Xbox One Oculus Rift Partnership Video featuring Phil Spencer

The demo and announcement of the Xbox One controller and game streaming partnership with the Oculus Rift.

[AngelicIceDiamond]

Cool I guess.

[Brotard]

Wow that demo sure was a great sales pitch.........................

[Mr Pumblechook]

When Spencer spoke in EDGE magazine he poo-pood Morpheus VR saying it was not a 'now now thing.' But the premature reveal of HoloLens (great tech, not consumer ready) and this Oculus partnership suggest Microsoft were caught behind the curve when it comes to VR and wanted to be included in the conversation. But streaming an XBO game to Oculus Rift so you can view a game in 2D at a distance seems an expensive and clumsy solution to associate the Xbox brand with VR.

HoloLens AND Oculus, this indicates he has no definitive solution for the future of VR and AR and he is hedging his bets but this lack of a firm vision means XBO owners won't have a native VR product.

Since taking over Xbox Phil Spencer has some good success in gaining market share in the USA, but much as I admire how he has turned things around this is his first major mess-up.

[freshslicepizza]

so does this mean forza will use oculus rift or does oculus rift just utilize the room around you? seems bizarre that it showed the whole room while playing the game but was not part of the game.

[aceitman]

http://www.gamesradar.com/p... so true here is the story Phil says its not a now thing

[miyamoto]

must Microsoft "buy success" all the time instead of earning or making it?

Where is the innovation in buying someone else's work?

[Godmars290]

@Mr Pumblechook:
Hololens comes off as being purely for PC use while Oculus probably uses the PC as a bridge to play XB0 games. Meanwhile Morpheus, running off a single system, will possibly become the low powered option.

Regardless, all of this is a technical win-win for the Xbox brand and Oculus. One getting VR tech, the other more viable platform access than if they were on their own.

[badboyz09]

Crickets

[4Sh0w]

That wasn't good, I mean using the X1 controller with Oculus its nice but they need games built from the ground up for Oculus for it to be any good. Also streaming X1 games to Oculus is a nice side option(make it full view) but where's the Oculus devs with a special preview of a exclusive Oculus experience????

Who the hell is going to buy this expensive device just to stream X1 games??? lol, Nobody.

Oculus does not belong to Microsoft though, they are just partnering with them to have some connection to the VR space, and Oculus gets excellent controller support/streaming. lol HoloLens demo stuff is a helluva a lot more exciting than this, but again I blame Oculus devs for not having something "Oculus Exclusive" to show off for this announcement....it would have been better if they didn't show anything and just announced the partnership 'cause that was a lazy thrown together short demo. smh & lol

[SniperControl]

"did she crash, is that why people are laughing?"

No Phil, they are laughing at the video showing a woman sat on a real sofa with a VR strapped to her head and playing a game, in which she is playing a game while sat on a virtual sofa, they are thinking what's the point.

[-Foxtrot]

Ha

The whole things seems to be a "We're doing VR too...........(kind of)" thing

[Thatguy-310]

I feel bad for him. Awkward silent kills confidences! I like how he's always a good sport though.

[MasterCornholio]

The poor guy also had to go through the XB1 price announcement. I really felt bad for him.

[GenuineGamer]

Yeah im a big xbox fan, and even i am not impressed at all. I think its a cool feature to have a virtual room, but surely that cant be it?

I would expect that to be a single feature and then having games in the future taking full advantage of VR putting you inside the game.

But at the end the dude said hes excited for the future, maybe having your friends sitting in the room too? wtf.. i don't care about that.

Its no wonder nobody clapped. I feel sorry for Phil having to present that.

[Spid3r6]

Its as restarted as playing your Sony PS4 on a very small screen when your 65 inch TV is in front of you!

[_-EDMIX-_]

http://www.gamesradar.com/s...

....so other companies have partnered with OR and they actually have VR content. All this is, is a fancy display. To own a PC that can use OR and lets say an XONE, I just don't see many people spending more time streaming a display of other games through a PC...on a XONE, just because.

The more interesting story out of this is actually the other teams making OR games. To use OR it requries quite a lot of power, this would mean that to own one, is to have a PC that can support it and for companines to be making VR games to support it (or games that can support it as an option) means quite a lot. ...publishers are making content for PC's, for a device, that requires 970 gtx etc.

