High-End VR Just Got A Whole Lot Cheaper: Oculus Slashed The Price Of The Rift

[kcarbotte]

Oculus slashed the price of the Oculus Rift with Touch bundle by $200. Buying into premium VR has never been so affordable.

High-End VR Just Got A Whole Lot Cheaper: Oculus Slashed The Price Of The Rift : Read more

 

[bit_user]

A cynic might say they're trying to unload their inventory before Zenimax's injunction is sustained.

Speaking of Zenimax, if you assume the $500M award sticks and the injunction is sustained, then each of the 200k units sold would have an effective cost of about $14,000. And you thought the Vive was expensive.

 

[littlelostlinden]

Holy Moly! Even at this low price, it still isn't worth the risk of catching the eye herpies and showing off the infamous OcuFace.

 

[cryoburner]

This is a bit closer to how the Oculus Rift originally should have been priced, although if the previously-overpriced Touch controllers now retail for a much more reasonable $100, that still means the headset itself costs $500. A 25% price cut on the whole package isn't bad though. And I do see that the Xbone controller is still included as well, however unnecessary it might be.

I imagine that we'll soon see a price cut on the Vive to match. Or maybe there will be a package with some new pack-ins like a Vive Tracker for a bit more, and perhaps a wireless version of the Vive will take over the $800 price point. Either way, I wouldn't doubt if we saw these companies preview their next-generation headsets before long.

 

[Supporter]

someone needs to learn to use a spellchecker

 

[Supporter]

It all depends on what you consider reasonable. (cost wise) VR still wont see prime time until it is in sub 199 tag for the full set. It IS just a toy.

 

[Jim90]

Once they sort our foveated rendering (i.e. the absolute requirement for very expensive gfx card+PC for high end rendering) then we will eventually see prices fall significantly. Eventually. As things are, one does need the other. Oh yes, they'll also need to recover initial development costs for the VR system itself. Of course, unless you're happy with phone-based VR.

 

[cats_Paw]

It can cost 50 dollars... If there are no games that are going to be interesting to play for longer than 20 minutes... I still dont see it going mainstream.

There are so many things that are "not quite there yet" with VR that its no surprise its sales have virtually halted.

 

[Dosflores]

I think you can still order the Rift without Touch, for its lowest price ever. You just have to add the Rift + Touch bundle to your cart, and then remove the Touch. I'm not going to proceed any further to check it, though

 

[dark_lord69]

Seriously!!!??
I just paid $200 for the controllers less than 30 days ago!

 

[Sakkura]

It can cost 50 dollars... If there are no games that are going to be interesting to play for longer than 20 minutes... I still dont see it going mainstream.

There are so many things that are "not quite there yet" with VR that its no surprise its sales have virtually halted.

There are plenty of games that'll hold your interest for more than 20 minutes. Robo Recall just released, and it's an absolute blast.

Oculus has also confirmed that there will be AT LEAST one game released from Oculus Studios each month this year. Those are the major titles developed by third parties but published (and funded) by Oculus.

Seriously!!!??
I just paid $200 for the controllers less than 30 days ago!

In that case you'll get $50 store credit.

 

[Honis]

If you bought it from anyone but Oculus, call the retailer and start processing either a return or get them to refund the $100. In box stores, the refund is standard practice. With Amazon, I have to return the unit and buy it again, per their policy. I had to call Amazon to get it sort out all my options. Instead of returning the unit I've been using for a week, I'll be returning the unit being shipped to me. Oculus will have zero indications that I got the retail discount and has given me the $50 store credit. (I reported myself and told them to keep the $50 credit. We'll see if they actually remove it or if I get Touch controllers for a net $50.)

 

[mavikt]

What is holding me on the fence is the competing API's the different systems are using. It means I can't just buy brand X VR head-set and play abitrary VR game Y.
That means first I have to research the market for content I might be interested in, weigh in the price, the surrounding eco-system etc.

As I understand Oculus is moving towards room-scale VR, has better visual fidelity (probably at the cost of FOV) in comparison to VIVE, but then has the Oculus (Facebook?) store.

If I could buy the Oculus and play any Steam (Vive API?) VR game or buy the HTC Vive and play any Oculus (API) VR game without worrying, it would be a no brainer, I would buy... ehm, atleast it would reduce my decision points considerably!

