Second-Gen Oculus Rift Headset Now Shipping

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I have to admit, if I had the time, it would be fun to mess around with an Oculus Rift VR headset.

Oculus confirmed Wednesday morning that the first DK2 preorders are now shipping. They're slated to reach developers by July 14, though if you ordered one don't be surprised if it takes a bit longer to arrive--the company has sold 45,000 preorders since April, and I wouldn't bat an eye if it takes through August for them to fulfill that many orders.
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Only 45k preorders? I know they're still trying to cover their tails by calling it a pre-release version, but even if they're making a lot of profits moolah over cost, that leaves them probably very much in a losing money situation versus the cost of employee salaries and operating expenses. It's a good thing Facebook bought them to prop them up because the company wouldn't be solvent if it didn't have a sponsor with a really deep purse.
 
CreepyUncleGoogle said:
Only 45k preorders? I know they're still trying to cover their tails by calling it a pre-release version, but even if they're making a lot of profits moolah over cost, that leaves them probably very much in a losing money situation versus the cost of employee salaries and operating expenses. It's a good thing Facebook bought them to prop them up because the company wouldn't be solvent if it didn't have a sponsor with a really deep purse.
Click to expand...

Maybe I not math good, but isn't that almost $16million in pre-orders?
 
I actually got a chance to play with a first gen headset at Origins this year.

They're interesting. But the resolution on them is going to need to come WAY up before I can use them comfortably. Right now the resolution is so low that I'm getting nauseous interacting.

Also, the positional tracking is somewhat tetchy, with a nearly constant need for re-centering.
 
Developer kits.

Still waiting for the final retail version if it ever materializes.

What I found so distasteful about Facebook's purchase of Oculus was the fact that FB is a social media company who's customer base is soccer moms and mindless tweens.
They are not a real tech company that understands what bring cutting edge tech to the market takes.
At some point someone will say "hey, I don't see enough LIKES for this, lets sell it off".
Giggle if you want, this scenario has happened time and time again with emerging tech.

First example that comes to mind.
For you know-nothings out there here is a shocker. Apple did NOT develop the mouse driven GUI interface. Jobs literally stole the idea from Xerox.
Xerox had a kind of "skunk works" for product development in CA that developed the GUI interface and a "pointing device" they called a mouse for navigating and choosing items.
Jobs took a tour of the facility and saw the GUI/mouse project in action.
Eventually Xerox killed the project. There was a Xerox executive said "what does all this have to do with copiers??" and canceled the project. This was in the early 70s.
 
Chas said:
I actually got a chance to play with a first gen headset at Origins this year.

They're interesting. But the resolution on them is going to need to come WAY up before I can use them comfortably. Right now the resolution is so low that I'm getting nauseous interacting.

Also, the positional tracking is somewhat tetchy, with a nearly constant need for re-centering.
Click to expand...

that feeling your were getting is supposed to be addressed in this second edition
 
I'm pumped and can't wait to try it out. It's cool to see Samsung joining the competition along with Sony. That is a good sign we are close to something real, I think.
 
LeninGHOLA said:
Maybe I not math good, but isn't that almost $16million in pre-orders?
Click to expand...

Your maths are okay as far as I can tell, but that's total sales and doesn't factor in the cost of development, manufacture, and overhead. I mean it took them how long to go from the first thingey they sold to the second thingey? What were employee salaries over the course of that time? I'm like a bajillion percentages suspicious that they aren't making any money at all yet which is bad since they've been in business for a pretty long time now. Without lots and lots of past holding out of hands asking for cash and now Facebook paying for their expenses, this 1990s stuff would have gone *poof* a long time ago.
 
How much longer until these hit retail? I've been watching them for a while, and developers keep getting them, and showing off some nice stuff. The newer model looks much better, but is it going to hang out for a couple years while developers play with them? Then release 3? 4?

I want to play... :(
 
CreepyUncleGoogle said:
Your maths are okay as far as I can tell, but that's total sales and doesn't factor in the cost of development, manufacture, and overhead. I mean it took them how long to go from the first thingey they sold to the second thingey? What were employee salaries over the course of that time? I'm like a bajillion percentages suspicious that they aren't making any money at all yet which is bad since they've been in business for a pretty long time now. Without lots and lots of past holding out of hands asking for cash and now Facebook paying for their expenses, this 1990s stuff would have gone *poof* a long time ago.
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Pretty much agree. However, I take issue with your spelling of the word thingy. :p
 
Dr. Righteous said:
Developer kits.

Still waiting for the final retail version if it ever materializes.

What I found so distasteful about Facebook's purchase of Oculus was the fact that FB is a social media company who's customer base is soccer moms and mindless tweens.
They are not a real tech company that understands what bring cutting edge tech to the market takes.
At some point someone will say "hey, I don't see enough LIKES for this, lets sell it off".
Giggle if you want, this scenario has happened time and time again with emerging tech.

