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The Oculus Rift is probably not as cheap as you think

By Salehuddin Bin Husin - on 5 Oct 2015, 9:50am

The Oculus Rift is probably not as cheap as you think

Palmer's not only the founder of Oculus VR, he's also the one who invented the Oculus Rift.

Everybody wants the VR experience to come. Whether it's just a fad or the next big thing, VR is riding one gigantic hype wave, especially among gamers. With Samsung making the Gear VR an accessible (and cheap) experience to anybody with a modern Samsung device, it's hard not to be caught up in the excitement that the Age of Virtual Reality is soon to be on us.

That's all well and good, but it might also be prudent to temper that excitement a bit, especially if you're financially unstable. Latest reports suggest that the Oculus Rift, slated to launch Q1 2016, might not be as cheap as initially believed. Many had pegged the headset to be within the US$300 - 400 range,  and while not exactly cheap, that's the number that most people have made peace with.

As it turns out, that's not the case at all. While the Developers Kit Version 2 (DK 2) is still $350, the consumer model is going to be priced much higher.

Speaking at an Oculus event, the founder of the Oculus VR, Palmer Luckey has stated that the Oculus Rift will cost more than the expected US$350. 

In an interview with RoadtoVR, Luckey states that,"We’re roughly in that ballpark… but it’s going to cost more than that."

The reasoning behind this, according to Luckey, is that the consumer version of the Oculus Rift incorporates new technology that aren't available in both Developers Kits (DK 1 and DK 2). On top of that, Oculus VR chose not to skimp on materials, opting to go all the way and get the best they could without compromising on the quality of the headset and the experiences it can deliver.

"We need to put a stake in the ground and say: this is the best possible experience that we were able to make. No compromises were made in terms of quality", said Luckey.

Oculus VR claims that the Oculus Rift is the best VR experience consumers can get when it releases early next year. Whether that's true or not remains to be seen. Even if it is, will the high price scare off potential early adopters or will it just create a niche market for VR enthusiasts? Will there even be a market for three different VR headsets on the PC? Only time will tell.

Source: RoadtoVR
Via: Polygon

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