Virtual reality could become a mainstream product sooner than you think. According to an Oculus VR blog post, Oculus VR headsets could be in your living room as early as 2016. The company claims that by Q1 of 2016, headsets will be shipping to customers. In preparation for this launch date, Oculus will be accepting pre-orders later this year.
The wait for consumer VR has been long and hard, but will likely be worth it. VR CEO Palmer Luckey stated:
At launch we don’t just want to have a token five, six or seven launch titles like a lot of consoles. You have to have a lot of stuff coming out the door at launch. So I guess to those people who are waiting: keep waiting and it will be worth the wait.
It’s good to know that Oculus is working hard with developers to create a good selection of games, applications, and other entertainment to have available at launch. Anyone who has been an early adopter of any gaming system can attest to the typical drought of games for the first year of a system’s life. Hopefully, Oculus’ strategy will prevent that from being an issue.
Oculus is looking to redesign the way we watch movies, play video games, and communicate while playing. This type of tech will come at a cost, however. Luckey, also indicated they are trying to make the Oculus as “cheap as possible”; while still maintaining quality of course. At this time we do not know the exact price of the Oculus Rift; however, Luckey did state that they are trying to stay in the $200-$400 price range. Currently, the developer kit 2 is priced at $350.
For those interested in knowing what will be powering the Oculus, keep an eye out. The company plans on releasing details regarding the hardware and software in the coming weeks. They even hinted that next week could be the week when we will get our first glimpse at its specs.
Many have alluded (including our own Ryan Egan) that VR headsets will change the way we watch movies and play video games. While I am still a bit skeptical myself, I’m highly interested to see what game/video/Oculus developers have in store for us. Will we truly get the effect that we are “in the game”, or will we be sucked into spending $200-$400 on a product that we only use a few times? With E3 just over a month away, I am sure I will be able to see first-hand how well the headset performs. Stay tuned!
What are your thoughts? Do you think Oculus will truly change the way we see our TV’s? Let us know what you think in the comment section below.