of an expensive trip with stuff getting obsolete overnight.
 
pj- said:
Your question is like asking "What's your source on the Gameboy having a screen?"

Optical only tracking is not sufficient and every VR object announced so far (rift, touch, vive, vive wands, psvr headset, move controllers, gearvr, daydream) utilize an IMU. The position relative to the headset does not matter and I did not say anything of the sort. If the controllers have IMUs to augment the optical tracking (they do), that IMU data has to get to the PC to be used by the game somehow, and currently that communication is done: controller -- (wireless) --> headset -- (usb) --> PC.

Finding sources is left as an exercise for the reader. This is the most basic of VR facts
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No, the Gameboy analogy doesn't work, the equivalent would be what's your source on the Gameboy having X button. The controllers have been delayed for nearly six months because Oculus has been trying to work out a problem.

"Finding sources is left as an exercise for the reader." Good job religious teaching :cautious:
 
I don't think the controllers were delayed because of a problem. They encountered some problems along the way like any product in development does, but I believe they intentionally came later because they didn't want to fuck over all the people who had been making controller based games for the last two years. Plus all games would have been basically vive ports if they had Touch at Rift launch.
 
noko said:
Some time has passed since launch of both the Vive and Rift, it was known before as well what the hardware was. I expected at this point in time devices to supplement those HMD would be available or at least being shown. Some of the prices for the linked controllers looks to be very expensive. VR at this stage could be one hell of an expensive trip with stuff getting obsolete overnight.
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Yes, VR absolutely is in the early stages and expect to see all the hardware be made obsolete in 1-2 years. I've already got a DK1 and DK2 that will likely never be used again and I expect my Vive and Rift CV1 to join them in a year or two. Reminds me of PCs in the 80's and 90's when we still had exponential performance gains. I'm betting the Vive and Touch controllers will look like Atari 2600 joysticks compared to what we have in 5 years.
 
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