Oculus Rift arriving at retail
VR curious can schedule demos, and purchase headsets, at Best Buy
Oculus is preparing for Rift to arrive at retail, offering consumers the chance to try the device with pre-booked appointments and even go home with one in their shopping bag.
"A small number of Rifts will be available for purchase at select Best Buy stores starting May 7 and online from Microsoft and Amazon, starting May 6 at 9am PST. Quantities will be extremely limited while we catch up on Rift pre-orders," said Oculus.
The company was also careful to counter complaints from pre-order customers who might be irritated to see people stroll into a store and pick up the very same headset they ordered months ago.
"Best case scenario given the situation"
Palmer Luckey
"We know that many pre-order customers are still waiting for their Rifts, so we're offering those customers a chance to purchase Rift from retail instead - while keeping their pre-order benefits, like the EVE: Valkyrie Founder's Pack and priority status for Touch pre-orders. Starting May 6th, if you're interested, simply go to your order status and let us know you've purchased a Rift at retail, and we'll cancel your pre-order. Your EVE: Valkyrie entitlement will appear in your order history."
The gesture is unlikely to calm those still waiting for pre-orders, and at the time of writing, most of the comments below the story were unhappy ones.
Responses to Luckey's tweet told a similar sad story.
Those attempting to order a Rift online today can expect a July shipping date, so Best Buy can expect plenty of interest once it actually gets the items in stock.