The virtual reality pushers at Oculus VR have finally announced a timeline for when you can preorder an Oculus Rift VR headset. That’s one small step for a VR pioneer, one giant leap for mankind that would rather sit at home and only pretend to be elsewhere.
The Facebook-owned company shared the news in a blog post that was a little light on details; it mostly announced plans to announce specifics at a later date. We do know that preorders will begin “later this year,” and that shipping will begin in the first quarter of 2016. Oculus is also moving forward with the Crescent Bay prototype that now boasts an “improved tracking system that supports both seated and standing experiences, as well as a highly refined industrial design, and updated ergonomics for a more natural fit.”
Oculus co-founder Nate Mitchell was a little more forthcoming at today’s TechCrunch Disrupt NY event, acknowledging that batteries are indeed sold separately—the Rift headset will require a fairly powerful personal computer to run it. Mitchell also said his company is in talks with Microsoft and Sony to make the Oculus functional with the PS4 or Xbox One.
Though Oculus’ retail availability has been somewhat delayed, it’s still likely to outpace Sony’s Project Morpheus gear that’s currently predicted to debut in the first half of 2016. So get ready to pretend to be on SNL (in the audience) and/or reenact that scene from a prescient Fisher Stevens movie some time next year.