Virtual Reality: Oculus Rift Available Very Soon With Pre-Orders Starting Just After January 1
Virtual reality is about to become a reality. After several years in development and three releases of a developer’s version, the first commercial version of the Oculus Rift is finally going to be released. Vine Report has the news.
“Players’ gaming experience will soon be further enhanced when Oculus Rift makes it to the market next year. On a Twitter post by Palmer Luckey, the brain behind the concept of the head-mounted virtual reality device, he revealed that the manufacturing of the Oculus Rift is on track and will be released in the first quarter of 2016.”
The article adds that pre-orders for the device will be coming very shortly. This has caused a lot of excitement on Twitter.
Everyone is definitely eagerly awaiting Oculus #VR pre-orders coming up. Excited as a dev to see excitement w/ VR https://t.co/vQDsQkSVLV
— Phaser Lock Interactive GOING #GDC2023 (@PhaserLockInt) December 28, 2015
Had a dream where I spend the entire time setting up an Oculus Rift
— chase (@chaseoros) December 30, 2015
Unfortunately — for some consumers, at least — the Oculus Rift may not be as affordable as originally thought, according to Ubergizmo.
“Oculus co-founder Palmer Luckey seems to be trying to prepare potential customers for a price that might not be considered affordable to some. Luckey points out on Reddit that ‘even selling at cost is not enough to make VR as affordable as everyone wants.'”
The article adds that the main goal is to try and get virtual reality into as many hands as possible so they can eventually make the hardware and software cheaper. We will know the exact price very soon.
The Oculus Rift may be the most important consumer virtual reality headset, but it wouldn’t be the first. Oculus made the Gear VR for Samsung devices, and the first commercial version was released last month. CNET gave the device four stars.
“The Gear VR is the best virtual reality gadget you can buy right now, and a great way to jump into the world of VR gaming and entertainment — just make sure you own a compatible Samsung phone first.”
CNET adds that the experience is excellent for the price you pay and that the games are finally living up to the hype. Tulsa World isn’t as impressed with the Gear VR.
“And, as Oculus promised, you can watch Netflix on a virtual screen in a virtual living room. Yes, it’s as silly as it sounds. The experience was neat for half a minute, then I wanted to just watch ‘Jessica Jones’ without something on my head.”
The Oculus Rift and the Gear VR aren’t the only virtual reality headsets making waves. in 2016, Sony is set to release the PlayStation VR and HTC is set to release the HTC Vive. However, it’s likely that these two won’t have the same impact as the Oculus Rift, which has been in testing and development since 2012. Are you going to buy the Oculus Rift when it comes out? Let us know in the comments section.
[Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images]
