The Oculus Rift, one of the most intriguing pieces of new technology is beginning it’s pre-order phase next Wednesday. Read all about it here!
Just like we’ve been saying for a while now, 2016 is going to be the year of virtual reality. Starting on next Wednesday, January 6th, at 11AM ET, the famed Oculus Rift, Facebook’s very own virtual reality headset for PC platforms will begin its pre-order phase. These news first came up on a blog post where the Oculus announced the pre-orders along with a Reddit AMA session with co-founder Palmer Luckey scheduled for Wednesday at 9PM ET. What still remains a secret, though, is just how much the Rift will set you back, but their PR team have confirmed that both pricing and ship date will be made public once preorders open.
We knew that the Rift (one of the most exciting virtual reality platforms on the tech landscape right now) was coming soon, and as early as Q1 of 2016, but this announcement has caught the media by surprise as it’s just after the Holiday season, traditionally the strongest season for sales. And while the Rift will be among us relatively soon, its companion device, the Oculus Touch has been delayed. The idea was to have a control scheme for it similar to what we know from the Wii or PlayStation’s move, but the Oculus Rift will instead come with a traditional Xbox One controller. Baby steps, we tell you.
Like with all new technology, we don’t know how fast or how hard virtual reality will grip us, but the early adapters are meant to be gamers and enthusiast with high-end computers capable of powering these devices. We’re talking about machines that cost at least $1.000 USD, and have the best specs in the market (yes, we know, you could get a better deal because you like to research). As these headsets are basically just screens without any real processing power (the computer or console do the graphic processing), the same will likely be the case for its competitor, HTC’s Vive headset which is coming in April. The cheaper option seems to be Sony’s upcoming PlayStation VR which will run on any PS4 (a $350 USD machine), but we will have to see how each one performs before we can claim any of these is the better option for your VR needs.
Since its original announcement and successful Kickstarter campaign, the Oculus team has been growing and improving their technology through a series of prototypes, public appearances, demos and showcases, but with an impending pre-order phase now upon us, now is the time when users can finally get their hands on one while developers can start creating experiences for it. Whether you’re interested in the gaming side of VR or not, exciting stuff is happening and soon you will be able to take part.
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