You’ll Officially Be Able to Buy an Oculus Rift in Early 2016

Daniel Howley
·Technology Editor
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The Oculus Rift virtual reality headset is officially coming to your living room early next year.

Oculus says the Rift will be based on the company’s newest Crescent Bay prototype, which features external cameras that let you move around while wearing the headset to more realistically explore 3D worlds.

A Kickstarter darling, Oculus raised more then $2 million through the crowdfunding site. The company was one of the first in a new wave of pioneers that helped rejuvenate the public’s interest in VR.

Oculus, which was purchased by Facebook for $2 billion in 2014, initially designed the Rift to be worn while seated. The Crescent Bay prototype, however, lets you stand up, duck, and walk around, albeit in a small area, with the headset strapped on your head.

In a press release Oculus said that it will reveal more details about the consumer version of the Rift in the coming week, including technical specifications and news on unannounced games the company has been working on.

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Oculus isn’t the only virtual game in town though. HTC is working on its own VR headset with video game giant Steam called the HTC Vive. That headset lets you walk around in a much larger space and features two controllers for interacting with virtual environments.

HTC says that the Vive will be available at the end of the year, putting it on a collision course with the Oculus Rift.

Samsung also has its own mobile virtual reality headset called the Samsung Gear VR, which works with the company’s Galaxy Note 4 and Galaxy S6 smartphones. However, Samsung’s offering runs on Oculus’ own software, and doesn’t let you move around while wearing it.

What’s the best part about Oculus bringing its headset to consumers, though? That would be the inevitable flood of YouTube videos we’re sure to see from people strapping the headset on their friends and watching them freak out at the sight of their first virtual reality monster.

Email Daniel at dhowley@yahoo-inc.com; follow him on Twitter at@DanielHowley or on Google+ here.