Long-awaited virtual reality headsets to be available in early 2016
Get excited, futurists. The Oculus Rift virtual reality headset is coming soon to a store near you. Really.
Oculus VR announced Wednesday that it finally has a shipping window -- the first quarter of 2016 -- for its much-anticipated technology.
That's almost four years after it first gained mainstream notice by way of a 2012 Kickstarter campaign, and two years after its first target shipping date of 2014. (It also means that the headset will miss the holiday shopping season; expect some IOUs in stockings this year.)
A lot has happened to Oculus since then, even without a product on the market. Excitement around its technology -- and the promise of bringing virtual reality to the everyday gamer -- helped gather enough buzz to catch the attention of Facebook. The social media firm bought Oculus VR in a $2 billion deal last March.
When Facebook bought the company, chief executive Mark Zuckerberg said that he believed the technology has applications beyond gaming -- for social media and communications more broadly.
Since the Rift first appeared on the scene, it's gained a few more competitors. Sony is betting on VR with its "Project Morpheus" headset. Meanwhile, Microsoft has plenty of developers and gamers excited about its upcoming HoloLens augmented reality headset, which will overlay holograms onto the real world. And Oculus itself has partnered with Samsung to put out the Gear VR headset, which gives users the immersive experience of virtual realtiby plugging their phone into a set of goggles.
Even without its own product on the market, the firm has still been considered a commercial VR leader. And while it didn't give away many details about how the upcoming headset will distinguish itself in the market, Oculus VR did say that it will be trickling out more news and specific information over the "weeks ahead."
The game industry's annual Electronic Entertainment Expo trade show is in early June; it's likely we'll hear a whole lot more about the headset there.