Virtual reality can have some pretty crazy effects on the mind and body, which why Oculus VR plans to enact some strict quality control regulations when it releases the Oculus Rift next year. The company’s revamped app store will be launching alongside the Rift and will require all apps and games released on the sore to be pre-approved and have a special comfort ranking… as well as a small tax.
Oculus doesn’t want to make you puke or scare you to death. So when its revamped app store launches for its consumer Rift headset shipping Q1 2016, it will review games and experiences for safety, CEO Brendan Iribe tells me. Yesterday Oculus held a press event where it unveiled the consumer Rift headset that will come with an Xbox controller and optical sensor, showed off some upcoming flagship games, and previewed its Oculus Touch handheld motion controllers. After the presentation, I caught up with Oculus’ CEO to ask how his company will work with third-party hardware and software developers. Oculus is making its own hardware but will be compatible with a wide range of outside peripherals. An Oculus SDK will let third-party devices pass data to the headset, but they’ll also be able to piggyback on Rift’s sensor. The way Rift tracks your head movement is by covering the headset with a constellation of little LED markers that the sensor camera can recognize. The company put them on its new Oculus Touch motion controllers too. But Iribe tells me outside developers will be able to coat their devices in the markers, which will let the Oculus sensor track them as well.
