Very soon you'll be able to enjoy watching a feature-film in the comfort of your very own Oculus Rift VR headset. Oculus will soon be unveiling it's own virtual reality cinema, called Oculus Video, and they've secured their first major Hollywood studio partnership with Twentieth Century Fox. The partnership was announced at Oculus Connect in Hollywood, Oculus’s annual developers conference, and Fox revealed that they'll be releasing close to a hundred films for Oculus Video in early 2016.
Some of the Fox titles which will be made available include BIRDMAN, ALIEN, DIE HARD, KINGSMAN: THE SECRET SERVICE, CAST AWAY, PREDATOR, TAKEN, X-MEN: DAYS OF FUTURE PAST, THE MAZE RUNNER, and many others which you'll be able to rent or buy through Oculus Video. Lionsgate also announced their involvement in the project and some of the films they'll be making available include PULP FICTION and THE HUNGER GAMES. As you watch one of these films through Oculus Video you'll be able to choose the venue you view the film in, be it a small virtual screen in front of you or in a large theater.
President of Fox Home Entertainment, Mike Dunn, released a statement:
VR cinema is a new way of presenting our movies, and has the opportunity to bring in mass market consumers to virtual reality. With Oculus Video, we are leveraging the scale and flexibility of mobile, while continuing to deliver a powerful, emotional experience for consumers. We are just scratching the surface of how Hollywood and VR will revolutionize entertainment by exploring innovative ways to develop immersive experiences as a new storytelling medium.
I've never experienced the Oculus Rift myself but I'm not certain if I'd want to watch a feature-film with something strapped to my face; that said, this new development is certainly interesting when you think of the films that could be made that actually make use of a 360-degree environment to tell a story.
What say you, are you interested in watching a feature-film in a virtual theater?