Exclusively For ‘Rift’: Oculus Touch Controllers Features, Price And Release Date Announced [VIDEO]

During an event held on October 6, Oculus chief Brendan Iribe officially announced the launch of the unique Touch controllers priced at $200. Though the Oculus Rift was revealed earlier in March, it lacked a dedicated motion controller. The VR headset seemed to be lacking something important. Now finally, the Oculus Touch controllers are to be made available from December this year.

Amazon UK listed the details of the Oculus Rift controller, earlier on their official Website. Oculus Touch like the HTC Vice works in a room-sized VR with a third camera sensor that you can buy for $79. Here's everything you must know about the new Controller.

Where the Oculus Touch batteries go. The cover has magnets, snaps right into place! #OC3 #OculusConnect #oculus pic.twitter.com/OSFy1qXMpX

— Sean Hollister (@StarFire2258) October 7, 2016

Complete Features:

The circular Touch has a unique look and comprises two controllers. The Oculus touch controllers, to be taken in each of the hands, have the usual analog stick with two buttons including an analog trigger. The controller also has a haptic feedback and the Oculus' hand trigger. The Touch Controller can track a set of finger poses like waving, pointing, or giving a thumbs-up.

The Oculus Touch controllers work by tracking the user's movements in space just like the HTC Vive's controllers. The Oculus Controllers can also work as a standard game controller. The controllers can only work when they're facing a sensor, so if you want the controller to work well, you should have an Oculus sensor on each side. Oculus currently has a number of apps that make use of the Oculus Touch controllers, including the virtual western shooters to sculpting software.

The controllers include haptics for vibrating feedback as well. Each Oculus controller needs AA batteries, which according to Oculus, can last for 20-30 hours on full charge. The battery backup also depends on whether the games use haptic feedback, states Verge.

$199 Oculus Touch Controller arrives in December: Touch controllers and earphones, along with the... https://t.co/h6oGIf3T6P #technology — jay pudasaini (@jpudasaini) October 7, 2016

Why So Many Sensors?

The Oculus Rift released earlier had only a single sensor camera to track the head movement. The Oculus Touch Controller however, requires a sensor to differentiate your body parts. You will also need a third sensor to walk around the room in VR. The third sensor, as mentioned earlier, is sold separately with an additional $79. The Oculus sensor has to be plugged into a USB port on a PC.

The Touch controllers seem to be a much better alternative than a gamepad. According to GameSpot, it may also be possible that in the future, Oculus games will require the Oculus Touch controllers.

The Oculus Rift is currently available for $599 in the US and for £549 in the UK. So, considering the UK relationship between Oculus Rift and Oculus Touch Controller the pricing is expected to be $207. The Oculus Touch Controller will be available from December 6 onwards for $199. The Touch Controller will be available for preordering from the coming October 10.