Oculus Rift consumer release is coming "pretty soon," CEO says

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If the Oculus Rift suffers from any inherent flaw, it's that it is basically a big box you wear on your face. It's an unavoidable characteristic of the device, but also one that has to be addressed if it's going to be a mainstream success. After all, spending time in virtual worlds isn't going to be much fun if it makes your skull ache.

"We want to make sure that when you do buy an Oculus in the future, that it is a comfortable experience," Oculus VR co-founder and CEO Brendan Iribe said in an interview with Bloomberg. "It's probably going to be a little bit big, it's going to be ski goggles form factor in the beginning, it's not going to be sunglasses for awhile, but we want it to be comfortable."

Getting that comfort factor right is a "big challenge," he said, adding, "We're just at the point that we're now confident we're there, and it'll be not too far along."

As promising as that sounds, don't hold your breath waiting for one to appear under your tree over the holidays. "More than a few months, less than a few years." Iribe said when asked when the headset will be released to consumers. "Pretty soon." We know the next iteration of the Rift is still in prototype form, meaning the next dev kit (or, maybe, consumer headset) release won't happen until sometime in 2015.

To learn more about what the Oculus gang is up to these days, read our September interview with Vice President of Product Nate Mitchell about the new Crescent Bay Oculus Rift prototype.

Andy Chalk
US News Lead

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.

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