Announced last week, Oculus has finally opted to put the Rift and Touch controllers together into one package, making motion input the new default. The new bundle also includes improved foam padding.
The new bundle is currently on sale for $400 as part of the big Summer of Rift sale. After the limited-time discount, the bundle will be priced at $500, which is $100 cheaper than Oculus was selling the Rift and Touch packaged separately.
To achieve that new, lower MSRP, the company had to remove some of what used to come in those two boxes. Here’s what’s in the new Rift + Touch bundle, and what’s not:
Included:
- Rift
- Touch Controllers
- Two Sensors
- Two AA Batteries
- Oculus Sticker
- Headphone Removal Tool
- Lens Cloth
- Documentation
- Some Great Free Games and Apps
No Longer Included:
- Xbox One Gamepad
- Xbox One Wireless Adapter
- Oculus Remote
- USB Extension Cable
- Rock Band VR Guitar Adapter for Touch
One other notable change is the Rift’s so called ‘facial interface’—the foam padding that presses against your face—which the company says is improved from the original. The new padding appears to be a single, less dense foam, whereas the original used two foams of different densities with an adhesive-attached cover strip atop the two. Oculus hasn’t said exactly what benefits come from the change, but our guess is improved comfort, increased durability, and easier/cheaper manufacturing.
It’s clear from the quality of the new packaging that Oculus has aimed to optimize for cost efficiency. Not to say that it’s bad by any means, but it’s tough to compare with the original Rift case which was so well crafted (magnetically clasped, cord-handled) that you could have gotten away with using it as a briefcase.
The new box is clearly thin corrugated cardboard, but the presentation is still there with an embossed Oculus logo on the cover, cutouts for each of the contents, foam padding adorning the top of the box, and a plastic handle for easy toting.
Oculus claims they were planning to launch the new Rift + Touch bundle after the Summer of Rift sale, but their separately packaged stock ran out sooner than expected, hence the somewhat awkward announcement of the new all-in-one Rift + Touch bundle in the middle of the sale.
As the stock is transitioning from the separate packages to the new bundle, the company says shipping is running a little slow as they are ramping up production and stock of the new bundle; shipping will pick back up soon, we’re told.
No Longer Included:
– Xbox One Gamepad
– Xbox One Wireless Adapter
– Oculus Remote
– USB Extension Cable
– Rock Band VR Guitar Adapter for Touch
A USB extension cable was never included with Rift or Touch. It comes with the separately purchased extra sensor.
Wrong. It comes with the original rift in the rift box and is actually for the Xbox wireless adapter (cos it’s quite large and may not fit in your PC). It can be used to extend sensors fine too (though it’s not a long one)
You misunderstand. The article lists what does and doesn’t come in the new all-in-one Rift kit. I’ve copy/pasted their list. I thought they were suggesting that Oculus took away a sensor extension cable, then afterwards realized that they were talking about the extension for the xbox dongle. I know that that came with the original Rift kit.
Yup, just the little adapter extender!
Prefer the original case by far. Lush, good size, only pack rift away 9 times out of 10 (not sensors and touch) and it’s much higher quality so will last longer with all the in/out of the rift.
Though it’s really not an issue and if you get this new one you have some pros over the old one but am glad I got the old stock by ordering fast last monday! :)
I would rather have saved the $400 and got a lower quality box.
I definitely liked the more deluxe early adopt box, but the cut backs and improvements for newbies is definitely welcome. ^^
Mine arrived yesterday and included Xbox One Game pad,
Xbox One Wireless Adapter,
Oculus Remote,
USB Extension Cable,
Rock Band VR Guitar Adapter for Touch
You got lucky then, you got the extras that others don’t get anymore with the new bundle : P
I’ve been out of VR now for most of this year, having sold my Vive just before Christmas last year – didn’t have the time to use it.
What is the general consensus as to which has the better road to entry (cost of PC, HMD, overall experience) – Vive or Oculus?
The reason I ask, is that I’m thinking of jumping back in, but maybe I should just wait?
if you already had the VR experiense why do not wait until next gen?
Having owned both, I believe the Rift is the better value, and I came to this conclusion when they were equally priced. Each has their own advantages, but I think the pros of the Rift outweigh its cons more so than with the Vive. For me, it was more comfortable to use during long play sessions than the Vive which always felt a bit heavy on my face. The display always seemed a bit sharper and more clear, with less noticeable screen door effect than the Vive. The Oculus Store seems to have better content (especially since Touch launched) with good exclusives while SteamVR felt cluttered with low budget tech demos. You can access both stores with Rift, while you’re limited to just SteamVR on Vive without third party software. The Touch controllers in my opinion are much better and more comfortable than the Vive wands. The one area where Oculus falls behind is the sensors. They need to be plugged in to your PC, eliminating the possibility of untethered backpack VR, while the Vive sensors are completely wireless and support a much larger play area. I have my two Oculus sensors in opposite corners of the room, mounted at ceiling height and angled downward. The tracking is perfect for me, every bit as good as the Vive. I did have to purchase active extension cables for this though, which brings it around to price. $799 gets you the HTC Vive and you have everything you need for an amazing roomscale setup. $399 gets you the Oculus Rift w/ Touch, but requires purchasing compatible extension cables, sensor mounts, and possibly even a 3rd sensor to achieve a flawless tracking solution which shouldn’t be more than $100 even if you do decide to get the extra sensor. You also get the built in earphones, while Vive charges $100 for a “deluxe audio strap”. Also, the Rift just looks cooler.
can be removed washed and clean the foam padding that presses against the face?
thx
This is how it should have been from day one bundling useless things like the xbox one game pad and a ridiculously over engineered box made it feel like they were trying to find ways to make it more expensive for no reason
xbox one controller isn’t useless, many third person VR games are much better played on a xbox controller than the touch controller.
not only that but it was 100% necessary when the rift launched.
Im tempted to update my padding, after a full year its only getting worse from here.
If it improves comfort im all for it.
Crap, was thinking of buying it, but appearently if you order now it doesn’t have the xbox one controller and such, so I’ll let it go and look for another time.