First example that comes to mind.
For you know-nothings out there here is a shocker. Apple did NOT develop the mouse driven GUI interface. Jobs literally stole the idea from Xerox.
Xerox had a kind of "skunk works" for product development in CA that developed the GUI interface and a "pointing device" they called a mouse for navigating and choosing items.
Jobs took a tour of the facility and saw the GUI/mouse project in action.
Eventually Xerox killed the project. There was a Xerox executive said "what does all this have to do with copiers??" and canceled the project. This was in the early 70s.
Click to expand...

Crazy that Xerox let that slip through their fingers. QDOS also comes to mind in the "Great Fumbles of History" book. :)
 
Chas said:
I actually got a chance to play with a first gen headset at Origins this year.

They're interesting. But the resolution on them is going to need to come WAY up before I can use them comfortably. Right now the resolution is so low that I'm getting nauseous interacting.

Also, the positional tracking is somewhat tetchy, with a nearly constant need for re-centering.
Click to expand...

Well duh. The DK1's res *was* crap.

The DK2 is much improved.
 
I'm tempted to get a DKII, but I'm worried that support for it will dwindle when the final version launches. Would suck to see it slowly turn into a $300 paperweight...
 
Unknown-One said:
I'm tempted to get a DKII, but I'm worried that support for it will dwindle when the final version launches. Would suck to see it slowly turn into a $300 paperweight...
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I'm sure it could still be used as a personal viewing device of some kind. So not TOTALLY useless. I would worry a bit though about it being supported directly for gaming and other products of that type.
 
Its called motion sickness. It occurs when there is a noticeable disconnect in how your body feels like its moving and how your brain tells it its moving.

You don't get it with a screen, because your peripheral vision tells your body you are sitting down and everything is fine.

Strap on a VR headset, and you WILL get sick. Some people will last longer than others. After prolonged use, you will also notice that the disconnect in hand-eye coordination causes a temporary screwup in your brain that is worse than drunk driving. There's been plenty of research into this in the 90s...

I don't know why everyone is acting like that never happened.
 
Ducman69 said:
Its called motion sickness. It occurs when there is a noticeable disconnect in how your body feels like its moving and how your brain tells it its moving.

You don't get it with a screen, because your peripheral vision tells your body you are sitting down and everything is fine.

Strap on a VR headset, and you WILL get sick. Some people will last longer than others. After prolonged use, you will also notice that the disconnect in hand-eye coordination causes a temporary screwup in your brain that is worse than drunk driving. There's been plenty of research into this in the 90s...

I don't know why everyone is acting like that never happened.
Click to expand...

Because they want VR so bad that they have deluded themselves to the point of ignoring all the extremely obvious shortcomings that simply cannot be overcome.

I've said it once, I'll continue saying it. It's a cool technology in many respects and will find quite a bit of use especially in the medical/space sectors. It however isn't going to be more than a niche device for gaming no matter how bad you want it to be. It will end up a $300 paperweight because of very real drawbacks.Sorry but you are better off waiting until it hits a local Dave and busters, getting your 20 minutes in and enjoying the hell out of it for that. Buying one is going to be flat out stupid for most people. Sure there might be exceptions, or at least those deeper in denial than others but for most it will be another Wii, fun for a couple months then collects dust for years after. Only thing is here I doubt it will sell anywhere close to the numbers the Wii did. Frankly I think the estimates of 1m+ units in the first year is just way too optimistic.
 
CreepyUncleGoogle said:
Your maths are okay as far as I can tell, but that's total sales and doesn't factor in the cost of development, manufacture, and overhead. I mean it took them how long to go from the first thingey they sold to the second thingey? What were employee salaries over the course of that time? I'm like a bajillion percentages suspicious that they aren't making any money at all yet which is bad since they've been in business for a pretty long time now. Without lots and lots of past holding out of hands asking for cash and now Facebook paying for their expenses, this 1990s stuff would have gone *poof* a long time ago.
Click to expand...

Well yeah that's the whole reason they sold to FB in the first place :rolleyes: without the threat of insolvency hanging over their head and with a multibillion dollar backer, they can focus on getting a good product out and use the support for leverage with suppliers and whatnot. there was news a while back that they were contracting with samsung for high-res AMOLED screens for either this version or the final consumer version, and the only reason they were able to do that was because of FB
 
Because it's fun. And I don't plan on prolonged use. Maybe 8-12 hours a day. :D

Some people get vertigo with some games (Saw a gal fall down after watching me play Decent 3). It happens at times. It'll happen with OR, and there will be some bitching. But, I feel that it's a positive thing for me, and I'll enjoy it. If I have issues, I'll try not using it as much.

Ducman69 said:
Its called motion sickness. It occurs when there is a noticeable disconnect in how your body feels like its moving and how your brain tells it its moving.

