Back to the Future’s Hoverboard Becomes a Virtual Reality

There was a rumour, one that has managed to persist even in the days of social media, that the hoverboard from Back to the Future 2 was a real product. After the film was released, people were sure it’d be on the market, and there’s still occasional mentions of it whenever the film is shown on TV or the “This is the day Marty McFly goes to in the Future!” posts make yet another round. Well, one Oculus Rift developer is trying to make two decades of dreams come true. He’s not working on a real product, but he’s doing the next best thing.

Unfortunately, the mini-demo isn’t currently available to download and try out, but the developer has said that he might make it playable in the future. There’s also another few problems: you’ll need a Wii Balance Board and a Mac. The game isn’t currently built for Windows-enabled PCs.

The game itself is fairly simple, but is a great indicator of what might be available in the future. The developer has built a small village which can be explored via hoverboard. He simply leaned forward to accelerate and moved side to side to control direction. Think of the possibilities in a few years time, when Oculus Rift becomes more popular. One things for certain, Tony Hawks is going to rock (even if his history with peripherals says otherwise).