A new blog post by Oculus has announced that their Touch controllers, designed specifically for the VR headset Oculus Rift, won’t be coming out until the second half of 2016. The reason is so that more testing can be conducted on the controllers. The Oculus Rift is still on schedule for a Q1 release.
“On Touch hardware, we’ve made significant advances in ergonomics,” the Oculus team wrote, “and we’re implementing many changes that make Touch even more comfortable, reliable, and natural. We’re also implementing changes that improve hand pose recognition.”
The Touch controller is so far the first proprietary controller for VR hardware. Generally VR games are playing with a console controller. When the Oculus Rift begins shipping, it will come bundled with an Xbox One controller, thanks to a deal with Microsoft.
Earlier this week we learned that every Oculus Rift will include the VR game Lucky’s Tale, which was one of our favorite games from PAX Prime. This third-person platformer has the player guiding Lucky the fox through a colorful series of obstacles. You can watch our interview with developer Dan Hurd here.
Sometimes a delay can signal that a project is getting rocky, but I don’t think that’s the case here. The Touch controllers were only announced this year, and they’re incredibly complex pieces of technology, the likes of which we haven’t really seen before.
Setting the release firmly in the last half of the year gives Oculus a chance to make sure that their stab at a VR controller will be the most polished it can be.
“The feedback on Touch has been incredibly positive, and we know this new timeline will produce an even better product, one that will set the bar for VR input,” the Oculus blog post concluded, “We appreciate your patience and promise Touch will be worth the wait.”
