Oculus Wants To Release The Rift For Free

[Steven Bogos]

Oculus Wants To Release The Rift For Free

Oculus says that the cheaper its Rift VR headset is, the better, and hopes that it will one day be completely free.

Right now, the only way to get your hands on an Oculus Rift, the virtual reality headset that is taking the gaming world by storm, is to buy a $300 devkit, but when the device eventually hits the consumer market, it may be much cheaper. CEO Brendan Iribe recently spoke to Edge Online [http://www.edge-online.com/features/oculus-vr-wants-to-release-its-headset-for-free/] about the company's plans for the device's consumer launch. "The lower the price point, the wider the audience," he said, adding "We have all kinds of fantasy ideas. We'd love it to be free one day."

"How do we get it as close to free as possible? Obviously it won't be that in the beginning. We're targeting the $300 price point right now but there's the potential that it could get much less expensive with a few different relationships and strategies."

"You can imagine if Microsoft and Sony can go out and subsidize consoles because there's enough money to be made on software and other areas, then there's the potential that this, in partnership, could get subsidized," suggested Iribe, "Let's say there was some game you played in VR that everybody loved and everybody played and we made $100 a month - or even $10 a month - at some point the hardware's cheap enough and we're making enough that we could be giving away the headset."

But Iribe admits that the company is not quite there yet, and the first step is to get the device into as many hands as possible. "You want everybody to play it and the cheaper it is, the more people are going to go out and buy it. Today it's a $300 dev kit but we're thinking about how to get it out to as many people as possible."

Source: Edge Online [http://www.edge-online.com/features/oculus-vr-wants-to-release-its-headset-for-free/]

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[Misterian]

That's awfully generous of them.

though sadly, they'd have to have a way I can apply this Rift to my Xbox 360 for me to consider getting one.

 

[Lilani]

But little did we know "The Rift" is actually a codename for a portal that will unleash upon the earth a thousand million terrors, born from the sins of the unrepentant.

 

[008Zulu_v1legacy]

How heavy is this device, and will I have to take off my prescription glasses to use it?

 

[viranimus]

Hey, its not a bad idea at all.

Look at all the wonders it did for WoW having low system specs in order to be playable on an obscenely large number of computers. The lower the barrier to entry, the more people that will be willing to try it.

Its refreshing to see an organization trying to use logic and reason in the modern economy to potentially work it to their advantage without doing so at the expense of the customers.

 

[Baldr]

How heavy is this device, and will I have to take off my prescription glasses to use it?

Yes and No. Most people find it uncomfortable with any kind of eye-wear. I personally hated it when I tried it, other seemed to not mind the discomfort. They are suppose to be making prescription lenses for it, but still makes it more expensive.

 

[Steven Bogos]

How heavy is this device, and will I have to take off my prescription glasses to use it?

Looked a bit further into it, and I found this article! [http://www.joystiq.com/2012/08/16/oculus-rift-will-cater-to-those-who-wear-glasses/]

Short answer: They are looking at ways to essentially make the rift function as glasses!

 

[Fat Hippo]

But little did we know "The Rift" is actually a codename for a portal that will unleash upon the earth a thousand million terrors, born from the sins of the unrepentant.

As long as we still get to play a space simulator with a set of virtual reality glasses on at some point...meh, whatever. Worth it.

 

[weirdee]

But little did we know "The Rift" is actually a codename for a portal that will unleash upon the earth a thousand million terrors, born from the sins of the unrepentant.

you've been playing too much smt

or not enough, depending on the future

 

[Entitled]

How heavy is this device, and will I have to take off my prescription glasses to use it?

The current devkit is 379 g, the commercial version will be less.

 

[008Zulu_v1legacy]

Yes and No. Most people find it uncomfortable with any kind of eye-wear. I personally hated it when I tried it, other seemed to not mind the discomfort. They are suppose to be making prescription lenses for it, but still makes it more expensive.

Hmm.

They are looking at ways to essentially make the rift function as glasses!

Cool.

The current devkit is 379 g, the commercial version will be less.

That is almost nothing.

I am interested in this device now. My next thought after that was; Will there be a Star Wars flight sim game?

 

[Oskuro]

That's awfully generous of them.

No, it is not.

What they are saying is that if the Rift becomes very popular, the money they make through licensing alone would be enough so they can give it away, probably bundled with licensed games.


It'd be nice if they got there, but I suspect by the point they get to do that feasibly, someone will point out that they could still sell the headset and make that extra money. You know, like every other company in the same business does. As usual, it's not a matter of how nice they are, it's a matter of who is calling the shots when they get to that point, and if they have succeeded, chances are they'd have become a big company, with shareholders holding the leash.

Thinking about how the world ends up working depresses me. I need a Rift and Mirror's Edge to get cheery again...

 

[Entitled]

It'd be nice if they got there, but I suspect by the point they get to do that feasibly, someone will point out that they could still sell the headset and make that extra money.

Mobile phones often *are* distributed for free with a subscription.

Besides, if you are selling anew type of product that people wouldn't otherwse trust, then you might simply not afford to sell it expensively and penetrate a large part of the market.

If the first $300 Rift will be wildly successful, like growing to a full platform userbase, with enough audience to aim several games at them, then there will be no reaon to bundle it to any specific game in the first place.

But if it makes a small splash, with only a few hundred thousand sales, then they NEED to cut back the overall price desperately, the rule of supply and demand would compel them to use the increasingly cheaper production prices to be more cheap and competitive.

 

[Marak Daga]

I want to know how it would function as a monitor replacement. Not much room in my house in japan, if i can save all that space id be getting one asap.

 

[Doom972]

Including a game (or several) with it would justify a high price. $300 is a bit steep. Hopefully stores would allow customers to try it before buying, as it's hard to make such a purchase if you don't get to try it first and see that it doesn't make you puke all over yourself.

How heavy is this device, and will I have to take off my prescription glasses to use it?

If, like me, you're short-sighted, I don't think that it'll be a problem using it without glasses. How close do you need an object to be to see it clearly? I haven't used the Rift, but I did try VR once and everything was clear without glasses. As for long-sighted, I'm not sure how it would work.

 

[Doclector]

Don't fall for it people.

They'll probably use it as a ruse to trap us in some VR MMO in which if we disconnect or die, we die in real life, and the only way to get out is to complete the game, and it'll be really bloody sad and the theme tune will get stuck in our heads.

 

[008Zulu_v1legacy]

If, like me, you're short-sighted, I don't think that it'll be a problem using it without glasses. How close do you need an object to be to see it clearly? I haven't used the Rift, but I did try VR once and everything was clear without glasses. As for long-sighted, I'm not sure how it would work.

I have a problem with seeing things at a distance. The closest I have used V.R, were those VisionMaster "3D" viewers.

 

[Doom972]

If, like me, you're short-sighted, I don't think that it'll be a problem using it without glasses. How close do you need an object to be to see it clearly? I haven't used the Rift, but I did try VR once and everything was clear without glasses. As for long-sighted, I'm not sure how it would work.

I have a problem with seeing things at a distance. The closest I have used V.R, were those VisionMaster "3D" viewers.

Then it shouldn't be a problem, since it won't be at a distance - it'll be strapped to your face.