For Xbox, there was Halo. For the Wii, there was Wii Sports. For the N64, there was Super Mario 64. Every great platform needs at least one signature launch title to help drive consumers to it. For the Oculus Rift it may be EVE: Valkyrie.
Amidst the news surrounding the unveiling of the full pre-alpha version of EVE: Valkyrie, Oculus has announced that they will be bundling the game “exclusively” with pre-orders of the Oculus Rift coming in Q1 2016. Just how exclusive the title will be, and for how long, remains to be seen. Just this past weekend CCP demoed EVE: Valkyrie on Sony’s PlayStation VR platform at PSX.
Read More: Hands On In-Depth Preview of EVE: Valkyrie
Thoughts on exclusivity aside, EVE: Valkyrie is among the most complete VR titles we have seen so it only makes sense that it would come bundled with the platform.
“EVE: Valkyrie is one of the most anticipated virtual reality games,” says Oculus founder Palmer Luckey. “It perfectly captures the promise of immersive gaming, shooting you into a sci-fi adventure as you pilot a spaceship in search of combat. Battling your friends (and enemies) in multiplayer space dogfights is the ultimate VR thrill, and we’re excited to partner with CCP to bring this experience to Rift owners everywhere.”
Recently, a minor controversy arose within the VR community around the idea of exclusive titles in the young medium. Spurred by the announcement of Rock Band VR as an exclusive Rift title, and boiling over in the PC Master Race subreddit, the discussion hinged on the idea that creating exclusive titles only slows the growth of the industry by fragmenting an already niche market. Palmer Luckey countered the argument by saying:
@Omnomnick We funded it, we produced it, and the hardware interfaces with our tracking system. Expecting it everywhere is unreasonable.
— Palmer Luckey (@PalmerLuckey) December 4, 2015
While exclusivity is likely to remain a topic of debate, it may be a necessary evil as each of these headset companies places bets into some of the best VR content in development. It takes funding to make games, and right now that funding is coming from the manufacturers themselves (as well as from certain venture capital funds).
Those who are worried about how exclusivity might impact EVE: Valkyrie need not fret as the company confirmed that it will be coming to at least the PSVR, it is just a matter of when.
