Oculus Wants Rift to be Available for Free

The Oculus Rift virtual reality headset may eventually be available to consumers for free.

In an interview with Edge online, Brendan Iribe, founder of Oculus VR, said he hoped one day that virtual reality gaming would become so popular that the Rift would be bundled alongside games and consoles:

"The lower the price point, the wider the audience. We'd love it to be free one day, so how do we get it as close to free as possible? Obviously it won't be that in the beginning, but there's the potential that it could get much less expensive with a few different relationships and strategies.

"You can imagine if Microsoft and Sony can go out and subsidise consoles because there's enough money to be made on software and other areas, then there's the potential that this, in partnership, could get subsidised."

Currently, the Rift is only available as a $300 (£198) development kit. It allows players to control their game character's perspective and head movement by physically turning their head in real-life. Other in-game actions such as walking and shooting are still controlled using a traditional joypad.

Though development kits of the Oculus Rift are already available, a consumer version of the headset is yet to be completed, with a general launch date still unconfirmed.

IBTimes UK has used the Oculus Rift, testing it out with space combat game Strike Suit Zero. We found the Rift lightweight and easy to use and said it had large consumer appeal due to its simplicity.

The Oculus Rift is not the only virtual reality controller currently in development. Virtuix, a Texas-based company, is working on the Omni, a gaming "treadmill" which allows players to control in-game walking by actually moving their legs.

After quickly surpassing its Kickstarter funding target, the Omni is now in full development, with a finished unit expected to cost consumers between $499 and $599.