Oculus Rift will ship with Xbox One controller so you can play Xbox One games through the VR headset in new partnership between Oculus and Microsoft
Dave Smith / Business Insider :
Context & Ripple Effects
The controller bundle lands alongside the first preview of Oculus Touch on the same day, so Rift ships with both a familiar input device and the promise of motion-tracked hands. For Microsoft it extends a multi-front VR push that already includes bringing Xbox games to HoloLens and, days after this announcement, a partnership with Valve for VR on Windows 10.
The catch is execution: an Oculus VP said by September that native support wasn't close, and the promised streaming capability only materialized via the Windows 10-based Xbox app 18 months after the announcement.
First-order effects
- Rift buyers get an Xbox One controller in the box and can play Xbox One games through the headset, padding Oculus' thin launch library with Microsoft's existing catalog.
Second-order effects
- By shipping the same games into HoloLens, Oculus Rift, and Valve-backed Windows 10 VR, Microsoft turns itself into the content supplier across rival headsets rather than picking one hardware winner.
Third-order effects
- If the pattern holds, VR headsets become secondary display endpoints for console libraries instead of standalone gaming platforms, shifting competition from exclusive hardware titles to who controls the streaming pipeline between console and headset.
The trend: Console and PC gaming ecosystems are converging on VR headsets as streaming targets, with platform holders like Microsoft supplying content across competing hardware.