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[Alienous]

I'll have to wait and see what sell-at-a-loss Sony has up their sleeves.

 

[georly]

Look at what happened with Blu-ray, flat screen TVs, and other flashy 'new' consumer tech: it pandered to enthusiasts for years with pricey premium models before mainstream adoption become a real possibility. Hell, 4K is just reaching that threshold and it still isn't very popular yet.

VR is that same sort of new technology with expensive manufacturing and real R&D challenges. I don't see mainstream VR becoming a reality until costs go down - and as much as we want cheap & quality VR, that isn't going to happen overnight.

On the subsidy - no company in their right mind would eat that big of a loss per unit. They probably aren't making much profit (if any) on the hardware at $600! It isn't sound business practice to be such a gigantic loss leader with competitors snapping at your heels and no guarantee that you'll be the product left standing after the melee.

Give it 3-4 years and VR will be ready for mass-market adoption. Until then, expect to be charged plenty for this new stuff.

Also, sometimes things starting off as a premium can make them more desirable (you always want what you can't have) so there's probably a psychological benefit to starting it off like this. It's that thing your rich friend has and shows you and you covet it more so when it's finally affordable, you pick one up because you've been wanting it for so long.

 

[Lord Griegous]

Managed to preorder one but for €741 I do not know if I will end up getting it. I will be waiting for Vive pricing before I do anything more.

Way too expensive. Plus I absolutely do not want/need the Xbox controller...

 

[Cleve]

Do they charge you now

I had an auth check, but no charge. They've said they won't charge until they ship.

 

[Jarmel]

An intriguing pastebin claim I came across on /r/vive:

Provenance is unknown, obvs, but they haven't been wrong so far. Keep in mind that Valve and HTC were damage-controlling the Vive as a "premium" experience back when Oculus was ballparking their kit at $350. It could be a game-changer if they deliver a better experience (with touch controls) at around the same price.

Yep definitely waiting for Vive at this point. If they're able to provide a better experience and release it within a year then it makes zero sense to get the Rift.

 

[wutwutwut]

740 euros... That's close to 1000 dollars...

Thanks But no thanks, I have bills to pay .

It's 800 USD?

 

[PdotMichael]

I have a difficult time imagine it coming in below $399. It will seem cheap in comparison to the Oculur and it will still be priced "as a console."

It doesn't matter how PSVR looks in comparison to Oculus or whatever solution.

The fact one can get the VR deal for way less than $1000 is quite the deal compared to Oculus and co.

 

[parski]

I had hoped it would be less in Europe in comparison to the sort of anticipated American price point. Disappointing.

 

[vio]

I guess 900€ in europe. Damn.

edit: 740€ still too much for me.

 

[linkandzelda]

740 euros... That's close to 1000 dollars...

Thanks But no thanks, I have bills to pay .

That's a very old exchange rate. It's closer to $800.

 

[viveks86]

I got the Order as soon as the page loaded up for me, 9 minutes past the hour.

April for you as well?

 

[civilstrife]

Didn't realize people had such weird expectations for the first few generations of VR tech.

I mean the writing's been on the wall for a while now, but remember that this is double the price that Oculus initially said they were targeting in the DK1 and early DK2 days.

 

[Steel]

Well, they're selling through all their stock by the looks of the shipping date changing, anyway.

 

[BruceLeeRoy]

I'm calling it now.

PSVR $399

 

[Nephtes]

And here I thought the dev versions would be around the going rate for the consumer model...NOPE.

 

[Tarin02543]

An article on HDTV in 1998.



Doomed.

DVD players were $1000 when they launched.

It's what you pay for adopting a new tech early.

This won't be the one the mass market will embrace. No one is expecting that.

Everybody already had and needed a tv. VR is totally new.

Also the price should have been 700$ if Europe is forced to pay 700€

 

[EviLore]

Thank you for your order
Your Oculus Rift is expected to ship in March 2016.



I tried the consumer prototype behind closed doors at E3. Zero hesitation to pull the trigger here.

 

[Owari]

Wait, people got before April?

Oh well.

I tried the consumer prototype behind closed doors at E3. Zero hesitation to pull the trigger here.

Same. If you're shocked at the price ya need to realize it's like buying a really nice TV.

 

[Human_me]

Hmm, I'll join the VR bandwagon when either the Vive or Rift become £300 (i'd happily go £350.)

 

[EventHorizon]

At this point your paying $600+ for 2 games. Beyond those two we don't have much info one what/when stuff is coming out.

At that price I'm afraid that there won't be much interest in developing for the thing.

This is the real issue and the thing that I first thought about when seeing the price. I wonder how many early dev VR adopters are shitting a brick right now.

The PSVR is going to be the mass market VR device and games are going to have to adjust to be able to play on it. This also probably means that you'll see more cockpit games since they are the easiest to have a dual VR and non-VR version. Another benefit of cockpit games is that they work better with the standard controller because as expensive as the Rift is, the Rift + Touch is even more so.

 

[Ultryx]

And suddenly my dreams of VR are crushed. No thanks at $600. I thought it would be $200-$300 cheaper. Especially no because I would have to upgrade my CPU and GPU to qualify as recommended for Oculus Rift. Am crying.

 

[MarineMountie]

Potential market of PS4's (36 million units) is larger than the market of people having a strong PC to actually make use of Oculus Rift.

Also, people will make it work on PC in the future, that's for sure.

Absolutely. PSVR will without a doubt work on PC even if its not official support. Kinda like the dualshock controllers. Might have to wait for some mod support, but PSVR will work on two platforms instead of just one like Oculus. Add in that PSVR is 1080p 120Hz, I will gladly wait for PSVR and hope its cheaper than $600.

