The Rift comes with built-in headphones and mic, sensor and an Xbox One controller. Oculus, which Facebook bought in 2014 for $2 billion, began accepting preorders for the device on Wednesday night. Bundled with the headset are two virtual reality optimised titles: platformer Lucky’s Tale and dog-fighting shooter EVE: Valkyrie.
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Because of the high system requirements for the Rift, the company is not only certifying “Oculus Ready” PCs but working with vendors to offer computer bundles that include the headset.
While there are other VR headsets, none have generated as much buzz as Rift.
Oculus Studios will also introduce more than 20 games this year, including Rockband VR by Harmonix, Edge of Nowhere by Insomniac, and The Climb by Crytek.
If you happen to have a PC that can drive this beast, you’ll also need to drop US9 more on the headset itself. We also saw the Oculus Touch controller, which won’t be part of the first wave of Rifts to roll out to consumers.
Right now the Oculus Rift can be pre-ordered for $599 Dollars, though expected shipments are now backed up all the way until June 2016. Gamers will need a high-end PC to play them.
Of course, it should be pointed out that while people are going to have to wait for the Oculus Rift for another month, it’s likely there are going to be plenty of people willing to wait that extra 30 days in order to get their hands on it.
A developer version of the HoloLens – priced at $3,000 – is expected to become available in the first quarter of this year, according to Microsoft. “When we shop online, we’re using abstractions (menus and hierarchies) that are very different from actually walking down the aisle of a store”.
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In a report on VR and AR (augmented reality) released in July, Gownder said that such technologies are “finally ready for prime time”.
