It’s no secret that the first consumer version of the Oculus Rift virtual reality (VR) head-mounted display (HMD) will be far from the last. The kit, which will start to ship on 28th March 2016 for those that pre-ordered it early on, represents what creator Oculus VR feels is finally a consumer-ready product, but still has a lot of room for improvement. But, for the next iterations of the device to ship, the company feels it has to nail this first product. At least, that’s what CEO Brendan Iribe believes.
Iribe said as much in a recent interview with Wall Street Journal. “You’ve got to stay super focused on shipping product,” he replied when asked about ensuring the product was a success. “There isn’t a version two or three if there isn’t a great version one. Managing expectations is super important. There are still a lot of challenges in terms of the computer you need to power the device, the form of the device, the amount of time you’re going to spend inside. This is a 30- to 60-minute experience. We will get to hours, but that’s not necessarily the first generation.”
The first Oculus Rift costs some $599 USD. That price came as a shock to many when it was announced back on 6th January, setting a huge premium on early PC-based VR. HTC recently kept in line with that trend, however, announcing a $799 tag for the HTC Vive. Oculus VR’s product comes with the HMD, an Xbox One controller, the Oculus Remote, a tracking station, Lucky’s Tale and, for those that do pre-order, EVE: Valkyrie. The HTC Vive, meanwhile, offers the device, two Lighthouse base tracking systems for Room Scale VR, two position tracked controllers, Job Simulator and Fantastic Contraption.
Check back with VRFocus for the latest updates on both the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive.
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