Oculus Rift Release Date (May 7th), Pre-Orders and Price: Get the VR Headset at Best Buy, Amazon and Microsoft

By Mark Aserit
Oculus Rift Acquired by Facebook
Know how to get your Oculus Rift headset

Oculus provides new avenues for people to buy its Oculus Rift virtual reality headsets. On Friday, the VR headset becomes available in Best Buy stores and online through Microsoft and Amazon. Interested buyers should hurry up, as the company will only sell a limited number of Rifts.

Here's what is currently known about Oculus Rift availability, pre-orders and price.

Tech enthusiasts across the country will finally experience the awesome technology of virtual reality. According to Oculus' blog post, Oculus Rifts are available in 48 Best Buy stores in 25 states starting May 7 and expect more retail stores will sell the device later in the summer.

Oculus started shipping the first batch of Rift headsets on March 29. After that, the company experiences supply problems that caused disappointments to some fans. Last month, Oculus advised customers that there would be a shortage in some components, and shipments would be delayed once again.

For Kickstarter backers of the device, those who pre-ordered the device months before its launching, they would get their VR headsets in June. As a response to Oculus' recent announcement, Kickstarter backers described it as a "slap in the face."

The Oculus Rift started as a Kickstarter campaign. At the start of its campaign, the developer raised more than US$2.5 million to make the VR headset.

However, according to Newsweek, Rift preorders can still get their VR headset right away. They just have to wait in line, buy the hardware at retail, and then contact Oculus to cancel their preorders without losing any attendant benefits. This means they can still avail a free copy of space shooter EVE: Valkyrie and Oculus' Touch motion controllers, which will become available later this year.

Take note that Oculus Rift unit that will go on sale on BestBuy, Amazon and Microsoft will be extremely limited, as the company is catching on Rift's early orders. The three retailers will sell the device at 9 a.m. PT on Friday, so it is advisable to fall in line early.

The base price of Oculus Rift is at $599.

As for the specs of the VR headset, it comes with two OLED screens, which has a combined resolution of 2160x1200. It has very low latency so users won't see any blur or visible pixels. Also, the headset has built-in surround audio system for a more realistic gaming experience.

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