Last year, VP of product Nate Mitchell said that the Oculus Rift will cost somewhere between $200 and $400. And which number is most between $200 and $400? Correct: $300. That’s just maths, and you can’t argue with maths.
The product president produced the figure at the Oculus Connect conference last Friday. The long-awaited consumer headset – the version of the goggles Oculus won’t actively try and dissuade us from buying – will launch in the first few months of 2016 and cost “at least $300”.
The number came as Mitchell explained to PC Gamer why Oculus aren’t taking pre-orders.
“If I’m going to promise you something and you’re going to hand me a significant amount of money or whatever it is – we all know it’s going to be at least $300 – if you’re going to hand me $300 today, I am not going to be excited to tell you, ‘Ok, in nine, 10, 12, 11 months, whatever it is, you’re going to get something in return’. The longer you wait, the more you’re like, ‘This is obnoxious’.”
The consumer release will incorporate the headset, its sensor, and an Xbox One controller. The company’s own curious input device, the Oculus Touch, isn’t due to arrive until the summer of next year. Also they look like bangles, or the conference wristbands Palmer Luckey has worn for so long they’ve turned to carbonite. Reckon you’ll get a Rift at launch?