HiGame

One of the most difficult aspects of VR is how hard it is to actually convey the experience of using the device. It’s not the first time we’ve had this problem — both 3-D and multi-monitor configurations don’t translate well to still photos or even most video — but VR takes the problem and turns it up to 11. It is therefore good news that Oculus will be teaming up with Best Buy and offering VR headsets consumers can walk in and test-drive before plunking down $600 in cash.

What’s not good news is the way Oculus has shafted its pre-order customers in order to get hardware into retail channels. Oculus has announced that beginning May 7, Best Buy will begin selling the Oculus Rift at retail, while the Microsoft Store, Amazon, and Best Buy online are already offering customers the chance to buy Rift bundles, which ship immediately. Customers have even been allowed to order a Rift + PC bundle, then cancel the PC portion of the order and buy just the Rift.

Pre-order customers who plunked down a reservation for the device are understandably furious. Oculus has struggled to ship hardware due to an unspecified “component shortage.” The company announced last month that its preorder fulfillment schedule had slipped by a month or more. Worse, if you currently order a Rift, you won’t receive it until August. Reports on /r/Oculus also point to an unusual red tint issue showing up in some headsets. It’s not clear yet how widespread the problem is, but Oculus has apparently distributed a reporting tool to some customers so it can gather information on the problem.



Image by reddit user Mugendon

Oculus’ response to this problem has been to offer its customers a bone of sorts. If you show up to your local Best Buy and manage to score a retail Rift, they’ll cancel your pre-order, but still give you all of the benefits of having placed it, including a free copy of Eve: Valkyrie and priority placement for Oculus Touch orders when the company eventually ships its motion controllers. Keep in mind, however, that benefit depends on you showing up to a participating Best Buy (with just 48 participating BBs across the US, they aren’t exactly on every street corner) and on being able to secure a place in line to actually a device. A pre-order is supposed to guarantee that you don’t have to wait in line for hours for a chance at buying something.


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