Despite the technological leaps forward in virtual reality, VR headsets have not yet caught on with the mass market. That may have something to do with the better ones being prohibitively priced and requiring a connection to a computer, while the less expensive ones require you to use your phone for the screen. Facebook is hoping to finally hoping to bring VR to a bigger audience with Oculus Go, a headset with a moderately affordable price point and no need to purchase a powerful PC or kill the battery on your phone. [More]
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Here’s Everything We’ve Heard About Facebook’s New Cheaper Oculus VR Device
By 7.13.17
Nine months after rumors first started flying that Facebook was working on a virtual reality product that’s cheaper than the Oculus Rift new reports say the company is preparing to unleash the standalone device next year. [More]
Facebook Shutting Down Oculus Film Studio
By 5.5.17
Instead of making its own virtual reality content, Facebook is closing the doors of its Oculus film studio and will instead spend more on content produced by outside sources. [More]
Oculus Closing 200 Best Buy Demo Stations Over Slower Traffic
By 2.9.17
Facebook’s Oculus had been hoping to win wary customers over to the idea of virtual reality by setting up hundreds of pop-up demo stations inside Best Buy stores around the country. Turns out, folks may not be all that interested, so Oculus is shutting down about 40% of these in-store test drive locations. [More]
Oculus Developing A Lower-End, Standalone Virtual Reality Device
By 10.7.16
If you’re one of those people who was perhaps interested in buying the Oculus Rift, only you don’t own a computer powerful enough to handle it, the Facebook-owned company says it’s got a new virtual reality product in the works that won’t require a Windows PC or even a mobile phone to use it. [More]
NCAA Final Four, Championship Game To Be Broadcast In Virtual Reality
By 3.30.16
Not everyone can shell out hundreds (or even thousands) of dollars to attend the final three games of this year’s college basketball tournament. But if you have the right gear — specifically a Samsung Gear headset — you can feel like you’re in the arena all from the comfort of your own home. [More]
PlayStation VR To Sell For $399, Go On Sale In October
By 3.15.16
After months of guesswork about when Sony would finally release its much-awaited PlayStation VR headset — and for how much — the company finally announced those important details today at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco. So, will PS VR be the iPhone of virtual reality — or the 21st century equivalent of the Nintendo Virtual Boy? [More]
Make Sure Your Computer Is Powerful Enough For The Oculus Rift Before You Spend $599 On One
By 1.6.16
Oculus Rift Pre-Orders Start Jan. 6; Still No Price Listed
By 1.4.16
Two years after virtual reality startup Oculus blew away CES 2014 with the demo of its Oculus Rift VR headset — ultimately leading to Facebook buying the company for $2 billion in March 2014 — the consumer version of the Rift virtual reality headset is finally becoming an actual reality. [More]
JCPenney Offers Virtual Reality Flight With Santa, Reindeer, And Product Placements
By 12.14.15
When we were kids, we had to go to a holiday-centric theme park to have an immersive experience with Santa, his reindeer, and his elves. If an experiment at JCPenney is successful, children of the future will only need to visit a local department store and plop an Oculus headset on their heads to experience the magic of flying in Santa’s sleigh while JCPenney suppliers advertise to them. [More]
Facebook Bringing 360-Degree Video To iOS Newsfeeds
By 11.12.15
While we once wondered why Facebook would spend $2 billion to buy virtual reality company Oculus, we’re starting to get answers. Two months after Facebook said it was working to bring virtual reality to consumers’ phones via newsfeed ads, the social media company unveiled an iOS version. [More]
Netflix Deal With Oculus & Samsung Means You’ll Actually Have Something To Watch With That VR Headset
By 9.24.15
So you’ve got your cool virtual reality headset, and you’re just dying to try it. But what are you supposed to watch on it? Until now, there’s been a limited amount of content available for VR headsets. That’s all changed now, as Netflix announced a deal with Oculus and Samsung that includes a virtual reality version of Netflix’s entire library. [More]
Sony’s Virtual Reality Headset Is Called…. PlayStation VR
By 9.16.15
After spending more than year referring to its virtual reality headset with the over-the-top working title Project Morpheus, Sony finally revealed the true identity of its immersive accessory, and it’s a bit of a letdown: PlayStation VR. [More]
Facebook Reportedly Working On A Virtual Reality Video Smartphone App
By 9.14.15
Nearly a year and a half after Facebook paid $2 billion to buy virtual reality company Oculus, the online behemoth is apparently ready to bring some virtual reality technology to its social media platform. [More]
Oculus Won’t Block Virtual Reality Porn On Headsets
By 5.18.15
While demos of virtual reality headsets have thus far stuck to immersive games and interactive clips that let you experience things like flying over a city or race through a jungle, some people are thinking about how the tech could be employed for more intimate purposes. And the folks at Facebook-owned Oculus VR are just fine with that. [More]
From Samsung To Razer To Oculus, Our Experience With The Latest In Virtual Reality
By 1.6.15
Virtual reality has been a holy grail of sorts for tech developers for several decades, but previous generations’ attempts were too clunky, heavy, and unconvincing. The dream hasn’t died, and judging by what we saw at International CES this week, the field is ready to explode (in a good way). [More]
Why You Should Care That Facebook Spent $2 Billion To Buy Oculus
By 3.26.14
Facebook has been all over the news today, and not just because voters here at Consumerist think they’re terrible. It all has to do with the online behemoth’s latest, surprising acquisition: a virtual reality company called Oculus. [More]
Facebook Gets The Thumbs-Up From Haters, Takes Final Spot In Worst Company Not-So-Sweet 16
March 26, 2014
After more than a week of bloodshed, half of the contenders that dared to dip their toes into the Worst Company wading pool (stocked with laser-equipped piranha and some ill-tempered guppies) have been carried out in Consumerist-branded body bags. The 16 fighters that remain are bruised, but not broken, and one of them will soon be crowned with the coveted Golden Poo. [More]
