Oculus Go standalone VR headset sells out just hours after landing on Amazon

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This self-contained VR solution costs $200 and is apparently in high demand.

It didn't take long for Amazon to sell out of however many units of the Oculus Go it made available to preorder this morning—just a few hours after appearing online around midnight PT, according to Digital Trends. Visits to the product page on Amazon now show that it's "Currently Unavailable" with no indication on when it will return.

The initial preorder availability came several hours ahead of Facebook's F8 conference today. It's a two-day event with more than 5,000 developers in attendance, and we suspect Facebook will reveal more about the Oculus Go as the day goes on. One thing that is likely to be announced is a release date for the standalone VR headset—Amazon had it pegged for December 31, though that could have been just a placeholder.

It's possible that Amazon jumped the gun and will open up more preorders later today. If it's truly out of stock for the foreseeable future, however, anyone who is interested in buying one may be able to find a unit at Best Buy. A user on Reddit posted an image showing several retail boxed Oculus Go headsets behind a locked case at Best Buy location in Fayetteville, Arkansas. The user claims to have heard from Best Buy employees that there will be both 32GB and 64GB models.

Unlike the Oculus Rift or Samsung's GearVR, the Oculus Go is a completely self-contained VR headset, meaning it doesn't need to be plugged into a PC and is not powered by a smartphone. All of the necessary hardware is in the headset itself. This combined with the $200 price tag, a relative bargain compared to the Rift and Vive, could make the Oculus Go a popular solution.

Just how popular remains to be seen, giving that its capabilities are not on par with the Rift or Vive. However, cost has been one of the biggest barriers to VR adoption, and the Oculus Go certainly addresses that aspect. Depending on how many units Amazon made available starting at midnight, selling out so quickly could indicate that the Oculus Go will be a big hit for Facebook.

The Oculus Go uses a "fast-switch" LCD panel with a 2560x1440 (WQHD) resolution. According to Oculus, this "dramatically improves visual clarity and reduces screen door effect," while also offering a wide field of view with reduced glare and 3 degrees of freedom (3DOF) head tracking. It also shares the same mobile app store as the Gear VR, with over 1,000 apps at launch.

Paul Lilly
Paul Lilly

Paul has been playing PC games and raking his knuckles on computer hardware since the Commodore 64. He does not have any tattoos, but thinks it would be cool to get one that reads LOAD"*",8,1. In his off time, he rides motorcycles and wrestles alligators (only one of those is true).