Billed as Oculus killer, the PockulusC.H.I.P. DIY Portable VR Console started out as an April Fools’ Day joke, but after mucking around a bit, the folks over at Next Thing Co. found that it actually works and the rest, as they said, is history. So, yeah. You can actually turn NTC’s music-making and gaming PocketC.H.I.P. into a mobile VR console. But the most brilliant part is, with the multi-console emulation software, you can play your favorite GameBoy, GameBoy Advance games and more, VR-style. Now, we are talking. If you already own the PocketC.H.I.P., then all you need to do is 3D print the Pockulus bezel openly available on Github and you are pretty much all set. If not, you will have acquire the PocketC.H.I.P., but it is relatively inexpensive, costing just 49 bucks a pop.
With the under $50 sticker, the PockulusC.H.I.P. is effectively the most affordable standalone VR headset in the world. Though, you may look a little silly wearing it as there will be a tablet-like thing right smack on your face. Anywho, as far as the PocketC.H.I.P. is concerned, it comes equipped with Next Thing Co.’s removable C.H.I.P., 3,000 mAh battery, 4.3-inch resistive touch display with 480 x 272 pixels, full “Super-Clicky” QWERTY keyboard, and GPIO breakouts – all packed inside a lightweight, rugged injection molded shell. If you are up for it, you can hit up Pockulus Chip product page to learn more.
A word of warning though: we are not sure if this is an elaborate ‘add-on’ prank for April Fools’ Day since the press release, which NTC seldom does, was released on April 1st at 14:31 ET. Our guts tell us it is real, judging by the open source content on Github, plus some bits and pieces of instruction that help it get the PockulusC.H.I.P. DIY Portable VR Console going.
So, who’s game enough to give it a go?