 

[Brandon_29]

The Rift's biggest problem is that it was not designed for room-scale and the implementation of it is super buggy and very poor in comparison. The Vive is hands down better at room tracking and it also allows for a much larger play area. The difference is display is very very minimal. The only major advantage the Rift has is the comfort is better and it is a little cheaper (with this new price, was the same before). On that last one I could still argue the price is not better because it doesn't include the full room-scale cost at 600. You still have to buy another sensor and it is still a half-blown room scale solution. In the end Vive and Rift are still basically priced the same if you want a similar experience.

Personally I won't buy another headset until gen 2 lands and a few of the big AAA titles come along. Still though the Vive is insanely impressive and a great way to entertain guest. It won't be a every day system until there is a software title worth playing daily (think open world Zelda with 50+ hour campaign).

 

[Sakkura]

What is holding me on the fence is the competing API's the different systems are using. It means I can't just buy brand X VR head-set and play abitrary VR game Y.
That means first I have to research the market for content I might be interested in, weigh in the price, the surrounding eco-system etc.

As I understand Oculus is moving towards room-scale VR, has better visual fidelity (probably at the cost of FOV) in comparison to VIVE, but then has the Oculus (Facebook?) store.

If I could buy the Oculus and play any Steam (Vive API?) VR game or buy the HTC Vive and play any Oculus (API) VR game without worrying, it would be a no brainer, I would buy... ehm, atleast it would reduce my decision points considerably!

The Rift can run any SteamVR game, so there's nothing to worry about there. Also, with Revive, the Vive can run Oculus games. That is unofficial though.

Valve and Oculus are also both contributing to the open standard VR API, OpenXR. But that's more about making things easier for the devs behind the scenes. For the customer, there's already cross-compatibility.

The Rift's biggest problem is that it was not designed for room-scale and the implementation of it is super buggy and very poor in comparison.

Not this tired old myth. The Rift works absolutely fine in roomscale, and with the 1.12 update, the roomscale tracking bugs have been worked out.

 

[Brandon_29]

What is holding me on the fence is the competing API's the different systems are using. It means I can't just buy brand X VR head-set and play abitrary VR game Y.
That means first I have to research the market for content I might be interested in, weigh in the price, the surrounding eco-system etc.

As I understand Oculus is moving towards room-scale VR, has better visual fidelity (probably at the cost of FOV) in comparison to VIVE, but then has the Oculus (Facebook?) store.

If I could buy the Oculus and play any Steam (Vive API?) VR game or buy the HTC Vive and play any Oculus (API) VR game without worrying, it would be a no brainer, I would buy... ehm, atleast it would reduce my decision points considerably!

The Rift can run any SteamVR game, so there's nothing to worry about there. Also, with Revive, the Vive can run Oculus games. That is unofficial though.

Valve and Oculus are also both contributing to the open standard VR API, OpenXR. But that's more about making things easier for the devs behind the scenes. For the customer, there's already cross-compatibility.

The Rift's biggest problem is that it was not designed for room-scale and the implementation of it is super buggy and very poor in comparison.

Not this tired old myth. The Rift works absolutely fine in roomscale, and with the 1.12 update, the roomscale tracking bugs have been worked out.

No myth. The Rift room scale-support was a secondary design thought. It does not track as accurately or in as large of a scale as the Vive. Read the following. It does a nice job of breaking down the pros and cons of both.

https://uploadvr.com/vive-vs-oculus-rift-touch-roomscale/

 

[Sakkura]

No myth. The Rift room scale-support was a secondary design thought. It does not track as accurately or in as large of a scale as the Vive. Read the following. It does a nice job of breaking down the pros and cons of both.

https://uploadvr.com/vive-vs-oculus-rift-touch-roomscale/

Roomscale support wasn't secondary, it was just not available at the initial launch because the motion controllers were not available yet either. There's not much point in roomscale if you're using a classic gamepad (let alone mouse and keyboard).

Also, that article is inaccurate when it comes to the tracking space. 3 sensors can cover a lot more than 8x8 feet, that's just the area Oculus recommends.

With the 1.12 update, Oculus tracking in 3-sensor setups has improved a lot, and for 99% of VR users, the tracking space available with 3 sensors is enough to cover the area they have available for VR.

 

[epdm2be]

... and so innovation gets kneecapped... one way or another. Why we do even bother to invent stuff? Why do we even bother to do anything at all? FTA!