Getting into VR just got a whole lot cheaper — if the Oculus Rift is your thing, that is. At the Game Developers Conference (GDC) today, Oculus announced a $100 price cut for both the Rift itself and the Oculus Touch controller, making the two bundled together a full $200 cheaper.
All told, you're now looking at a price of $598 for the Oculus Rift plus Touch bundle. The Rift and Touch by themselves now cost $499 and $99, respectively. In a blog post discussing the price drops, Oculus' Jason Rubin explained the move thusly:
Let's start with price. We've read all the stories and looked at the analyst reports. VR is going through the normal adoption cycle for new pieces of technology. We saw hype into launch, facing impossible expectations, and we will eventually break out with the "hockey stick" of mass adoption.Oculus believes, as do the thousands of original Kickstarter backers and millions of current users, that VR is the next computing platform. We also know that if there aren't major investments made to the ecosystem, it's going to take a really long time to reach that eventuality. So today, Oculus is aggressively making the high end of VR more attainable.
Ultimately, the new price points are much more enticing for anyone who was interested but still holding out. And as Rubin alludes to, Oculus' hand was kind of forced based on the fact that console VR — a less expensive prospect — is already outselling PCVR. Combined with a lower barrier to entry set by lower-cost VR-ready PCs now hitting the market, Oculus is hoping for a more accessible high-end VR experience.
In any case, if you've had your eye on an Oculus Rift setup, you can grab one now for a much cheaper price at Oculus, Best Buy, and other retailers.
