Oculus is addressing one of the main barriers preventing people from making the VR jump: its high cost.
The Facebook-owned VR company announced a massive $200 price drop on the Oculus Rift hardware bundle, making the headset more affordable for a mainstream market.
One of the main reasons VR headset sales have failed to impress investors comes down to its high price, prompting consumers to postpone purchases until VR hardware becomes cheaper.
In an interview with Polygon earlier this week, Jason Rubin, Oculus VP of content, said that the firm has “given hundreds of thousands of demos”, and at the end of each demo Oculus gives out a survey for feedback on the user experience.
“All the surveys say ‘This is awesome. I want to buy VR.’ The vast majority of people are blown away; those that don’t buy, the number one reason they don’t buy is price,” Rubin said.
Nate Mitchell, Co-Founder and vice president of product at Oculus, said in an official blog post that the price-cut represents another major step forward in making VR available to everyone.
“We’re coming up on the one-year anniversary of shipping Rift, and the quality of content, the breadth of experiences, and the commitment from the developer community have never been stronger.
“As we look to the year ahead, we’re focused on driving the industry forward by bringing VR to more people with the best products and the leading VR content line-up.
“That starts with making PC VR as affordable as possible. We’re excited to announce that starting today, Rift plus Touch is now only $598 (from $798). If you already have Rift, Touch is now only $99, and the price of an additional Oculus Sensor is now $59.”