Oculus VR Already Sold Over 100,000 Rift Units

By Kevin Parrish
published

On the Oculus Developer Forums, OculusVR reports that the first batch of second-generation developer kits (DK2 or Developer Kit 2) have left the manufacturing facility and are heading to distribution centers. Around 10,000 units will be shipped from the factory in July, and the first wave should reach developers the week of July 14. More will be coming in August and September.

"We're now over 45,000 DK2 pre-orders, which is incredibly exciting," the forum post reads. "That said, we're slightly behind in manufacturing and there's currently a high chance that some developers with estimated shipping in July may not have their DK2s shipped until August. We have a team in China working on continued ramp of production at our factory, and we'll work our way through the queue as fast as we can."

According to GameSpot, OculusVR has sold more than 100,000 units between the first and second developer kits: that's quite a lot when you consider its developing technology. Compared to the first kit, this new DK2 includes 960 x 1080 (per eye) OLED screens, increased pixel density, and an external camera for tracking the head as it moves in the real world.

Customers eager to get a taste of what's to come from the Rift can purchase DK2 here for $350 USD. The kit will include two pairs of vision lenses, the external camera for positional tracking, the camera's USB cable, a sync cable, an HDMI-to-DVI adapter, and a power cord that has an adapter and three international adapters to power the USB port on the Rift.

The recommended hardware specs for the Rift include a dedicated graphics card with DVI-D or HDMI graphics output, with the capability of running current "generation 3D games at 1080p resolution at 75fps or higher." The minimum specs include Windows 7 or higher, Mac OS 10.8 or higher, or Ubuntu 12.04 LTS operating system. Also required are two USB ports (at least one powered), and a DVI-D or HDMI graphics output.

Unfortunately, there's no word on when the retail version will be offered to gamers.

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Kevin Parrish
18 Comments Comment from the forums
  • eklipz330
    whoever believes this thing is going to fail is not going to sleep well when it releases.

    with so much developer support, i can't see it failing
    Reply
  • catswold
    Awesome tech, but . . . shades of the movie "Surrogates."
    Reply
  • catswold
    eklipz330, not only in the commercial arena. I know of at least one woman who used the system to allow her dying mother to experience the world outside via Google Earth.

    There are going to be a whole lot of unforeseen uses in the medical field--say remote surgery, maybe psychology--allowing someone to relive a traumatic experience with a therapist along to help them deal with it, 3D modelling in geology, allowing mechanics to see exactly what's occurring inside of an engine--possibilities are endless.
    Reply
  • SirTrollsALot
    I hope the porn industry has a few of these...
    Reply
  • CaedenV
    This is the only wearable tech I am even remotely interested in. As cool as the motion tracking might be, I bet that I will typically just use it as a 3D monitor for games and movies so that I can sit back on the couch without having to crane my neck. Yes, I know you can get that already from Sony and a few others, but this is better tech, with a lighter unit, with real dev support, for a much lower price. This is certainly the way to go.

    No real interest in flailing about like a poor Ritalin deprived ADHD child.

    ... any chance the final version will come with a web camera and a button you can press to see the real world without needing to take it off? That would be a rather useful feature.
    Reply
  • Rakeen70210
    Sword Art Online in the near future anyone? They should just let WoW do its thing lol.
    Reply
  • everlast66
    Best application:
    - Porn industry
    - Horror movies/games
    Reply
  • Blazer1985
    "We have a team in China working on continued ramp of production at our factory"
    -QUICK, GET MORE SLAVES!
    -They are all working on the iPhone 6
    -Dammit!
    Reply
  • chibiwings
    Take my Money!
    Reply
  • Bloob
    whoever believes this thing is going to fail is not going to sleep well when it releases.

    with so much developer support, i can't see it failing

    It will likely fail to meet the expectations of the people invested in it (ie. it won't become the next gen of gaming, simply another branch). It won't be a failure.
    Reply