That is bigger news imho then MS giving controls with OR and having it as a display, as anyone getting OR or even if your planning to use a gamepad on PC, would likely use MS's own, as even myself have a 360 PC controller for certain games.

[SkippyPaccino]

Lol! Very true

Let me get this straight, you're basically saying that you'll need a capable pc, a xbox one, a TV or pc monitor and a oculust rift just to play Tomb Raider in 720p 30fps in a virtual world? Why wouldn't a person who invested between 1200$ to 2000$ dollars on a rig would play the ugliest version of a game? Why wouldn't they just skip the Xbox one and play the prettiest version altogether? Lol!

I know it's not all about graphics, but to a shallow pc crowd it is...

I'm not even sure Oculust is even that impressive, since we have no games to go by. They are very dependent on Steam gaming service to make it all happen and valve is also making its own VR solution. What would happen if valve would only allow it's own VR to work with steam? The rift would be a very expensive paper weight... I'm not saying it's going to happen, but it could.

I know everyone is counting sony out (except the loyalist) they truly have a real shot at being the go to for VR gaming, especially if it sells well, you'll have every publisher making games for it (or add ons to their existing game)

The oculust is a great little piece of thech, but how many headsets are they really going to sell? 3 million? 5millions? How many pc on the planet have specs actually able to run it properly (not bare minimum)? Morpheus has a potential to sell 20 millions if priced right. You might not have the prettiest version of a VR experience, but I don't think people care that much...

[SniperControl]

Games like Project CARS, Elite:Dangerous and Alien Isolation prove that VR works and it works very well.

I have had the privilege of owning a DK2 for nearly a year now and it has changed the way i game forever, i dont think i can ever go back to playing racing/flying sims on a flat screen again(Here's hoping GT7 has Morpheus support), i cant say much for Morpheus as i have never tried it, but the PS4 was built with Morpheus in mind, so it should work to it's strengths,
MS are once again late to the game and are playing catch up by buying a tinned item from the shelf, this whole streaming concept feels rushed and last minute, trying to take some of the thunder away from Sony.
Even some of the hardcore Xbox guys on here cant see the point in it.

As for sales, we'll just have to see, i think the Rift is being aimed at the high end gaming PC users such as myself(which in itself is a big market) and Morpheus is being aimed at the more hardcore PS4 user, unless they release a cutesy kart/sport/fruitslash type of game with it to get the odd casual interested.

[SkippyPaccino]

@snipercontrol

I guess we'll only know early next year how the VR landscape shapes up. I'm in no hurry to pick which one i'll will get (probably Morpheus since i have 400$ worth of Sony points on my Sony MC...you can't go wrong with free, lol)

[hello12]

Phil Speech well that solves it not just about xbox one. The partnership is for Windows 10, PC development of VR games, he even talks about DX12 (PC side for Rift)

The streaming stuff seems to be for xbox one owners thats cool. You own a xbox one and have a PC and you have oculus you can stream your xbox one games to it and mess with the landscape surrounding you.

[MasterCornholio]

The virtual room part seems really awkward to me.

[Pandamobile]

It's actually a pretty compelling way to easily add VR to unsupported games and apps. The original Oculus Rift theatre app was actually pretty sweet.

It's not a killer feature or anything in my books, like they're trying to present here. It's more of a nifty extra feature than a selling point.

[KakashiHotake]

I thought Oculus Rift said consoles weren't powerful enough? I guess the pressure is finally setting in, that and Microsoft's wallet.

[MasterCornholio]

Ummm I'm pretty sure the system is powerful enough to render a virtual room and to receive a video stream from a PC.

[specialguest]

You got it all twisted. The Oculus Rift was streaming the Xbox game using a PC, but that's not the point. The point is that the game was not ran natively, it was simply streaming it like PS Now. The only VR part is the room.

[EvilWay]

No claps lol

[SmokingMonkey]

http://www.funnyzone.org/wp...

[SmokingMonkey]

http://38.media.tumblr.com/...

Morpheus is going to OWN E3!

[StrayaKNT]

I'm sorry but the rift can be used on xbox and pc making it the winner automatically and makes it a definate first day purchase for me.

[Gwiz]

That doesn't even negate what he said lol.

[SmokingMonkey]

I'm glad you will enjoy the Oculus!

