Well, the big announcement we were waiting for at last night’s 2015 Game Awards has dropped and it’s Rockband VR from Harmonix, a virtual reality re-imagining of the successful rhythm action franchise. One thing was unclear from the launch trailer though, and that was if indeed the Oculus Touch controllers pictured atop the featured guitars would translate to the retail game. Oculus CEO Brendan Iribe has now confirmed that yes, this is indeed the case.

Tweeting in the wake Oculus’ announcement on the 2016 Game Awards last night, Brendan Iribe, CEO of Oculus, clarified that the Oculus Touch controllers spotted in the launch trailer did indeed serve a purpose.

I think it’s safe to say that that’s not a use case we’d immediately thought of here at Road to VR so kudos to Oculus for such an inventive solution.

The announcement that Oculus and Harmonix are to bring Rockband to virtual reality has received a mixed reception thus far. But it’s an important play for Oculus to make at this point of transition for virtual reality between enthusiast’s hobby to bonafide, consumer proposition.

But, aside from the obvious “how do you tell where your hands are in relation to the controller” issue, the prospect of stepping onto a virtual stage in front of a screaming audience, acting out your rock star fantasies is enticing for this writer. Bringing a familiar franchise to such a widely unfamiliar technology may go some way to encourage adoption of the Oculus Rift CV1 outside of the hardcore VR community once it arrives in Q1 2016.

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Paul James
Based in the UK, Paul has been immersed in interactive entertainment for the best part of 27 years and has followed advances in gaming with a passionate fervour. His obsession with graphical fidelity over the years has had him branded a ‘graphics whore’ (which he views as the highest compliment) more than once and he holds a particular candle for the dream of the ultimate immersive gaming experience. Having followed and been disappointed by the original VR explosion of the 90s, he then founded RiftVR.com to follow the new and exciting prospect of the rebirth of VR in products like the Oculus Rift. Paul joined forces with Ben to help build the new Road to VR in preparation for what he sees as VR’s coming of age over the next few years.
  • Tristan Harvey

    I have mixed feelings about this. First this is a category of game that is dying, it belongs to the past and to associate a brand new technology with an old one doesn’t make sense. I don’t think people want to relive their past gaming experience and transfer it to VR, they want a brand new experience, something that will amaze friends and relatives. Secondly, do we really need another peripheral? To get VR you need a powerfull PC, the Oculust rift, the camera , and then the guitar? What if this game fails, and it probably will, would that hurt early adoption of the technology by other game company? I hope I am wrong but this is really disconcerting that Oculus make a big deal out of this one, like if they were desperate to appeal to the mass market…they are not there yet. They need to focus on bringing amazing and fresh new experiences.

    • BleedingPurist

      Rock Band is not a category of gaming that is dying. It’s an experience waiting for technology to take it to the next level. Feeling like you are really on stage in front of a live audience in a rock band is not a thing of the past, nor is it not fresh. It’s very fresh. It’s the future of VR. You may as well be saying the same about an announcement that Grand Theft Auto is coming to VR; dismissing it as an old experience while missing the fact that, like Rock Band, immersive virtual worlds are exactly what VR is about.

      • Tristan Harvey

        I want this to work believe me, but this not something that will motivate people to jump in the VR era. I was excepting more like a room tracking device just like the HTC Valve offer. Oculus must not underestimate this option, this will favor HTC immensly.

        • Oroku Saki

          It will also favor being very expensive, which will limit it’s market potential.

      • Robert Jenkins

        I’m sorry but nah. This has a limited audience at best man. Only people who want to be a Rockstar and listen to classic rock. And enjoy playing games like rockband. I really don’t enjoy rockband. It bores me to death. It’s just not a game with a broad enough audience to make it worth it. That audience is specific. Should be a game type maybe like an fps or a hack and slash or even an rpg game. I’d love an rpg game in vr. Any of these I think has a wide enough audience in the gaming community. This just means more equipment. Not cool. I’d love if they chopped a decent action game together.

    • Guillaume

      As much as i want VR to succeed, i have to agree with you that adding new hardware this early after release of CV1 seems like a big investment for most people.

      But i suppose they can bring something completely new to the game that would justify the investment like playing in a band with online friends and seeing them with you on stage that would be cool

  • Thiago Braga

    I just come to share some idea: It would be better if this experience was mixed real show footage with your 3d own avatar. It would be closer to the feeling than having 3d everywhere with poor facial and body expressions. Also we could say the 3d render would be focused in the avatar only, making the closest to real render possible.

    • Thiago Braga

      I was a big pump it up fan at the time I was into rhythm games and they used movies for their bg, it could work, who knows

  • Anthony Kenneth Steele

    i feel like the crowd would get too repetitive for vr