‘Oculus’ has recently announced date for its finished and final version of virtual reality headset ‘Rift’. The ‘Oculus Rift’ consumer edition is going to be shipping in the first quarter of 2016, with pre-orders opening later this year. The company hasn’t detailed anything beyond the release window, such as price, what it’ll look like or what capabilities it’ll actually ship with.
‘Oculus’ makes some other intriguing promises. “In the weeks ahead, we’ll be revealing the details around hardware, software, input, and many of our unannounced made-for-VR games and experiences coming to the Rift.”
‘Oculus’ vice president Nate Mitchell stated that input has been “really tricky” and that ‘Oculus’ has two research groups working on it, one to work on a near-term solution for the first or second generation of VR, and one for the longer-term future, up to 10 years from now. “We have a couple of things we’re really excited to share in the near future, but nothing right now.”
“One of the really important things for us is always to make it affordable. We want to reach a state where we have hundreds of millions if not billions of people in VR, we do ultimately see VR as a mass-market product.” ‘Oculus’ co-founders have previously said that they will like to stay between $200 and $400. Though Nate Mitchell was vague on more details.
‘Oculus’ arguably single-handedly revived interest in consumer virtual reality, and it’s been far more willing than its competitors to release prototype hardware to developers and fans — after all, the original Kickstarter campaign promised backers an early version. But it’s actually the last major company to announce a rough date for its VR headset. ‘Sony’ and ‘Valve’ both released their news during the March Game Developers Conference, where ‘Oculus’ had a conspicuously toned-down presence. Sony’s Project Morpheus headset, designed for the ‘PlayStation 4’, will be released in the first half of 2016, and ‘Valve’ and HTC’s Vive system will be coming out by the end of this year.
“Virtual reality is going to transform gaming, film, entertainment, communication, and much more. E3 is just around the corner – this is only the beginning” company also promised that it would “share more of the technical specifications” next week.
