facebook rss twitter

Oculus Rift pricing gets sliced, Rift bundled with Touch for $598

by Mark Tyson on 2 March 2017, 11:31

Tags: Facebook, LG

Quick Link: HEXUS.net/qadeux

Add to My Vault: x

Oculus price cuts

Oculus has announced price cuts for the Oculus Rift head mounted virtual reality headset and accessories. When the headset was launched, expectant enthusiasts were a little put out to discover its retail pricing. In 2014 we were told by Oculus CEO Brendan Iribe that his firm, thanks to the resources and wealth of new owners Facebook, would likely sell the HMD at "the lowest cost possible", aiming for mass market penetration. Today definitely isn't setting up the Rift HMD as a loss leader, but every little helps.

The price cuts come to mark the one-year anniversary of Rift first shipping. I've bullet pointed the price cuts detailed by the US-centric blog, and inserted alongside the new super-weak GBP pricing in brackets.

  • Oculus Rift plus a pair of Touch controllers: Was $798, now $598 (£598)
  • Oculus Touch controllers: Launched at $199, now $99 (£99)
  • Oculus Sensor (additional): Was $79, now $59

Previously the Oculus Rift HMD was sold alone at $598, so in effect the Oculus is bundled with a pair of free Touch controllers at this price level. In other good news for those interested in Oculus Rift, Epic Games' Robo Recall is now free on the platform.

LG's SteamVR Headset

UploadVR got hands-on time with the upcoming LG VR headset powered by Valve's SteamVR Tracking technology. To be clear this is a prototype unit on show at GDC but it still features design refinements such as being able to flip up the display portion like a visor. The tech specs are impressive, and detailed as follows:

  • Two panels (one for each eye) with a resolution of 1440 x 1280 each
  • OLED display from LG
  • 3.64-inches diagonal
  • 90Hz refresh rate
  • 110 degree FOV

Interestingly an UploadVR journalist tested LG's headset for 6 minutes or so and didn't really feel any benefit from the higher res or FOV specs compared to the HTC Vive or Oculus Rift (with their 1080 x 1200 pixel displays).

According to an LG engineer on hand, the upcoming SteamVR compatible headset will be roughly the same price as rival hardware. Watching the video above you will also see and hear about the LG designed VR controllers.



HEXUS Forums :: 4 Comments

Login with Forum Account

Don't have an account? Register today!
VR wil never make mainsteam use, 2 years ago TV where all 3d ready and last year not a mention of it.
same as 3d movies, maybe in another 20-30 years time it might get trended again as it was this time and actually happen.
Rubarb
VR wil never make mainsteam use, 2 years ago TV where all 3d ready and last year not a mention of it.
same as 3d movies, maybe in another 20-30 years time it might get trended again as it was this time and actually happen.

That's because almost display these days IS in some way 3D compatible. Why keep waving your banner over a feature that has become absolutely standard on everything? It's no longer an exclusive or attractive feature; just a standard one.

Heck, even my newest projector is 3D compatible and it was only a feature mentioned, not specifically marketed for.

VR has actually been pretty successful, all things said. Pricing is really what kept it from getting more immediate mainstream adoptance.
No, 3DTV is dead. Most manufacturers dropped 3D from this years models.

Comparing VR to 3D isn't even in the same ballpark though. 3D didn't really add a lot, hense people didn't go wild for it…..now use a Vive with roomscale and suddenly you have an experience that is nothing like what you have had before.

As for the topic, I'm not surprise. They didn't design the headset to work with roomscale, the after-thought they designed doesn't work as reliably as the Vive and they are looking at a rather large fine after not selling many units….plus HTC have added more pressure with the addons they just announced…
I want VR headset for EVE Valk or ED but really needs to come down on price to justify paying the price.