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The consumer version of the Oculus Rift is now available for pre-order at $599 (USD).

Units are expected to start shipping in April 2016 and each unit comes with the Oculus Rift headset, a wireless Xbox One controller and two games - Lucky's Tale and EVE: Valkyrie. The much touted Oculus Touch controllers will be sold separately at a later date.

What do you think of the price? Are you jumping into the Oculus Rift or waiting to see what the other companies, such as Sony and HTC have in store with their own versions of VR? Or are you simply not interested? Let us know in the comments below.

Source (official site)

 

[Xzi]

Why force us to buy a stupid controller and a game with it, thats the dealbreaker for me.

It comes with two games and the controller, but those don't contribute anything to the cost, really. They just upgraded from the DK2 tech in terms of the display. DK2 tech was $350 to make, CV1 is closer to $600. Price will drop as the components become less expensive.

I already have the beast of a PC needed to run this thing, so I pre-ordered. Doesn't ship for me until May, and I can easily save $600 in that time frame.

Look at it this way, it's probably cheaper to buy an Oculus Rift than it is to buy a decent gaming monitor with similar specs.

Well that's not true. Granted it was on sale around Black Friday, but I bought my 2K ultra-widescreen IPS monitor for $350. Still, the Rift and other high-end VR headsets have a whole lot of features that a plain-old flat panel just doesn't. Not least of which include head tracking, accurate depth-of-field, and theater-sized media players.

 

[KingVamp]

Can anyone do a review once they get it? One of the things I wonder about is using it as a monitor replacement.

 

[Xzi]

Can anyone do a review once they get it? One of the things I wonder about is using it as a monitor replacement.

I've only demoed a DK2, but I don't think anyone would recommend a Rift as your main or only monitor. Even with the improved display on the CV1, eye strain is still going to be a concern after consecutive hours of use. If you're strapped for cash and it's either a monitor or the Rift, buy the monitor. Can always buy a VR headset after the price has dropped and there are more competitors available.

 

[Foxi4]

Yet another expensive gadget I will completely ignore until all the kinks are worked out and cheaper second/third gen units are rolled out. Face it, guys - it's two small displays, a lens, a couple gyros and LED's - it's not *worth* $599. I'll let all the passionate VR nuts pay off the engineering costs and perhaps enter the game once the mark-up is acceptable.

 

[pwsincd]

This , Samsung vr is there just as entry point , just for wow effect .
Most of fake nerds will buy that thing only to show to their casual friends how nerdy they are (ala big bang theory).XD.
But if Samsung decides that vr is a thing for them they can count on that as a good referral marketing for a vr2 more serious .
Is a toy but not to underestimate ... If enough users Samsung will not let them to migrate to oculus ...

You are aware that the Gear VR is oculus driven ? in the sense you cannot with Gear VR use any of the google cardboard apps etc etc , it installs the oculus software and thats all you can use.

 

[Margen67]

I will if oculus rift persuade old retro studio employees to get back and make a new vr metroid for the nx.

nx

nx

nx

Yeah, right. Because Nintendo consoles are so powerful
Maybe if it also has retro graphics. kek

 

[nintendarium]

You are aware that the Gear VR is oculus driven ? in the sense you cannot with Gear VR use any of the google cardboard apps etc etc , it installs the oculus software and thats all you can use.

That is exactly the point, if Samsung find in 6 months that its very is doing good no way they gonna permit those to upgrade to oculus, they will come out with a vr2 proprietary thing, ask Apple ...

 

[FAST6191]

Yet another expensive gadget I will completely ignore until all the kinks are worked out and cheaper second/third gen units are rolled out. Face it, guys - it's two small displays, a lens, a couple gyros and LED's - it's not *worth* $599. I'll let all the passionate VR nuts pay off the engineering costs and perhaps enter the game once the mark-up is acceptable.

Do you reckon this time will be the time it sticks? Like 3d before it (which has arguably since failed again) it seems to pop up every decade or two before fizzling out, partially due to engineering issues and partially due to lack of content once the nice demos have lost their lustre.

Anyway I hope this and other stuff drives down the costs somewhere as I would not mind having one as a toy. Can't particularly think of anything serious to do with it but I do like my tech toys.

 

[Yil]

Yeah, right. Because Nintendo consoles are so powerful
Maybe if it also has retro graphics. kek

If xbox one can do, so should nx. Do you have fury x or titan x?

 

[nintendarium]

If xbox one can do, so should nx. Do you have fury x or titan x?

if NX will be a OS across multiple devices i hope they made it so to support VR.
All hail the virtual boy.

 

[Yil]

if NX will be a OS across multiple devices i hope they made it so to support VR.
All hail the virtual boy.

Some how I felt that one can install the handheld in a similar fashion to gear vr. And about free form display.

 

[Margen67]

If xbox one can do, so should nx. Do you have fury x or titan x?

You mean this?

And neither, actually. I have a GTX 970.

 

[Yil]

You mean this?

And neither, actually. I have a GTX 970.

I am pretty sure amd has the tech to produce a super apu under 100w with 970's power.

