In a move that seeks to break down the financial barrier keeping many potential VR users from adopting the technology, Oculus has announced a significant price cut for the Rift headset, Touch controllers, and standalone Oculus Sensors.
And while a price cut is good news for players on the fence about picking up a PC-powered VR headset, the new $598 price tag attached to the Rift + Touch bundle means great things for developers creating for the platform who can now look forward the benefits of a potentially larger userbase.
The cut is not a special promotion or bundle-only price; rather, Oculus says that finding ways to make “PC VR as affordable as possible” is important to the future growth and success of the virtual reality industry as a whole.
Starting today, the bundle containing both the Rift headset and a pair of the Touch controllers will only set purchasers back $598, down $200 from the set’s previous price. A standalone pair of the Touch controllers now run $99, down from $199, and extra Oculus sensors have dropped from $79 to $59.
"Console VR is less expensive and currently outselling PC VR, and even less expensive Mobile VR headsets, like our Gear VR device, are outselling Console VR," said Oculus VP of content, Jason Rubin. "Bringing the higher quality of PC VR toward these lower price points is an obvious win for both consumers and PC VR. This price drop was as inevitable as it is beneficial. This is how the technology business works."