The Oculus Rift is here – if you can afford it. At a retail price of $599, the final consumer version is finally shipping out to early adopters. If you have a powerhouse of a PC computer and you love gaming, you probably already have it, or are thinking of getting something similar. The future is almost here.
What is the Oculus Rift?
A virtual reality headset developed by Oculus VR, the company started a Kickstarter campaign in 2012 to pay for development, which promptly raised $2.5 million from backers. In 2014 Facebook bought Oculus for $2 billion, raising some concerns that it was going to be used as part of Facebook’s social media empire instead of for serious gaming. So far in the final consumer version, this doesn’t seem to be the case, though with Playstation also coming up with a consumer VR offering this year that’s probably more affordable (it costs less, and doesn’t need a monster PC), it stands to be seen how competitive Oculus will be.
We’ve tried a developer version of the Rift over at Starship early last year. Unfortunately, it wouldn’t work on a Mac, even a souped up version, though it seemed that it was possibly a problem with our particular kit rather than with the Rift in general (it wouldn’t work properly on a PC either). We’ve tried the developer version in the Library at the Docks, which was fun but didn’t really work with wearing the Rift over spectacles.
Reviews so far
Via Ars:
After decades of incremental improvements to the way PC games and apps are displayed on monitors, the Rift feels like an entirely new way of thinking about how we look at the computerized world. It’s unique enough that a lot of the things we take for granted in computing and gaming are struggling to catch up with the new rules necessitated by its entirely new viewpoint. That means this first step still feels a little rough and uncertain in many ways that lessen its sheer impact.
Via the Verge:
The high cost of buying and running high-end VR headsets makes them inaccessible to many people, and the Rift in particular is relentlessly focused on gaming. Within these limitations, though, the Rift makes a good case for seated VR, and it lays a solid foundation for what’s to come. The headset you can buy today is not Oculus’ most ambitious vision for virtual reality — but it’s a vision that Oculus has successfully delivered on.
Trying the Rift in Melbourne
As we mentioned before, the Library at the Docks has a set – and is also a really cool place in general for a visit. Check it out! Or for a more immersive experience with VR (though one that isn’t spectacles friendly either) try Zero Latency.