 

[nintendarium]

I am pretty sure amd has the tech to produce a super apu under 100w with 970's power.

This.
And vulkan if well implemented will open mobile hardware and embedded to high graphics performance , people saying " even my phone is more powerful than wiiu" will be regarded with a arm soc

 

[KingVamp]

Cheaper alternative.

Yet another expensive gadget I will completely ignore until all the kinks are worked out and cheaper second/third gen units are rolled out. Face it, guys - it's two small displays, a lens, a couple gyros and LED's - it's not *worth* $599. I'll let all the passionate VR nuts pay off the engineering costs and perhaps enter the game once the mark-up is acceptable.

I haven't got a chance to view the latest VR. Have you? Even then, simplifying it like that isn't really fair.

 

[FAST6191]

I haven't got a chance to view the latest VR. Have you? Even then, simplifying it like that isn't really fair.

As time goes on then prices approach those of the bill of materials (assuming you have not lucked into a market you can game, which I suppose did happen in laptop screens) while at the same time improving in quality. Had Foxi4 suggested a timeline we might have been able to pick holes but as a general trend it is hard to argue against.

 

[Foxi4]

Do you reckon this time will be the time it sticks? Like 3d before it (which has arguably since failed again) it seems to pop up every decade or two before fizzling out, partially due to engineering issues and partially due to lack of content once the nice demos have lost their lustre.

Anyway I hope this and other stuff drives down the costs somewhere as I would not mind having one as a toy. Can't particularly think of anything serious to do with it but I do like my tech toys.

I think it will stick with certain audiences, much like motion controls did. I don't think it will revolutionize our approach towards gaming - most people just want to sit on their couch, grab a controller and relax, not necessarily "immerse" themselves, AKA "cut the rest of the world out". It has many exciting uses in the field of robotics or medicine, but in gaming it will remain a niche device for "hardcore" gamers. The same can be said about the rest of the entertainment industry - it's nice to watch a film in iMax Super Duper 3D, but it's not necessary and sometimes even distracting (ever heard of D-Box seats? Sh*t can startle you when you least expect it).

I haven't got a chance to view the latest VR. Have you? Even then, simplifying it like that isn't really fair.

To be honest, I haven't and I couldn't care less - it just doesn't interest me, just like 4K doesn't. I'll go VR/4K when it's dirt cheap, and I've done so before with HD, completely skipping the whole "720p HD-Ready" era, saving a pretty penny on not one but two TV sets I would've bought if I wanted to be on the highly experimental and overpriced "cutting edge". It is absolutely fair to have this kind of approach because early adopters *do* cover development costs in addition to the actual price of a unit and the mark-up. I'm not going to be one of those early adopters because I have no faith in this technology, plus I'm not interested in buying something that currently has no competition on the market because you just know you're getting ripped off in those scenarios. Once the competition releases equivalent hardware, prices will start to drop and that'll be the time to even start considering an investment like this.

 

[KingVamp]

As time goes on then prices approach those of the bill of materials (assuming you have not lucked into a market you can game, which I suppose did happen in laptop screens) while at the same time improving in quality. Had Foxi4 suggested a timeline we might have been able to pick holes but as a general trend it is hard to argue against.

Not arguing against the price will go down as quality goes up. I just think he is downplaying the tech, even at this stage, and work that went into these VR headsets just a bit too much.

 

[FAST6191]

Oh yeah I am hoping it takes well enough to allow the gaming set to subsidise my engineering and robotics toys like certain game controllers have before it, or that boom for 4K displays that are pointless for most people is doing now for my tasks that actually benefit from such things. On HD the trouble for me was it was a thing that really wasn't -- I had options for similar vertical resolutions for years and years by the point that marketing buzzword was cooked up.

Not arguing against the price will go down as quality goes up. I just think he is downplaying the tech, even at this stage, and work that went into these VR headsets just a bit too much.

When we are seeing all the chancers on crowdfunding sites and me too devices from big companies that do pretty well for the (lack of) effort then I am reluctant to start singing the praises/go much beyond an appreciative nod. OR are one of the leading lights but for something that more or less does what I want then the bar is considerably lower.

 

[Foxi4]

Oh yeah I am hoping it takes well enough to allow the gaming set to subsidise my engineering and robotics toys like certain game controllers have before it, or that boom for 4K displays that are pointless for most people is doing now for my tasks that actually benefit from such things. On HD the trouble for me was it was a thing that really wasn't -- I had options for similar vertical resolutions for years and years by the point that marketing buzzword was cooked up.

Pretty sure that "HD" was cooked up as a name shortly after the digital switch-over as a replacement for PAL and NTSC, it just infected the world of computing by association. As for my reasons for the reluctance to switch, why would I if there was next to no HD content available at the time? Broadcasts were still "SD" and so were all my consoles, so there was literally no content that would benefit from HD anyways, aside from my PC, which I rarely connect to a TV anyways. Fast forward a generation later and the same technology was half-price. The same will happen with VR - a couple of years of sh*tty/no content and outrageous prices for ultimately obsolecent hardware.