Live Oculus Rift pre-E3 conference at 6pm UK time
It's a wrap! New controller, new form and (kind of) a release date.
Updated on
And we're done! The conference brought us a new final form, new controllers and a whole world of new games. Plus Palmer Luckey wearing flip-flops. Next E3's going to have to go a long way to top that.
Our live coverage of this event has finished.
There are those "ancient" concept images Palmer Luckey was talking about. Will the final version look at all similar?
I found an even earlier prototype.
In all seriousness, I hope we've all learned our lessons about letting monkeys/cats/pets play with VR after all that messiness first time round.
Don't want to see anyone tonight being rushed down on stage by a talking chimp, bellowing 'not so lucky now, ey, Palmer?'.
Toaster05: Guess the RRP sweepstakes anyone?
I'm going with £400!
A_FAN: @vertigo are you going to post utter bollocks into every conference again this year. and then get all upset and weird when people do it to the nintendo stuff?
Hey, that's my job.
A_FAN: its going to be really trick to convey the VR experience on stage. really looking forward to getting to try one myself
It's a big problem for VR in general - until you've actually tried it, it's just watching people in silly headsets.
The muzak has begun, the traditional sign that it's time to get hype.
blarty: Here's hoping for a quick cameo by Pierce Brosnan and Jeff Fahey.
I just want to see that monkey.
The Doors are 10 minutes away! Those guys know how to put on a show.
Toaster05: Let's be honest though if Oculus want to show what Rift is all about and what the average consumer wants we should be getting a live sex show in 20mins time.
I've heard that's pretty much what Microsoft's conference next week will be too, to be fair.
So, what to expect.
Final form factor, release date, price and controller.
Toaster05: Not to be a stickler but going by your previous linked image surely you mean 'Chimp'?
Yes. Yes I did.
Which is all well and good, but I just want to see what it looks like when it's worn by a chimp.
For the doubters in the comments, Lawnmower Man plays hosts to chimps.
I won't be drawn in to the chimps or monkeys debate. Not here. Not like this.
Where do they get their tunes for these conferences?
It makes me feel like I've just paid £12 for a gin and tonic.
We're go, that O subsides into the background and Brendan Iribe walks onto the stage.
Looking like he's just walked out of an episode of Silicon Valley, rocking the hoodie and shirt combination.
He looks so rich.
Anyway, some scene setting first about how we've got to VR, and leaning on what looks like Crytek's VR demo with the dinosaur.
'Imagine that T-Rex comes crashing through this theatre'. Oh god, he's going to do a King Kong, isn't he? You've gone too far, Oculus, too far.
No-one's ever unleashed a dinosaur in a press conference before.
There was that time Ubisoft unleashed a load of rabbits on to the stage.
They just looked scared and did a little bit of crapping.
Sorry, while I was reminiscing we're seeing the final form of Oculus. It's sleek!
And actually quite small. It *looks* light.
Comfortable presents. The best kind.
'Maybe not quite as high resolution as you'd want, but this is the beginning'. Admirable honesty.
dogmanstaruk: Not fan of shirt under hoodie.
On the outside he's all relaxed, but beneath that it's BUSINESS.
The audio side is interesting, and something that hasn't been touched upon much before.
The Rift has an integrated audio system. Brendan's just obsessed with this dino, who we're returning to.
You'll hear his little booties coming towards you. The dinosaurs, that is, not Brendan's.
Headphones are removable.
Balance and general ergonomics have been improved. It looks very different to the developer kits we've seen before.
Iribe's eyes are too close together. I'm not being mean. He just admitted that.
He does look like a cut-rate JJ Abrams though. Now I am being mean.
We're on to the meat now - the inputs, or the controllers we'll be using with the Rift.
Ha. It's an Xbox One controller.
An amazingly underwhelmed round of applause. That doesn't seem like much of a solution.
But! Phil Spencer's onstage. They're partnering with Microsoft, which is of course significant.
