Totem to take on the Oculus Rift as True Player Gear reveals VR hardware

If there was a perfect  time to reveal what you’ve been working on for the past nine years it would probably when your major competitors is taking some flack. This is exactly what Canadian company True Player Gear has done.

The company has been working on a VR headset for years and has created five prototypes of the the hardware in that time. They’ve kept quiet about it until now.

This summer a Kickstarter will launch for their VR headset which they call Totem and they also mention that it is likely to be available by the end of this year. The headset is not quite ready, but following the backlash against the Rift , True Player Gear has sprung to life on social media.

“We didn’t initially intend to make any announcement. But we feel that with the news of a corporation buying Oculus, who is focused on web applications and doesn’t understand the hardware business like others do, we really need to come out of the woods and let everyone know that there is an alternative that is coming soon. We are in the last stretch of developing a final 5th gen prototype and are aiming to present a finished dev. kit on Kickstarter in the next few months.”

“We have a prototype, we just have some C and VHDL to finish. All the HW is in our hands! We also designed our own optics ;-)”

What’s also interesting about this headset is the cross-platform compatibility. Even console owners should keep an eye on it’s development, especially if you use any kind of Xbox. A spec sheet has now been released and it’s boasting some impressive features.

Screen 1080p OLED

Field of view 90 degrees

Connectivity

• HDMI input
• USB output (tracker)

Sensors

• 2x cameras 1080p
• 3 axis 1kHz gyro
• 3 axis 4kHz accel
• 3 axis magnetometer

Audio: Surround sound over stereo

Emulated controls

• USB mouse
• Playstation controller
• Xbox controller

Non-game controls

Up, Down, Select/Real World View

Supported engines

• Unreal
• Unity
• Havok
• CryEngine

Platforms

• PC
• Playstation 3 & 4
• Xbox One & 360

Supported media

All 3D formats, SBS preferred Size 6.6″ x 4.4″ x 5.4″

The cost of the Totem is still unknown but we’re confident they’ll be trying to get the price point as close to the Oculus Rift as possible.

Gamers have been sceptical about True Player Gear’s sudden appearance but more information will be forthcoming.

“While we understand there will always be skeptics, we’ll do our best to put all doubts to rest within the next few days. “

With another VR headset vying for our attention it’s great news for consumers as increased competition will help drive this technology forward.

It’s also interesting to see that True Player Gear will launch a Kickstarter for the Totem as there was quite a backlash against Oculus from backers after the sale to Facebook. TPG commented briefly on the Kickstarter funding round and it sounds like they’re locking down key personnel.

“We already have talks with VCs for the Kickstarter, so we will make sure we have enough money to deliver. Key people have contracts and we make sure that they will stay with TPG (a fun job and good conditions is always a plus).”

We’ll make sure we keep you updated on the Totem moving forward.

Thanks Reddit