Preorders of the Oculus Rift have been delayed, due to an unspecified component shortage. Customers who expected their VR headsets in April are now having to wait a few additional months as Oculus plays catch up. Not discouraged by this setback, developers have moved forward with bringing the Oculus Rift to retailers. Starting Friday, the VR headset will be available on Amazon, Microsoft, and through select Best Buy stores.
Best Buy Demos
Customers of Best Buy will soon be able to give VR a try at select locations. Forty-eight Best Buy stores in 25 states will offer Oculus Rift demos starting Friday. The Oculus website gives customers the locations of nearby Best Buy stores offering VR demos. Customers can also set up appointments for a demo. Oculus plans to add more demo locations throughout the summer.
VR Coming to Retail
Shipments of the Oculus Rift have stalled, but that hasn’t stalled the VR headset’s retail release. The headset comes to Amazon, Microsoft, and Best Buy in limited quantities, starting Friday at noon EST. Customers tired of waiting for their headset to ship can now try their luck at obtaining one through retail. Those lucky enough to obtain one can cancel their preorder, and still receive their preorder benefits from Oculus.
Oculus Rift: Pre-orders Taking Backseat?
Preorders for the Oculus Rift went up in January, with the release in March. After the first wave of headsets shipped, many backers were informed their shipment would be delayed by a month or two due to a component shortage. Oculus is releasing the Rift to retailers even though they are already having issues keeping up with demand. It is important for Oculus to get the headset in stores for exposure, but they have done so at the expense of their early supporters. Oculus has offered free shipping to those affected by pre-order delays. It remains to be seen if that will be enough to keep the support of early backers.