Phil's wearing two watches, a nice knitted top and he's puffing his chest out like the proud pigeon that he is.
You show 'em Phil.
Windows 10 integration is part of it, and you can stream Xbox One games to Oculus Rift.
It's a 'Virtual Cinema' rather than real VR integration, it seems.
Well, now you can wear a hat in your living room that makes you think you're in a living room.
That's all a bit meta for my tastes.
A shame not to see a more imaginative controller solution - Sony, with Move, and Vive with their own efforts, won't feel threatened. There'll hopefully be more Oculus solutions on the way.
Jason Rubin, formerly of Naughty Dog, takes to the stage.
Crash Bandicoot VR? Crash Team Racing VR? SHENMUE 3?
CCP's Hilmar! He's a man.
EVE Valkyrie still is at the forefront of Oculus' gaming pretensions.
You can relive the magic of the reveal over here, should you wish.
Nothing significant new to share on Valkyrie, it seems, beyond a new trailer.
Although I swear I've seen this trailer before.
Bedders: If this is the same clip from Fanfest, it's immense.
Ah, looks like it is.
Gunfire Games next.
Formerly Vigil, who worked on Darksiders, and they're showing off what they've been up to.
Ico-esque and third person, which is interesting for a VR game.
In that it doesn't really look like a VR game at all, and more like a traditional console game.
Oh god I don't want to type anything cruel because he already looks like he's going to cry.
But... Well... I struggle to see how that's playing to VR's strengths. It looks like it's just ended up on Oculus.
THEY'RE ALL AT IT. Ted Price, wearing one of his trademark oversized shirts, announces third-person adventure Edge of Nowhere, an Oculus exclusive from Insomniac.
Well, they're much smarter people than I so there must be something in this third-person VR thing.
High Voltage are doing Damaged Core, Sanzaru are doing VR Sports Challenge.
Some big-ish names, all working games that will be available next year.
Harmonix are onboard, as are Climax and Square Enix. They're just the biggest names I spotted there. Not biggest type-wise. Oh, you know what I mean.
Anna Sweet on-stage now, formerly of Valve.
And talking about how Rift's an open platform, with anyone able to make games thanks to Unity and Unreal.
So just about anyone can make their own third-person VR adventure?
Indies will be key to Oculus' success - as they have been during its incubation.
And Oculus is throwing $10m out there to help new developers.
Handsome Nate Mitchell now, who's gone for a figure-hugging shirt and just the merest hint of bare chest. Hawt.
And he's introducing Home, the hub and virtual environment for Rift.
There will be VR previews of the game, rather than trailers, that give you little tasters.
More announcements coming at Connect 2 this September, and now Brendan's back on-stage.
Are we getting a release date and price?
Hmm, kind of - Q1 2016.
That's after Vive, but most likely before Morpheus.
Money now please.
But no price it seems.
Ah, looks like we'll get a proper look at the input solution now from Palmer 'I should be so' Luckey.
He's sporting the slightly rusty t-shirt, jeans and blazer combo. So much to learn, young Palmer.
Called Oculus Touch, it looks similar to Valve's solution.
A pair of track controllers, code-named Half Moon.
Bratterz: Hand presents!
The best presents!
It's a mix of traditional inputs and more gesture-based inputs.
Two buttons, analogue triggers and a hand trigger - plus haptics for force feedback.
Hang on.
I'm getting unconfirmed reports that he's wearing flip-flops.
I... I... I don't think I've ever seen the like at E3 before.
Oculus has come here, and they've changed the game. They've totally changed the game. Can you actually see his toes?
Oh, and those controllers look quite good.
That's a wrap, it seems.
In summary, dinosaurs, presents and sandals. There's your headline.
No price though, sadly - we'll likely have to wait some time for that.
Join us next week, where from 3am on Monday morning we'll be keeping a keen eye on the footwear of the great and good at E3.
Good night everyone.