Being born is a good thing. Announcements at CES 2016 show that consumers will finally be able to get VR hardware in hand – or more aptly on their heads and even under their feet.
Oculus announced it will be accepting pre-orders starting today (Jan. 6, 2016) for $599 USD. Deliveries will start March 28, 2016.. Every pre-ordered Rift comes bundled with Lucky’s Tale by Playful, and CCP’s EVE: Valkyrie plus a remote (shown below). Oculus revealed that it’s handing out free Kickstarter Editions of the finished Rift headset to everyone who pledged enough money to get the development kit during the original crowdfunding drive.
The Oculus remote
To make VR more consumer friendly, NVIDIA has started the VR Ready program that aims to make it easier for consumers to identify PCs and notebooks that will provide an immersive experience without making people sick. VR needs to run at a minimum of 90 frames per second with very low latency and very consistent frame timing in order to provide the user with an immersive experience. Unfortunately, a PC that can deliver a perfectly acceptable 30 frames per second on an HDMI 1080p monitor may only provide a nauseating VR experience. In short, a GTX 970 or higher is required. If VR is in your future, look for the VR Ready logo on new PCs.
What is meant by an immersive experience, varies according to media channel and manufacturer. Current headsets are still bulky.VR software is in short supply. Many pundits claim that an immersive experience also requires the use of hands. Of course, you can improve your balance with a 3D VR rudder:
In addition to games, VR is also poised to be a movie media. For example, Sundance will have a VR movie section in a few weeks.
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