After a long wait, Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) is shipping its Oculus Rift Virtual Reality (VR) headset. The Oculus Rift deliveries began on March 28, shipping to more than 20 countries and regions. “This is a historic moment,” says the announcement. “Soon people all over the world will be experiencing fully-immersive VR in their own homes.”
VR technology places users in artificial worlds built with computer-generated scenery. First developed for the space program, military simulations, and industrial applications, virtual reality entered the entertainment and video-gaming industries in the 2000s. Modern VR headsets like the Oculus Rift surround users with high-resolution 3D scenery and spatial audio, to permit full immersion in virtual worlds and video-games. Lighter and more powerful than previous VR headsets, the Oculus Rift permits total immersion in virtual scenes and sounds, and therefore most leading developers of video-game have announced support for the Oculus Rift in their upcoming titles.
The Oculus Rift headset was first crowd-funded with a record-breaking Kickstarter project. Then, in 2014, the Oculus Rift technology and its developer Oculus VR were acquired by Facebook for a $2 billion. Now, deliveries are finally starting, with the Kickstarter units shipping first, followed by the first units pre-ordered for $599. A recent Deutsche Bank research note estimated that about 1.5 million headsets will be sold this year, initially to hardcore video gamers.
The Rift can now be ordered directly from Oculus for $599, with a limit of one unit per customer and an expected delivery date in July. The selling price of $599, and the fact that only last generation consumer PCs with fast processors and graphic cards can run Rift VR applications efficiently are expected to limit sales to hardcore gamers and enthusiast early adopters. However, the Oculus announcement directs buyers to Amazon, Best Buy, and Microsoft Store to purchase Oculus Ready PC and Rift bundles with desktop computers from Asus, Dell, and Alienware, with prices starting at about $1,500 and expected delivery dates earlier than July.