You don't get it with a screen, because your peripheral vision tells your body you are sitting down and everything is fine.

Strap on a VR headset, and you WILL get sick. Some people will last longer than others. After prolonged use, you will also notice that the disconnect in hand-eye coordination causes a temporary screwup in your brain that is worse than drunk driving. There's been plenty of research into this in the 90s...

I don't know why everyone is acting like that never happened.
Click to expand...
 
Dekoth-E- said:
Because they want VR so bad that they have deluded themselves to the point of ignoring all the extremely obvious shortcomings that simply cannot be overcome.

I've said it once, I'll continue saying it. It's a cool technology in many respects and will find quite a bit of use especially in the medical/space sectors. It however isn't going to be more than a niche device for gaming no matter how bad you want it to be. It will end up a $300 paperweight because of very real drawbacks.Sorry but you are better off waiting until it hits a local Dave and busters, getting your 20 minutes in and enjoying the hell out of it for that. Buying one is going to be flat out stupid for most people. Sure there might be exceptions, or at least those deeper in denial than others but for most it will be another Wii, fun for a couple months then collects dust for years after. Only thing is here I doubt it will sell anywhere close to the numbers the Wii did. Frankly I think the estimates of 1m+ units in the first year is just way too optimistic.
Click to expand...

Oh god its the Oculus crybaby here again in another ... you guessed it.... Oculus thread.
 
CreepyUncleGoogle said:
Only 45k preorders? I know they're still trying to cover their tails by calling it a pre-release version, but even if they're making a lot of profits moolah over cost, that leaves them probably very much in a losing money situation versus the cost of employee salaries and operating expenses. It's a good thing Facebook bought them to prop them up because the company wouldn't be solvent if it didn't have a sponsor with a really deep purse.
Click to expand...

They had already raised almost a $100 million in funding before Facebook bought them out. They could have easily raised more.
 
DPI said:
Oh god its the Oculus crybaby here again in another ... you guessed it.... Oculus thread.
Click to expand...

seriously whats with the guys' hate over this, great man you don't like it, don't buy it. If it's such a shit product then it will fail. The rest of us are trying to have an adult discussion about this.
 
Dekoth-E- said:
Because they want VR so bad that they have deluded themselves to the point of ignoring all the extremely obvious shortcomings that simply cannot be overcome.

I've said it once, I'll continue saying it. It's a cool technology in many respects and will find quite a bit of use especially in the medical/space sectors. It however isn't going to be more than a niche device for gaming no matter how bad you want it to be. It will end up a $300 paperweight because of very real drawbacks.Sorry but you are better off waiting until it hits a local Dave and busters, getting your 20 minutes in and enjoying the hell out of it for that. Buying one is going to be flat out stupid for most people. Sure there might be exceptions, or at least those deeper in denial than others but for most it will be another Wii, fun for a couple months then collects dust for years after. Only thing is here I doubt it will sell anywhere close to the numbers the Wii did. Frankly I think the estimates of 1m+ units in the first year is just way too optimistic.
Click to expand...
I like how, in your entire rant, you never actually explained what insurmountable drawbacks you're referring to...

Seriously, this is one long complaint about <undefined> problem :p
 
Unknown-One said:
I like how, in your entire rant, you never actually explained what insurmountable drawbacks you're referring to...

Seriously, this is one long complaint about <undefined> problem :p
Click to expand...

It'll have some issues. I don't think they'll be as bad as he says. But, I do imagine it will give you similar sensations as a trampoline. Jump for a while, then get off and you feel like your feet are made of lead. You'll trick your brain into thinking it's still in a simulation... It wears off quickly, though.

My biggest concern is that there will be those "killer apps" that you want to spend more time in the VR world and not in the real world. Some people are already like that with WoW and other MMORPGS.
 
Ur_Mom said:
It'll have some issues. I don't think they'll be as bad as he says. But, I do imagine it will give you similar sensations as a trampoline. Jump for a while, then get off and you feel like your feet are made of lead. You'll trick your brain into thinking it's still in a simulation... It wears off quickly, though.

My biggest concern is that there will be those "killer apps" that you want to spend more time in the VR world and not in the real world. Some people are already like that with WoW and other MMORPGS.
Click to expand...

In 50 years when SOA becomes a reality, I'll live my life in a retirement home jacked into a system that has me moving like I was 20 again. Screw it, just create a Matrix type environment and install me to let my physical body whither away while I "dream" of being a young kid again, lol.
 
Well one cool thing would be to have a really small box shaped apartment with a Jamiroquai floor, then wear a VR headset and display a gigantic mansion with cathedral ceilings.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MEyXHTQ_xV8

That's what he really meant about virtuality and new technology. ;)
 
And Zenimax is knocking on the door screaming "Pay me bitch!"
 
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