Oculus moved from Irvine to Menlo Park a while back, but its humble (pre-Facebook) Kickstarter roots will always be SoCal-based. The first units have started delivery, and the initial reviews are coming in on this historic day. Among them:
Gizmodo: This Sh*t is Legit (link)
What Oculus has accomplished is remarkable. There’s plenty that even the completely uninitiated user can enjoy. I still can’t afford the future of virtual reality, but for the first time, I actually want to.
Mashable: Virtual Reality is Finally Ready for Your Living Room (link)
The Oculus Rift is a masterwork of design that makes virtual reality both jaw-droppingly beautiful and necessarily comfortable. But it still isn’t for everyone. That’s by design; those with powerful Windows PCs will be the ones leading the virtual reality charge, and they’ll most likely be instrumental in spreading its doctrine to those who aren’t immediately interested in strapping on a giant headset.
New York Times: A Clunky Portal to a Promising Virtual Reality (link)
Oculus will eventually need a larger, more diverse set of content to transcend its initial audience of gamer geeks.
Re/Code: Gamers Rejoice but It Won’t be Cheap (link)
The key complaint from almost all reviewers was the price. The headset cost $599, but it also requires a powerful PC needed to run it. That costs an extra $900. That means the Oculus Rift will cost most people $1,500, a steep price for the general consumer.
Tech Crunch: The Review (link)
The Oculus Rift is a crazy device that is more than the sum of its parts. It impresses, and signals more good things to come from consumer virtual reality and — more broadly — our technological future.
The Verge: Virtual Reality is Almost Here (link)
The high cost of buying and running high-end VR headsets makes them inaccessible to many people, and the Rift in particular is relentlessly focused on gaming. Within these limitations, though, the Rift makes a good case for seated VR, and it lays a solid foundation for what’s to come.
Wired: The Inside Story of How Oculus Cracked the Impossible Design of VR (link)
FOR NOW, THOUGH, there’s just Day One. No more perfect demos, no more tech support—just users, in their homes, connecting the Rift to what might be the first PC they’ve ever owned.
Wall Street Journal: VR’s Rising Star Isn’t Ready for the Mainstream (link)
The first totally immersive home virtual reality rig is a pricey, awkward, isolating—and occasionally brilliant—glimpse of the future of computing.
