On the day before Christmas, Oculus founder Palmer Luckey took to Twitter to amp folks up about what’s to come sometime in Q1 next year, the consumer version of the Rift.
There are tons of questions around the product itself including guesses on how Oculus will actually execute the distribution of the Rift. The original founder of the company has continued to support the original mission of the team, especially as it operates under Facebook. Managing people’s expectations are hard, but Luckey is doing a pretty damn good job of it, noting that “first to market is hard”:
Without sharing the price of the Oculus Rift, Luckey is clearly intimating that Facebook being a “partner” will help it from suffering that $1,500+ price point that could scare the bejeesus out of anyone who isn’t a current developer kit owner and worrying less overall about initial profits. The price is going to be a lot of money, and more importantly, you’ll be putting a lot of trust into one team. Worth it? That’s the $2B+ question.
The last tweet almost suggests that the Rift could come in under $1,000, which many consider to be the “sweet spot” for those already into VR as well as those who are interested in learning more and will to take a chance on the medium. Still expensive, of course.
Without a doubt, 2016 is going to be a breakout year for virtual reality, but the key will be not burying it before you try it…which at any price above free is always difficult.