Right now, you can order an Oculus Rift dev kit 2 for $350, or about £215. But if you’re not a developer you absolutely mustn’t, say Oculus. The dev kit isn’t for you. Instead, you must queue up at conventions, or wait for the headset’s consumer version.
There’s still no word on when we’re getting that – but we do know how much it’ll cost. No more than $400, or a little over £245. And that’s the upper end of the price scale Luckey and co. are looking at.
“We want to stay in that $200-$400 price range,” Oculus co-founder Nate Mitchell told Eurogamer.
Apparently, the price could yet “slide in either direction”, according to factors like scale, pre-orders, business negotiations and the components Oculus wind up depending on.
“Whatever it is,” said Rift inventor Palmer Luckey, “it’s going to be as cheap as possible.”
We still don’t know when it’ll arrive – but Luckey points out there’s nothing unusual about that.
“If you look at most consoles, the cycle – from when the first developer kits are shipped to when they actually launch a product – is usually at least two or three years,” he said. “It’s just all behind the scenes. Consumers don’t know about it until it’s basically ready to go, completely designed and heading out the door. Then they announce it.”
And that’s from seasoned companies with thousands working on their hardware; Oculus have only existed for two years. Nevertheless, the VR specialists are making good progress. They have the consumer version’s specs mapped out.
“We know what we’re making and now it’s a matter of making it,” said Luckey.
Have any of you lot coughed up for a dev kit, advice be damned? Remember: if you buy an Oculus Rift on eBay, you’re on your own.
Thanks, PC Gamer.