Oculus Rift: Virtual Reality Headset To Launch At Best Buy

(RTTNews) - Oculus VR said its virtual reality headset, Rift, will launch at 48 Best Buy stores across the country on May 7. Later in summer, the company will start to offer even more in-store Rift demos at additional Best Buy locations.

In a blog post, Oculus said it plans to include a range of virtual reality or VR demos to showcase the hardware at Best Buy stores, including Oculus Dreamdeck. Users will also be able to experience rock climbing on the side of a cliff with "The Climb" and explore the beautiful alien world of "Farlands".

The Oculus Rift, a virtual reality head-mounted display designed for video gaming, includes integrated headphones, a refreshed design, a tracked controller system, and an IR LED sensor.

According to Oculus, a small number of Rifts will be available for purchase at select Best Buy stores starting May 7, and online through Microsoft and Amazon, starting May 6 at 9am PST. The company added that supplies will be extremely limited while it catches up on Rift pre-orders.

However, the company's retail plans for Rift has invited criticism from some pre-order customers as the company is seen as lagging woefully behind in shipping Rift pre-orders.

Some customers are upset that their pre-orders are not yet filled, but Oculus has enough to offer retailers. Oculus said that the pre-order customers will be offered a chance to buy Rift from retail instead - while keeping their pre-order benefits, like the EVE: Valkyrie Founder's Pack and priority status for Touch pre-orders.

If a customer has bought the Rift at a retail location, he must go to his order status and inform the company about the purchase at retail, following which the pre-order will be cancelled. The EVE: Valkyrie entitlement will appear in the customer's order history.

To help a customer schedule a Rift demo at Best Buy locations up to a month in advance, Oculus has introduced Oculus Live. The company said it will introduce international locations for Rift in Canada and Europe this fall.