Oh, the possibilities: Oculus busts out 1080p version of the Rift headset for E3

Today is the first official day for E3 in Los Angeles, and for those following the proceedings, the bevy of exciting announcements has not disappointed thus far. We’ve already seen great presentations from EA, Microsoft, Nintendo, Sony, Ubisoft, and more, but there’s one company out there who has a lot of people clamoring for more demos, more games, and more information. That’s right, it’s Oculus, with their virtual reality headset named Rift that looks ready to shake the very core of all that we hold dear and familiar (in a good way – just look at the remarkable look of joy spread out on that young man’s face above). Here’s a peek:

In case you’re unaware, or are a gamer who has been hiding out in a cave in Afghanistan for a while, the Oculus Rift is a virtual reality headset designed to give players that elusive feeling of total immersion that we’ve pretty much all been craving for decades. The problem is, the previous version only supported resolutions of up to 720p… until now. The brand new prototype that Oculus currently has on display at E3 supports 1080p HD resolutions, improving the overall visual quality of the Unreal Engine 4, which they’ve been employing for the demonstrations, and all but eliminating a fuzzy “screen door” effect that had plagued the 720p headset. Backing up these claims of visual excellence was a report from IGN, whose intrepid scribes were able to get their hands on a demo unit today.

At any rate, this thing is still a long way off from a release date for consumers, although pre-orders for the Oculus Rift Development Kit, which will ship sometime in August 2013 and cost $300, are now being accepted. They’ve made it abundantly clear that this new piece of technology eventually making its way to eager consumers is anything but a myth, and within a year or so I imagine the Rift may be making a rather significant splash. Perhaps they will even time it to give the next generation of consoles a run for their money. At this point, anything is possible – or at least, that’s what Oculus plans on proving to the gaming world.