 

[dumbo]

Well I was limiting myself to a maximum of £500 and that's what we've got but I'm going to be watching what HTC do with interest. Oculus will have the Touch controllers releasing a few months later but that's going to cost you another $100 or so on top. If they have the Vive retailing for the same price as the Rift and Touch controllers but include the controllers I think A LOT of people are going to be swayed.

I think $100 for the controllers is very optimistic.

 

[UnrealEck]

I ordered one for £529. If I can't afford it or impressions are crap or there's nothing promising coming from it software side, I'll just cancel.
I figure it's best to order it just to reserve one.

 

[spannicus]

No.

Thanks! Pre-ordered

 

[AmuroChan]

No people won't buy this. Most people don't even have a system capable of running this. It does not compare in any way to an iphone which while it costs $1k it runs self sufficient, also it is a PHONE which is something everyone needs and uses. VR is hardly something people can live without.

I make over 6 figures and buy most every electronic that comes out and even I went "lol nope" at that price because there is nothing that justifies it, if you think some average joe is going to drop that kinda money on it I have a bridge to sell you.

I don't think FB/Oculus need most people to buy this. They just need enough people to buy it so that their product is out there. Future iterations of the Rift should get cheaper and cheaper as manufacturing cost comes down. Most new tech don't sell gangbuster right out of the gate. Nor are companies counting on the average Joe to be the early adopters.

 

[Burbeting]

When have you checked the dollar/euro exchange rate the last time? lol It's nearly 1:1 now.

I was being lazy and looked at some online conversion sites, I guess those haven't updated in ages then.

 

[RSP]

$100 cheaper than I expected.

 

[cheezcake]

Holy fucking shit, in Australia the price is $649 AUD == $459 USD. What a fucking deal.

 

[Canis lupus]

Glad I sold my DK2 today for the price I got 1.5 years ago.

I've seen VR, let the beta testing begin, see you CV2!

 

[10k]

Thank you for your order
Your Oculus Rift is expected to ship in March 2016.



I tried the consumer prototype behind closed doors at E3. Zero hesitation to pull the trigger here.

I have no doubt it's awesome and works but I don't have the cash to buy it nor think it's worth that price no matter how entertaining it is.

 

[Nyoro SF]

If this is $599, then there's no way Vive can sell for less. This was predicted but insane for consumers.

 

[Wowfunhappy]

This is really making me hope that PSVR is compatible with PC. Assuming it's actually cheaper, anyway.

 

[mrklaw]

Why would they do that?

Can someone explain to me why they expect PSVR to be $300? These things aren't cheap.

I think people really need to think about an actual pricing model for these products.

1) Sony have experience in manufacturing and general supply chain management, vs likely very limited experience between oculus and Facebook.

2) cheaper to have a single panel vs two on the OR.

3) entry level PSVR could be headset only which saves money on the camera and controller (could be $100 saving right there)

I could see PSVR being $399 headset-only, but it might not be easy for them to go much cheaper, assuming OR is selling at or near cost.

Vive conversely :
1) two tracking lighthouses vs one webcam
2) two motion controllers vs one non-motion controller in OR
3) HTC aren't in this as a charity and have no platform to push unlike Oculus/Facebook or Sony.

I could see Vive being $1-200 more than OR

 

[oakenhild]

This isn't the case with Canada unless they are including the sales tax in shipping.

$599 US comes out to around $843 Canadian.

I am concerned about getting hit with additional taxes when it arrives at the door.

I bet they're pricing in the volatility and expected increased difference in currencies from now until march. The google finance chart sort of shows this: https://www.google.com/finance?q=USDCAD

The CAD does not look like it's on a great trajectory.

 

[Fox_Mulder]

In Kaz we trust

 

[Maddanth]

April for you as well?

I got April.

 

[Psykoboy2]

Incoming Kuchera article: "The Rift is $600 And Here's Why That's A Great Value"

 

[ironcreed]

 

[Bookoo]

Pretty interesting see how many people were shocked by the price. I myself was really thinking the high bar would be $500, but I wasn't that shocked.

Also I find it interesting people are like..."Vive it is". I highly doubt the Vive is going to be any cheaper than that. It is probably going to be $800+ since it includes the controllers and base stations. Only benefit there is you don't have to wait half a year to get the controllers.

PSVR was always VR headset targeted at the more mainsteam audience because it will likely be cheaper and it doesn't require a PC which is an extremely high barrier to entry.

 

[Carn82]

I'm calling it now.

PSVR $399

including camera.

$699 including PS4 + controller.

 

[Steiner84]

740 Euros? Holy ass. talk about milking europe..

 

[LAM09]

That's too expensive IMO. Surely, the PVR has to be priced better?

 

[NightShift]

Taking my bet now that the Morpheus will be $400. There's no way it will cost more than the PS4, that just looks like a bad image to me.

 

[gutterboy44]

I can stomach the $600.... but I need to upgrade from my GTX 670 to run it, so another $600 for a new video card isn't going to happen right now. Maybe when video cards that can run it are $300ish I will start thinking about the VR jump. Seeing as I will be using this for sim racing on PC, I don't need to case cutting edge graphics and $600 for a triple monitor setup is reasonable and VR replaces that need.

 

[viveks86]

That sucks. Mine says March, although I got to the last part of the ordering process right at 8am because I was already in the system due to my DK2 order.

Jealous!

 

[Ferrio]

I'm going to be interested in the # of preorders that get cancelled as the date gets closer to shipping.

 

[Chobel]

Including an Xbox One controller is so stupid.

I doubt it adds more than $25.

 

[Ol No Bones]

299 is the most I will pay. I'm not terribly interested though.

 

[awesomegamername]

$599?

I can't handle that plus an updated GPU and possibly CPU.