Oculus Rift now lets you train with the England Rugby team

Oculus Rift Wear the Rose

Oculus Rift Wear the Rose




Oculus Rift in now even more exciting, with network provider O2 announcing its new ‘Wear the Rose’ prototype which utilises the virtual reality headset to let you train with the England Rugby team.


Tipped as the “first fully immersive 360-degree virtual reality sports experience’ to make use of the Oculus Rift headset, O2’s Wear the Rose release will see users of the futuristic gaming peripheral dropped into the heat of an England Rugby training session.


Created using a set of nine GoPro Hero 3 cameras mounted on a custom gimble, the Oculus Rift Wear the Rose offering will see users receive virtual passes from England players such as full back Mike Brown. What’s more, the software will let you experience an England team talk or a senses-disorienting tackle, all with free reign of the 360-degree images.


“We love discovering new ways of using technology to deliver exciting experiences for our customers, and what better way to bring England Rugby fans closer to the action than ‘Wear the Rose’ from O2,” Nina Bibby, the network’s Marketing and Consumer Director stated.


We’ll transport you into the virtual rugby boots of the England squad, taking in the heart pounding action of a full training session. This exciting technology really has to be experienced to be believed and we’re looking forward to bringing it to rugby fans across the UK this year.”


World Cup winner and now England Attacking Skills Coach Mike Catt added: “Getting to see the technology used for the first time in sport was fantastic.


“We tried to re-create as authentic an England training session for rugby fans as possible, and we really hope they enjoy the experience.”


Despite having required a staggering 160 hours of filming and a further 320 hours of development, the Oculus Rift Wear the Rose prototype will not be receiving a general release but will instead be demoed at a range of events to coincide with the current RBS Six Nations campaign. Full details of where you can enjoy the experience have yet to be confirmed.


With Oculus Rift expected to be made available for purchase during the coming year, reports last month suggested that games for the VR peripheral could cost more than their standard Xbox One or PS4 counterparts.


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