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.