The information the technology world has been waiting for was announced this morning. The leading virtual reality company, Oculus, opened preorders for its flagship VR headset the Oculus Rift. We now know that the headsets cost $599 and that they will begin shipping on March 28. The headsets will begin appearing at select retail outlets in April.
The Rift comes with an Xbox One controller, an external tracking camera, a remote, and a pretty snazzy box. Plus, preordered headsets will include copies of the family-friendly Lucky’s Tale and the space shooter EVE: Valkyrie. Oculus’s custom Touch controllers will be coming out sometime in the second half of 2016. If you preorder the Rift, you’ll be first in line for preorders of the Touch.
The remote is a surprise—it was only just announced today. Oculus describes it as “simple and intuitive.” It features a circular touch pad and just a couple of buttons.
On the Oculus store page, you can also check out a free compatibility tool that will help you make sure your PC is up to spec. Unfortunately, in order to run the headset you will need some pretty fancy processing power. See recommended specifications here. If you want to wait until February, you can order a bundle that includes a Rift and a Rift-ready PC for $1499.
The Rift’s $599 price tag is an abrupt reminder that this headset is not meant to be a peripheral, but rather something more like its own console. Here is a list of games confirmed for the Rift to help you decide if you’ll be jumping on the VR bandwagon. Note that neither PlayStation VR nor Vive have announced sales prices yet.
