As the first anniversary of the Oculus Rift draws near, Facebook-owned Oculus VR announced that it is driving down the price for customers to experience computer-powered virtual reality.
According to Oculus, it is focused on driving the virtual reality industry forward by making the technology more accessible, adding that both content quality and developer commitment to the platform have never been stronger.
Oculus Rift And Touch Controller Bundle Now Only $598
Oculus has slashed $100 off the price of the Oculus Rift virtual reality headset, from $599 to $499. The Oculus Touch controllers have also received a price cut, down to only $99 from the original price of $199.
With the new prices, customers will now be able to purchase a bundle containing both the Oculus Rift and the Oculus Touch controllers for only $598, which is $200 off from the previous price of the bundle. Notably, when customers previously could only purchase the Oculus Rift for about $600, the amount is now enough to purchase both the virtual reality headset and the recently released Oculus Touch controllers.
Oculus has also dropped the price of an additional Oculus Sensor, which allows for room-scale VR tracking from $79 to $59 each.
Virtual Reality Now Cheaper Through Oculus
The high cost of entry has been one of the biggest hurdles in getting more customers to dive into PC-powered virtual reality, if not the top deterrent. In addition to the virtual reality headset, customers needed powerful computers to maximize the technology, with the price tags of such systems reaching almost $1,000. As such, purchasing the Oculus Rift and the PC necessary to support it would already cost customers $1,500.
However, Oculus has made it a mission to lower the cost of entry into computer-powered virtual reality, with the company's work on Asynchronous Spacewarp feature being the main reason for making the technology more accessible. With the feature, it became possible for a $500 PC to support the Oculus Rift, and with the price of the virtual reality headset by itself now down to $499, customers can now experience virtual reality for $1,000.
It should also be noted that the price cut that Oculus announced for the Oculus Rift, Oculus Touch, and Oculus Sensor are permanent and not a special price in relation to the system's nearing anniversary. The permanent price cut also means that any developments that Oculus will make in the future to drive down price will reduce the cost of entry to below $1,000, which will be good for the technology, as more customers will be able to afford virtual reality.
Oculus Rift Head Hints At The Future Of The VR Headset
In an interview, Oculus cofounder and Rift head Nate Mitchell revealed that the price cut was partially to attract more customers to acquire the Oculus Touch controllers, though sales have been very good for the accessory.
Mitchell also noted that Mac support for the Oculus Rift is still in the plans of Oculus, but the project is not yet within the company's roadmap for the next six months. The head of Rift also explained that while hundreds of demo stations for the virtual reality headset are being shut down in Best Buy stores, Oculus's presence in retail stores will ramp up based on seasonality.
