Six months after the highly anticipated launch of its virtual-reality goggles, Facebook’s Oculus has come up against strong competition from HTC and Sony, and has endured a string of disappointing gaffes, while shipping problems and a higher-than-expected price have helped bungle the launch.
And there is yet to be a hit game that would broaden its appeal to mainstream consumers.
Now Oculus is trying to reignite enthusiasm for its headset. Oculus revealed that it is working on a new lower-end device that wouldn’t need to be tethered to a personal computer, like the Rift, or a mobile phone. It also unveiled its $199 Touch hand controllers for grabbing and moving virtual objects.
CEO Mark Zuckerberg has predicted virtual reality will be the next major computing platform, allowing the most immersive way yet for users to play games, socialise online and watch videos.
Zuckerberg also said Facebook would pay US$250 million to developers creating virtual-reality content – on top of the $250 million already spent.
