Oculus is launching its virtual reality headset, Oculus Rift, which will be available for purchase at 48 Best Buy Co Inc (NYSE: BBY) stores, in 25 different states, starting on Friday, May 6 at 9 a.m. Pacific time. The company said that only a small number of headsets will be available, and each Rift will cost $599.
Trying before buying
Oculus, working together with Facebook Inc. virtual reality division and Best Buy Co. stores, decided to let people try the Oculus Rift headsets in an in-store demo, which will be available on May 7.
The demo will be in the Intel Experience demo areas, and will work with Intel-powered laptops and desktop computers in the store.
Oculus and Best Buy created a website, for people to search for a nearby store and schedule a demo up to a month in advance, which means that people can reserve time to try the headsets, since they are anticipating a major demand for demo time.
The demo will include Crytek’s The Climb, and some non-interactive virtual reality vignettes via Oculus Dreamdeck.
Supply problems for pre-orders
Oculus is having supply problems regarding preorders, which is making some of its fans. People started to pre-order the headset on March 28, but on April 2, Oculus claimed to be having shortages of certain components which will cause delays in shipping. The company apologized and waived the shipping fee. A week later, Oculus told its costumers that pre-order the headset a long time ago that their orders may arrive in June.
Oculus said in a statement that the quantities will be extremely limited because they need to catch up on Rift preorders.
“We know that many preorder customers are still waiting for their Rifts, so we’re offering those customers a chance to purchase Rift from retail instead,” Oculus said.
The company also added that costumers who preorder the headset can try to buy a Rift at the store and then go online and cancel their preorder.
Oculus says they are planning to introduce additional retail locations across Canada and Europe, later this fall.
Source: Forbes