During what Oculus is referring to as the Summer of Rift sale, Oculus has temporarily dropped the price of the Oculus Rift VR bundle (including the Touch controllers) to a record low of $399. This caused waves in the VR world as sales went through the roof. It was also featured on Amazon’s Prime Day sale which resulted in Amazon’s inventory running dry (the bundle still shows unavailable as of now, although you can still order one as a pre-order will arrive early next month).
This seems to have been quite the popular move by Oculus since the price had been $599 at the start of the year, and that didn’t include the controllers which costed as high as $199 by themselves (they then later bundled it all together for $599). The sale may be temporary, but they are giving shoppers 6 weeks of a chance to get their hands on one before it goes back to its normal price (we are still within the first week, which means there is no reason to panic just yet).
Even though the sale has just started, Oculus–or should we say Facebook, since they own Oculus now–has already decided the next price move that will drop the latest bundle price (before the Summer sale) by $100 once the sale is over, making the new standard price for the bundle $499. The price seems to keep moving all over this year. Nonetheless, the current sale is the best price you will most likely find this year.
To shake things up even further, Oculus (Facebook) plan on releasing a new wireless model next year, finally cutting those cables. If they follow through with this, they will officially be making the largest waves in the VR price war thus far, as they are promising not only wireless, but a price tag of only $200. To layer the cake further with even more frosting, the new model will not require a PC or mobile device to connect to it. This means it will be the first stand-alone (all-in-one) VR device, offering HD performance, a low price tag and no wires. There is no word yet on if this new wireless Rift will be considered the replacement for the Oculus Rift we all know right now, or if its performance will be on par or better than.
For now, you can make sure to reserve one for yourself while the full bundle is still at the low price of $399. Amazon shows it as a pre-order, but they are simply just out of stock. It will ship whenever they get new supply in.
Own an Oculus already? Let us know what you think below in the comments–or your thoughts on the new pricing and where you think it could lead VR in the future!
