Oculus Touch (Photo : Facebook)
The Oculus Connect 3 conference's keynotes on October 6, Thursday included speeches by Oculus and Facebook executives. Topics discussed during the yearly event included prices, release dates, content, social, and mobile software developer kits (SDKs). Some highlights were the Oculus Touch release date, standalone headset, ear-in headphones, VR games, Disney and "Blade Runner" shorts, and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg taking a VR selfie.
Oculus CEO Brendan Iribe was the first keynote speaker. He shared about the Oculus ecosystem's growth from dev kits and prototypes, and applications including gaming and science.
Zuckerberg promised that Oculus Touch controllers would be available before the end of 2016. They will cost $199 and begin shipping December 6. Pre-orders at online and physical stores will start October 10, Monday.
The Facebook CEO also shared some new VR chat features for Rift including a live video call, chess games, and selfie with a virtual avatar.
Facebook's co-founder also demoed a standalone VR headset. The Oculus product platform is portable and includes inside-out tracking.
New features for Oculus Rift were also announced. Parties allows up to eight people to chat in VR, while Rooms provides a space where headset owners can interact, watch video, and play games.
The VR company also announced Oculus earphones. They will be available this year for $49 and the sound will reportedly be equal to $900 earphones, according to CNET
Next, a new ""Asynchronous Timewarp" feature reduces Rift displays to 90 frames per second, which allows Rift to function on PCs as low as about $500.
The Facebook company also announced new Touch titles. They include "Robo Recall" by Epic Games, "Lone Echo" by Ready at Dawn, and "Arktika 1" by 4A Games.
Oculus also announced it is teaming up with Walt Disney Studios. They will make VR experiences featuring famous Disney characters that will launch later this year.
Finally, Zuckerberg announced the world's largest social network will invest $250 million for Oculus development. It purchased the VR company for $2 billion in 2014.
In related news, Oculus co-founder Palmer Luckey was absent from Connect 3 following a troll scandal, according to Tech Crunch. Luckey reportedly donated $10,000 to Nimble America. The non-profit organization supports Donald Trump and denigrates Hillary Clinton using insulting memes.
Luckey had the original vision for Oculus and built the first Rift prototype in his garage. He spoke at the conference last year and appeared in videos during the 2014 keynote.