Don't you feel like this is just a half measure?

I thought Holo-lens was it man?! what happened?!

[MasterCornholio]

So your going to immerse yourself in a virtual movie theater to play your XB1 games?

I dont know why anyone would do that. I understand if you want to play VR PC games though.

The conference was very disappointing in my opinion. I'm sure Morpheus will do a better job at showcasing VR.

[its_JEFF]

It actually can't be "used" on xbox. I they said if you can stream what you're playing on Xbox through a PC then to the Rift. So to use a Rift on your Xbox you need to have: and Xbox One, Oculus Rift, and a PC to stream it to. You can't take the Rift and plug it into the Xbox, which is what i think a lot of people are gonna take a way from this... call me crazy, but most people won't get past the headline of most articles.

I'm guessing that any PC with windows 10 will be able to stream it.. right? or do you need something a bit beefier?

I agree with @SmokingMonkey it seems like a half measure. MS needed to keep their name apart of the VR talk, they just needed to. It's on everyone's radar, everyone is talking about... it only makes sense that they'd want to be a part of that conversation.

[amnalehu]

They didn't say it could be used on the XB1. They said you could STREAM the XB1 games to the PC and use the OR through your PC.

[its_JEFF]

@uRaDeception You know, if I had a choice I would definitely go with AR. Something I can wear around outside of my living room. Psshh... I'm in!

But, we're currently being sold a bill of goods. That demo/video that MS keeps showing everyone, where everything is happening around all at once... all at once, well that's not actually the case. There's only a limited viewing area for you to see that stuff in, which is a bummer. But give it a few more years and we'll be on our way to everyday wearable AR!

[mark134uk]

aussiegamer you need to watch the video, your not getting how pointless what there offering is, and the only real partnership is the controller bundled with the rift

your going to be able to play halo ect like in the video sat on a virtual sofa looking at the screen, your not going to be able to go into a virtual halo map and play, unless halo is available on pc and you play it on pc with the oculus

[Gwiz]

I remember someone saying " Consoles,VR " Like every other peripheral EVER.Those that have backed Oculus in the past must feel really stupid by now.

[level 360]

Worst demo to to do a sales pitch.

[Spid3r6]

Even at the lowest point. Microsoft is coming from all angles now to closely associate themselves to PC. Oculus rift is just one more piece of the puzzle where many people do not realize. Oculus needed a controller and Microsoft needs more marketing (if not a full VR System). Much like Minecraft is closely associated with Microsoft we can say Oculus will bring Microsoft in the conversation as well. This is very strategic as a marketing ploy non the less. The Casual fan has no idea of morpheus but they might have a better chance of knowing Oculus. This is a very smart play for Microsoft!

[amnalehu]

I must be missing something. Stream my XB1 games to my pc so that i can be put in virtual room with a TV to play my XB1 games? Why not just sit/stand in front of my real tv in my real room and play?

[specialguest]

The difference is that you can actually be in a VR movie theater setting with a giant screen, or any setting imaginable. Other people in the VR world could enter the theater and join your game or simply spectate. There's already a VR demo called Riftmax Theater where people meet in the VR world to watch movies, have karaoke night, comedy club night, and even a silly talk show.

[amnalehu]

I can kinda see where this would be cool with MOVIES; although I don't see how another person is going to enter my theater and watch what I am watching. But as far as GAMES are concerned I don't see the benefit of streaming my games to my PC just to watch my self play them in a VR theater.

[starchild]

For the same reason the VR Cinema app on Oculus Rift is cool. Believe me, it's actually pretty amazing to be able to watch a movie on a giant virtual screen. And I'm sure playing a game on a giant virtual screen will be just as nice.

So unless you have a front projector with a giant screen in your house I think this is definitely a cool feature. Just another neat use of VR.

[yankolo]

Shiiiit we got AR and VR .....mmmmmm me like it....

[AshleeEmerson]

Hmmmm... why?

Oh never mind, because you want to. Not good enough reason to want this unless you don't have a couch and would love to experience it.

Just you know... My opinion

[calvincrack]

Whoaaa cool moneyhat!

[L0wlifeGamer]

It's just a Virtual TV. Thats all you can do with Oculus at the Xbox One. That's a joke.

[D-riders]

loooool lmao, was they being serious right there? i have a sony hmd display already and it works better than that