Oculus Rift preorders kicked off yesterday with a somewhat eye-watering $599 price tag and an estimated shipping date of March 28. Despite the cost they sold out immediately, which pushed the estimated shipping date back for later purchases to May. Now that shipping date has gone back even further, and those who preorder from hereon probably won't see their hardware mailed out until June.
Oculus didn't announce the new date officially, but it's now listed as the “expected ship date” on the Rift preorder page. Oculus also hasn't said how many of the units have actually been preordered, but I think it's fair to say that despite some sticker shock, these things are shifting.
Oculus VR co-founder Palmer Luckey recently took part in a lengthy AMA in which he acknowledged that he “handled the messaging poorly” with his pre-announcement comments on pricing, specifically when he said it would be “roughly in that $350 ballpark.” But even though some people are disappointed by the higher than expected price, our view is that it likely won't cause any damage in the long run.
