Tag Archives: oculus rift release date

Oculus Rift: Pre-orders Will Go Up On January 6th

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Oculus Rift Pre-Order

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.

Be social! Follow Walyou on Facebook and Twitter, and read more related stories at Oculus VR’s ‘Crescent Bay’ Prototype Hints at Soon-to-Come Retail Version and Facebook Opens Hunting Season for Oculus Rift Bugs.

 

 

The Oculus Rift Launch Date Might Be Announced Tomorrow

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Oculus Rift Announcement

Virtual reality is the future, and the future is coming sooner than expected. The release date for the Oculus Rift might be announced tomorrow during The Video Game Awards 2015. 

 

The Oculus Rift by Oculus VR is probably the highest profile gadget when it comes to virtual reality, the next big thing that will hit the entertainment industry. Although prepared for gaming, virtual reality already has entered the collective consciousness as a product that will revolutionize the way we watch movies, concerts or TV shows, and everyone is eagerly awaiting the moment the Oculus finally makes a public release as an official product anyone can walk into a store and buy. Turns out, the Oculus VR team implied this might happen sooner than later, as they recently announced that a very special announcement would be happening at the Game Awards 2015, which will take place tomorrow (December 3rd), and no one on the internet can imagine what this could be except an official announcement and release date.

As of now, the company has not announced any details or official dates for the Oculus Rift, or even a price point, but rumors and speculation have been going on for a while saying the boom of Virtual Reality will take place throughout 2016, with Samsung, PlayStation, THC, Valve and many others releasing their own devices. The Oculus Rift had been available for developers and enthusiasts, but the company sold out and now everyone is waiting for the official release. Still, if we speculate based on Palmer Luckey’s tweet below, the announcement might be happening really, really soon.


The first consumer version of the Oculus Rift VR headset had started production back in October, according to industry insiders, but no one can say for sure how many are being made, or even how big the demand for this will be at launch as this is a completely new technology. Surely we will hear all about it at tomorrow’s event. Other rumors speculate that the Oculus Rift headset will be priced $350 USD at least, or that it might come in the first quarter of 2016, which all seem plausible, but as of now it’s not certain at all.

At the pace the VR industry is going, if the Oculus VR team want to beat everyone to the punch, they need to announce the official date pretty soon, and what’s even more – start taking preorders. The market and consumers seem ready for everything to happen, the technology is already here, so all that is left is to be able to just walk into a store or go online to purchase our favorite headsets. We will let you know the details after the announcement happens at the Game Awards tomorrow, but we think it’s reasonable to get hyped.

Be social! Follow Walyou on Facebook and Twitter, and read more related stories at Kat Walk VR Treadmill Makes Games more Immersive and E3 2015 and the explosion of VR.