Oculus Rift: Available for pre-order • Hacker News Board

Re: Oculus Rift: Available for pre-order

#121

Post by Someone1234 » Wed, Jan 06, 2016, 4:52 PM UTC

wnevets wrote: post #115

mortenjorck wrote: post #49

$599 may seem like a perilously steep price to debut at, but right now, Oculus faces a much bigger risk than low sales volume: Poor reception. If this was the MSRP required to ensure a comfortable, nausea-free experience, it's far better to have a killer product at a high price point than a "don't buy the first generation" product at the price point people were expecting. The former can lead to a cheaper gen 2, but t…

wasn't this Google's strategy with glass?

Google Glass never shipped to consumers, only to developers...

They did charge a relative high amount for the dev' kits and made wishy washy claims that they could produce the consumer version for less.

Re: Oculus Rift: Available for pre-order

#122

Post by davej » Wed, Jan 06, 2016, 4:53 PM UTC

owenversteeg wrote: post #106

Among the giant debate over cost and power, I'm just wondering what would've happened had they waited, say, two years to release. Suddenly, the cost (of both the device and of the desktop PC) go way down. With something like this, a poorly received first launch can torpedo not only the product but the entire VR industry, and when someone's spent over $2k to get it to work their expectations will be very high. I'm sur…

Two years is a lifetime in tech. This isn't a mainline consumer product even though they may market it as such. A few hardcore gamers and VR enthusiasts will buy this, slightly more will get to experience this through a friend who has purchased it. It will churn away and people who can't quite justify shelling out the cash will still be excited by the experience. By the time v2 comes around, the price point will be much more acceptable. I would expect that by v3 it will be mainstream.

I wouldn't be surprised if we saw yearly iterations of the Rift for the first few versions. Ultimately I think this tech has to be paired with a console rather than a PC for widespread adoption.

Re: Oculus Rift: Available for pre-order

#123

Post by ionised » Wed, Jan 06, 2016, 4:53 PM UTC

lossolo wrote: post #9

Stop with "Virtual Reality" hype. People feel dizzy after trying this out. You will see how this hype will decline after the product launch. We see hype because big companies bet on this product and now want to get their millions back...

I didn't feel anything like that when I used DK2 to play Elite: Dangerous and mess about with the Rift demos.

Re: Oculus Rift: Available for pre-order

#124

Post by k-mcgrady » Wed, Jan 06, 2016, 4:54 PM UTC

wnevets wrote: post #115

mortenjorck wrote: post #49

$599 may seem like a perilously steep price to debut at, but right now, Oculus faces a much bigger risk than low sales volume: Poor reception. If this was the MSRP required to ensure a comfortable, nausea-free experience, it's far better to have a killer product at a high price point than a "don't buy the first generation" product at the price point people were expecting. The former can lead to a cheaper gen 2, but t…

wasn't this Google's strategy with glass?

I'd say you're getting a lot more at a much cheaper price with Occulus Rift than you did with Glass. I think the point is charge more if that's what it takes to create a good experience. Google charged a lot more and the experience was awful. I used it for 1 week and to me Glass seemed like something that was a year or two from being ready for release. The extra expense didn't get you a killer experience.

Re: Oculus Rift: Available for pre-order

#125

Post by Someone1234 » Wed, Jan 06, 2016, 4:55 PM UTC

JamesBaxter wrote: post #114

In the UK it's basically the cost of an Xbox One and PS4 together. I wonder if PC gamers would prefer one of those consoles for the exclusives.

Apples and oranges. Oculus is a different experience, not a different gaming platform. If PS4 or XBone could offer an Oculus-like experience then your point would absolutely make sense, but they cannot.

The closest comparable console is the Virtual Boy from 1995.

Re: Oculus Rift: Available for pre-order

#126

Post by k-mcgrady » Wed, Jan 06, 2016, 4:55 PM UTC

Someone1234 wrote: post #121

wnevets wrote: post #115

Earlier quoted context omitted.

wasn't this Google's strategy with glass?

Google Glass never shipped to consumers, only to developers... They did charge a relative high amount for the dev' kits and made wishy washy claims that they could produce the consumer version for less.

I wouldn't say it never shipped to consumers. It was available for purchase on the Play Store alongside their other consumer products, and billed as an 'explorer edition'. If it was only intended for devs it should have been available for purchase on the dev site and billed as a developer edition.

Re: Oculus Rift: Available for pre-order

#127

Post by moron4hire » Wed, Jan 06, 2016, 4:55 PM UTC

mortenjorck wrote: post #49

$599 may seem like a perilously steep price to debut at, but right now, Oculus faces a much bigger risk than low sales volume: Poor reception. If this was the MSRP required to ensure a comfortable, nausea-free experience, it's far better to have a killer product at a high price point than a "don't buy the first generation" product at the price point people were expecting. The former can lead to a cheaper gen 2, but t…

Well, that price does include HiFi headphones with a built-in DAC, an Xbox One controller, a small hand-held controller, and two games. Retail prices on those bought separately? Easily 1/3rd the price.

Re: Oculus Rift: Available for pre-order

#128

Post by codeshaman » Wed, Jan 06, 2016, 4:56 PM UTC

I see one of the requirements is a Windows computer...

So for a Mac user like myself, that $599 would include a good $1k+ for a Windows PC ?

Nevertheless I'm very excited about this tech, although I will not jump into it just yet.

Re: Oculus Rift: Available for pre-order

#129

Post by moron4hire » Wed, Jan 06, 2016, 4:57 PM UTC

mkozlows wrote: post #97

mortenjorck wrote: post #49

$599 may seem like a perilously steep price to debut at, but right now, Oculus faces a much bigger risk than low sales volume: Poor reception. If this was the MSRP required to ensure a comfortable, nausea-free experience, it's far better to have a killer product at a high price point than a "don't buy the first generation" product at the price point people were expecting. The former can lead to a cheaper gen 2, but t…

There is no expectation from anyone that the Rift is nausea-free.

It's not the headset that causes the nausea, it's the software.

Re: Oculus Rift: Available for pre-order

#130

Post by Someone1234 » Wed, Jan 06, 2016, 4:57 PM UTC

mkozlows wrote: post #97

mortenjorck wrote: post #49

$599 may seem like a perilously steep price to debut at, but right now, Oculus faces a much bigger risk than low sales volume: Poor reception. If this was the MSRP required to ensure a comfortable, nausea-free experience, it's far better to have a killer product at a high price point than a "don't buy the first generation" product at the price point people were expecting. The former can lead to a cheaper gen 2, but t…

There is no expectation from anyone that the Rift is nausea-free.

Indeed, and just a quick Google suggests that a lot of people have had nausea issues with the Rift e.g.

http://www.tomsguide.com/faq/id-2355037/minimize-oculus-rift...