Oculus Will Ship Rift HMDs Within 2-4 Days, Brings Demos To Microsoft Stores

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By Rexly Peñaflorida
published

Nearly four months after its launch, Oculus finally shipped all of its pre-ordered Rift head-mounted displays (HMDs). Now, the company is focused on expanding its demo areas and ensuring that future deliveries arrive on time.

Last month, HTC announced that future orders of the Vive would ship between two to three days of the original purchase. Oculus just came out with a similar guarantee: Once purchased, the company will ship it within two to four business days.

Oculus previously had a major shipping issue: Weeks after the initial launch, the company had to postpone deliveries due to a component shortage, and some customers (including me) wouldn’t get their HMDs for two more months.

With pre-orders out of the way, the company is turning its attention to prospective customers. Two months ago, Rift demos sprang up in Best Buy stores. Oculus plans to add 500 additional Best Buy locations through the fall season, and on top of that, Rift demos will also start to appear in Microsoft Stores starting this month. However, it will have some demo competition with HTC, which placed demo stations in select Microsoft stores as early as April.

The race for VR dominance continues between the two companies. Early adopters now have their HMDs, so it’s time to convince more customers to jump on the virtual reality bandwagon. HTC had a slight head start in terms of creating demo experiences in stores, but Oculus could catch up in the coming months. We’ll also learn more about Oculus’ plans for the future when the third annual Oculus Connect event starts in October.

Rexly Peñaflorida
6 Comments Comment from the forums
  • edhem
    Too late Oculus, the HTC Vive experience at the Microsoft store is much better than the Oculus one. I am wondering if it will be better for the Vive sales if they are able to compare Oculus with Vive right there at the store?
    Reply
  • John Nemesh
    My thoughts exactly. When people try both and compare, the Vive wins HANDS DOWN! Good luck competing head to head with a superior product, Oculus!
    Reply
  • Xenophage2112
    The demos are what sold me on the Vive. Once you use a Vive and then use an Oculus, there's no way you'd want to buy an Oculus.
    Reply
  • gopher1369
    "Good luck competing head to head with a superior product, Oculus!"

    They aren't competing head-to-head though, the Oculus is £500 and the Vive is £700. I'd never consider spending £700 on a peripheral, £500 is still a lot of money, but it's just about within my price range.
    Reply
  • Titillating
    18299104 said:
    "Good luck competing head to head with a superior product, Oculus!"

    They aren't competing head-to-head though, the Oculus is £500 and the Vive is £700. I'd never consider spending £700 on a peripheral, £500 is still a lot of money, but it's just about within my price range.

    They are competing head-to-head. Keep in mind that that Oculus price does not include touch controllers (which aren't even available yet), where as Vive's does. It comes out to about the same price in the end, with Vive offering the more immersive VR experience.
    Reply
  • gopher1369
    They are competing head-to-head. Keep in mind that that Oculus price does not include touch controllers (which aren't even available yet), where as Vive's does.

    Let me clarify what I meant: If your maximum budget is £500 your options are Oculus, or Oculus. The Vive doesn't compete because I am simply not prepared to spend £700 on a peripheral. I don't want to spend an additional £200 on touch controllers I do not want (I have absolutely no interest in standing up to play video games. I loath the Wii controllers, for example).

    Reply