Oculus Rift’s Touch motion controllers will be released on December 6, Tuesday and the Facebook-owned company has just announced 53 new titles for the Rift accessories. This new software will be available at the online Oculus Store at launch. The Oculus Rift VR headset was released in March of this year and has been bundled with one Xbox One controller from Microsoft.
Oculus will launch 53 new games and apps. Touch pre-orders will include free copies of Sanzaru Game’s “VR Sports Challenge” and Insomniac Game’s “The Unspoken.” It is also including the shooter “Dead & Buried.”
The VR controllers will get non-gaming software as well. Art apps Medium and Quill will be bundled with the VR gadget, while the demo “Toybox” can be downloaded at the Oculus Store on the Oculus Touch release date, according to The Verge.
Several of the “new” games are already available as controller games at the Oculus Store. Others can be played using the HTC Vive’s motion wands but the finger placement on Touch controllers could have a major effect on how gamers interact with the VR environment.
The Touch controllers are being launched just in time for the holiday shopping season. These accessories track the position of a gamer’s hands in 3D space and the placement of fingers.
The new Rift titles will help Oculus compete better with HTC Vive. Touch controllers will also allow gamers to play any motion control VR games on Steam VR.
Industry analysts believe VR could create up to $40 billion in total revenue by 2020. Oculus hopes to lead the market’s hardware and software sales.
In related news, Sony Interactive Entertainment is not pushing in-person demos of its PlayStation VR headsets in Japan, according to VentureBeat. This is disparate from the many PSVR demo stations throughout retail stores in the United States.
In fact, Japanese retailers keep the VR headsets locked down. This is in line with Sony doing little advertising for the $500 VR device.
Dr. Serkan Toto is a gaming industry analyst. He tweeted that the headsets are chained up and only displayed at random points of sale (POS) locations.
Sony might boost marketing in Japan after U.S. stores are restocked for the holiday season. The U.S. has the most PS4 systems in the world.
Here's the Oculus Touch controller reviewed: