Oculus Rift Pre-orders open at $599

Those interested in the Oculus Rift got a bit of sticker shock Wednesday when pre-orders for the virtual reality headset launched at a 0 price point.

In the box you’ll find a Rift headset with built-in headphones and mic, sensor, and an Xbox One controller. For those looking to pick something up off the shelf, Oculus says it will be certifying recommended rigs with an “Oculus ready” sticker, and that once the Rift is out customers will be able to buy new PCs that come with a headset included. If Oculus is producing the Rift at-cost or at a loss, that’s a big risk – especially this early in the game. We’re still getting pre-orders as we speak, and so we’re getting through those issues, it’s because of a lot of traffic. “The reality is that this first generation of VR is going to be more expensive”.

First shipments will be delivered in the following countries: Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Japan, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Spain, Sweden, Taiwan, United Kingdom, United States. VR headsets need to get into consumers’ homes so that they and their friends can try it out and see how it actually works this time around. Their prices have yet to be announced, but it would be hard to top Oculus Rift’s eye-watering price tag.

Just before 3PM, Luckey tweeted: “Some people may see their ship date move forward as fraudulent orders in queu are weeded out”. That’s a fat chunk of change no matter how you slice it, and a little disappointing too: Remember in 2014, when Oculus VR co-founder Nate Mitchell said the company wanted to keep the device in the $200-$400 range? Luckey has said that VR will have a revolutionary impact on the way we communicate and consume entertainment.

With many hoping that the headset would be more affordable, which would have made Oculus’ ambition to make VR “mainstream” a much more plausible reality, Twitter, Facebook and various other sites became littered with complaints leveled at Oculus’ decision, revealing how their interest in the headset has now dipped considerably. Oculus chief executive Brendan Iribe said in May that the Rift and the computer needed to run it were expected to cost around $1,500. In addition to the Rift, virtual-reality products like the Sony PlayStation VR and HTC Vive are expected to be released this year.

In October 2015, Luckey told Road to VR the Oculus Rift would be in the $350 ballpark, but would ultimately cost more due to added technology.