The newest version of the Gear VR headset releases to the public today. This time around, Samsung and Oculus are combining their smartphone powered, VR viewer with a motion controller for deeper immersion and new gameplay opportunities. As far as we’re concerned, its the best mobile VR experience available today.
According to an Oculus blog post today:
“With the controller, you can use your hand to point, drag and drop, tilt, shoot, and more, making it easier than ever to interact with VR games and experiences. Grab yours today and take control in Gear VR…
Whether you’re reaching for the stars in A Night Sky, slaying zombies with futuristic weapons in Drop Dead, or exploring a sinister haunted house by flashlight in AFFECTED: The Manor, the new controller lets you experience immersion in Gear VR like never before.”
The system will launch with 20 titles that work with the new controller. The full list from the blog includes the following, but you can see a constantly updated list of titles at this link:
According to Oculus, this is just the beginning and there are “more than 50 additional titles in development for the coming months.” This latest Gear VR shares its launch with the Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+, both of which will be compatible with the Gear. Oculus says that handsets as old as the Galaxy S6 will still work with the new Gear VR as well. Samsung phones are the only devices that can be used with a Gear VR.
Samsung and Oculus’ inclusion of a controller with their mobile VR headset comes just months after Google released the Daydream View — a mobile HMD that also comes with a very similar controller. The Gear version differs from the Daydream in that its controller has a trigger, which comes in handy for shooting games and menu navigation.
The Samsung Gear VR with the controller is $130. The Controller can be purchased separately for $40.
