With the oculus Rift permanently reduced to $399, Mark Zuckerberg took things a step further by announcing the development of the Oculus Go. A budget VR headset, this device is set to be released early next year.
During the Oculus Connect 4 conference, the Facebook creator revealed an introductory price of only $199. More importantly, the Oculus Go includes a built-in PC, meaning the headgear is completely standalone.
Billion
One of Zuckerberg's most talked about statements made during the conference was his aim to get one billion people using virtual reality.
While that is a hefty goal, the company's first challenge is finding a way to make the technology accessible and affordable for the everyday user. VR has definitely come a long way, but most people are still hesitant to drop a $1000+ on a headset and PC.
There are a few cheaper devices available on the market, ones which are self-sustaining, but few promise to offer a high-end experience. The Oculus Go benefits from having a huge name attached to its title, but the device seems to be designed primarily for mobile virtual reality.
Zuckerberg confirmed that the affordable product would be compatible with the entire GearVR library.
Ideal entry point?
The Oculus Go is set to compete with the Samsung VR, providing a virtual reality experience for the masses.
The price is going to be considerably higher than Samsung's product, but the specs have yet to be revealed.
The GearVR library does offer a few cool application and games. One of the most notable ones is Netflix, which allows viewers to pop on a headset to be instantly teleported to a cool living room with a flat-screen TV.
While most of the content is not optimized for the service, it is a cheaper option than actually buying a flat-screen TV.
In terms of games, the selection is far from impressive and pales in comparison to the higher-end headsets. While $200 is far from nothing, it does not get you much in the virtual reality market. Still, there are a few cool games to test out.
"EVE Gunjack" is similar to "EVE Valkyrie," the popular VR title for the more expensive headsets. The gameplay is rather simplistic, but it does get progressively harder as it goes on, and ends up offering a genuine challenge.
"Drop Dead" brings the zombie shooter genre to VR, and is a pretty addictive and fast-paced game. Due to the cartoony nature of the graphics, even non-horror fans can play and enjoy this.
