Here at Crunchwear we are especially excited about the forthcoming virtual reality revolution. After all, regular reality is boring(Except for Netflix and maybe pizza.) So why wouldn’t we want to fly through space, fight demons or, uh, arrange, Tetris pieces in a holodeck-like space? Many companies are now vying for the top spot in this brand new industry, with Sony having just announced their own foray into the field with their Project Morpheus. However, the current leader and originator of the idea has to be Oculus and their Rift device. It started it all. Now Oculus is back with a vastly improved second development kit for all of you early adopters out there. The best part? It only costs $350.
The second Rift development kit offers several upgrades over the original. For one, it features a custom, in-house camera that faces you while playing to track depth. This should help add another dimension to the gameplay(note, Sony’s own Project Morpheus also does something similar with their PlayStation camera.) The IR sensors have also been better hidden, so you won’t get in their way, and the wires have been cut down dramatically. Now only one wire hangs from the Rift itself, giving you plenty of leeway and less opportunity to trip over it, thus sending all of your expensive equipment careening around the room.
I said before this new development kit would cost only $350, which is a great deal for something this cool and futuristic. Preorders are available for the unit now. Of course, the actual consumer grade model is still missing in action and there has been no update as to when it will officially see the light of day.
