The dawn of Virtual Reality is upon us, with Valve, Sony and Oculus all prepping their solutions to the new gaming platform for the coming months. Right now though, it’s all about Oculus – with their Connect 2 event kicking off in Los Angeles last night with a really great keynote.
Sure there wasn’t any information about a solid release date or price point, but Oculus VP of Product Nate Mitchell explained why that’s so important.
Speaking to PC Gamer, Mitchell likened Oculus’ strategy with pricing details and release to Apple, saying that there was no reason for the company to want to take your money early.
Apple is famous for revealing products on one week, taking pre-orders the next and then shipping within two weeks of the reveal. The Oculus will be the same it seems:
What I think about all day long is user experience, right? So if I’m going to promise you something and you’re going to hand me a significant amount of money or whatever it is—we all know it’s going to be at least $300—if you’re going to hand me $300 today, I am not going to be excited to tell you: ‘OK, in nine, 10, 12, 11 months, whatever it is, you’re going to get something in return.’
The longer you wait, the more you’re like, ‘This is obnoxious.’
Oculus has been tight lipped about pricing for the Rift, but said this time last year that the headset would fall somewhere in the region of $200-$400. Judging by the comment above, it seems that scale has tipped slightly in the more expensive direction, with Mitchell somewhat confirming that the Rift will cost no less than $300.
A brand new gaming platform indeed, at that price.
Of course, there’s a lot of tech that comes with that. The final retail Rift will launch with the headset itself, along with the motion tracking camera and an Xbox One controller. The Oculus Touch controllers will miss the Q1 2016 release window, and instead aim for a separate Q2 launch. They’re not included, but add a whole lot more to immersion.
Oculus also announced a partnership with Alienware, Dell and ASUS last night, with all three manufacturers aiming to launch Oculus-Ready hardware in time for launch.
These PCs will start at $1000 but be ready for VR – which requires no less than an Nvidia GTX 970, Intel Core i5-4590 and 8GB of RAM to run. It’ll be out early next year.
Last Updated: September 25, 2015
Alien Emperor Trevor
September 25, 2015 at 11:38
if you’re going to hand me $300 today, I am not going to be excited to tell you: ‘OK, in nine, 10, 12, 11 months, whatever it is, you’re going to get something in return.
You mean like when you went the crowdfunding route that made this all possible?
Ottokie "Yahtzee"
September 25, 2015 at 11:42
I am not going to lie, I am very excited about VR. And I truly hope its not just some hyped poppycock.
Grand Admiral Chief
September 25, 2015 at 11:48
DIRTY WORD!!!
Ottokie "Yahtzee"
September 25, 2015 at 11:51
nonsense
Alien Emperor Trevor
September 25, 2015 at 11:52
The real test for VR in gaming will come from extended sessions. If you can only wear it for an hour or so before needing to take a break from it then it’s not going to work well, and that changes from person to person too.
Ottokie "Yahtzee"
September 25, 2015 at 11:54
That is my biggest concern, if you can only handle it for an hour its not going to be very viable for immersive games.
HvR
September 25, 2015 at 12:03
In that cost bracket puts VR in niche first adopter high cost gaming/entertainment market just like the 3D TV viewing.
Small install base means little content support means it won’t last long.
WitWolfy
September 25, 2015 at 12:07
VR isnt my cup of coffee… Its probably gonna be like the Kinect.. Hyped to crap and only have a few decent titles to justify its purchase… $300 (probably R5000+ in RSA) is a bit too much for something that doesnt really “enhance” you gaming experience.