I guess the biggest news that came out of July was the news of the new Oculus Quest that will be releasing next month. Sadly, it will not be the Quest 3, or a Quest Pro, but instead, it will be an upgrade to the baseline Quest 2 headset. The upgrade is a bump up in storage capacity from 64GB to 128GB, for the same price of $299, possibly along with a bundled silicone cover also. This is to help with the larger volume of games that require large storage spaces, as well as support newer features and updates that will be coming to the Quest 2 platform in the months to come. What those will be is anyone’s guess, but I am sure we will hear about them at the next F8 event soon.
July also saw the recall of 4-million facial interfaces for the Oculus Quest 2 headset in stores worldwide and on Oculus.com also. This was due to feedback of the facial interface causing skin irritation for a number of users. A number that was enough for Oculus to halt any of its Quest 2 units from selling on the store. Many would think this might have been a plan to prevent sales of the 64GB headset prior to the 128GB headset launch in a few weeks time. To be fair, it is chin-scratchingly suspect.
Oculus has released the means for anyone who is encountering this issue to complete an online form to receive a free order of a silicone cover that will be sent in the post. This offer seemed open to any Oculus Quest 2 owner, so check your Oculus account’s email inbox for the invite to get your free silicone cover. Top tip: if you select the Fit Pack, you get both Fit Pack covers AND the standard Silicon cover with your total order – free!
In other news for the Quest…
- SteamVR 1.18 update improves Quest connectivity and those nasty dropouts
- Moss 2 revealed for PSVR, let’s hope we see it on Quest after some exclusive time expires
- Quest update v31 will bring Passthrough API support for Mixed Reality applications
- After the Fall gets delayed – again – unti later this year
- Facebook might integrate Oculus Move with Apple Health app – yes please!
- Valve’s Steam Deck could work with the Oculus Quest
In July, I got my hands on some new accessories for Quest 2. First was a look at the AMVR Noise Isolating Earbuds and the AMVR Battery Strap for Quest 2. We took a first look at the VR Cover Oculus Link Cable and we looked at the must-have accessory if you have a Halo Strap from BeswinVR. And finally, we looked at the KIWI design facial interface and foam replacement set for the Quest 2.
You can check out these and more of my reviews for Quest on the OQPlay OQPlay YouTube channel.
A little more mention of our YouTube Channel. We managed to reach over 2020 subscribers at the end of this month. I continue to appreciate all the great questions and comments that you have sent in on the Channel. I hope to continue to bring fresh new accessories and gameplay content to the channel. If you’ve not yet subscribed, please do, as it will really help the Channel grow stronger and give me the opportunity to bring you more unique VR content.
Quest Game Releases in July
July saw a few decent titles released onto the Quest. Sam and Max returned to gamers, this time virtually. Chess fans finally got something to play with in VR with Chess Club. Tarzan VR showed how bad a VR can be. WarPlanes took off from SideQuest, then AppLab to finally get a store release. Sniper Elite VR gave standalone VR players a test of some Medal of Honor action, whilst A Township Tale stole the chart with its charming adventure.
Top 20 Top-Selling
So let’s look at this week’s top 20 chart positions on the Oculus Quest Store.
- A Township Tale (New Entry)
- Beat Saber (1)
- SUPERHOT VR (2)
- Onward (3)
- Sniper Elite VR (New Entry)
- Job Simulator (4)
- The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners (6)
- GORN (5)
- Virtual Desktop (8)
- The Trill of the Fight (11)
- Vader Immortal: Episode I (13)
- POPULATION: ONE (9)
- The Climb 2 (Re-Entry)
- Warplanes WWI Fighters (New Entry)
- Vader Immortal: Episode III (Re-Entry)
- Richie’s Plank Experience (Re-Entry)
- Eleven Table Tennis (20)
- Hand Physics Lab (18)
- Vader Immortal: Episode II (Re-Entry)
- Drunkn Bar Fight (15)
The number in the (bracket) is the app’s previous month’s position.
Tune in at the end of next month as we look at the movers and shakers of the Oculus Store Top-Selling.
