When a friend posted online that he had bought one of those, I was surprised - I thought these were expensive? Didn't they require a high-end PC? After doing some research, including using Oculus's own compatibility check tool on their website, I found my 5-year old PC was plenty capable of handling VR (though I did upgrade the video card a couple of years ago to an NVIDIA GTX 1070).
I'll just get this out of the way: it's hard to describe what it's like to use one of these. I've used other VR stuff, like Google Cardboard, and this is something completely different. This can trigger things like motion sickness and fear of heights. I've nearly leaned on VR surfaces for balance. Some games place you on top of mountains, which can just be overwhelming. Not everything looks 100% real, but most of it is "good enough" to trick my brain.
There are a lot of free games and demos, as well as high-quality paid apps, so there's no shortage of software available. It even comes with a few games, though Robo Recall is definitely the standout title (First Contact is also awesome!). Most of what's available on Steam is compatible, too. I'm having a lot of fun with the Oculus Rift, and I'm really glad I bought this.
Other things I should mention:
- Although the price was half of what I thought it'd be, it was still significant - from the packaging, it seems like they're trying to pitch this as a game console, which makes sense to me.
- The setup process was difficult, and I've had to go through it a few times as I've adjusted the sensors. Installing the drivers was non-obvious, and I ended up searching online for a solution - which involved digging through the application directories and running .exe files directly from Windows Explorer. There's a lot of room for improvement here.
- The lenses inside of the headset get dirty easily - my hair sometimes drags on the lenses when removing the headset. It doesn't help that the setup process has you alternate between using a mouse/keyboard on the computer screen, and putting on the headset and using the controllers. I've tried using the included cleaning cloth, but it hasn't really helped.
- The controllers use AA batteries, which are included. After about 3 weeks, they died - despite not receiving a lot of usage within the past two weeks (due to travel and a work project demanding my time). I might switch to rechargeable batteries.
- The battery doors on the controllers are held in by magnets, which was a really neat touch! However, they could use a an arrow (or something) to indicate how to remove the batteries. I had to search online for the exact place you need to press to remove the battery door.
- I know it's not designed to be usable while wearing glasses, but it's tough to use while wearing glasses. My girlfriend is nearly blind without hers, so she hasn't been able to play very much.
Additional things you should consider buying to accompany the Oculus Rift:
- A third Oculus Sensor. I bought mine as a bundle on Amazon, which really helped.
- HDMI and USB extension cables for the headset. Otherwise, you risk damaging your computer and/or the headset if you stray too far from your PC.
- Does your video card have two HDMI ports? This wasn't obvious to me before purchasing the headset, but some games won't function properly unless your headset and your monitor are plugged into the same video card (using your motherboard's onboard video card in conjunction won't work). Since my NVIDIA GTX 1070 only had one HDMI port, which I had to use for the headset, I bought a DisplayPort to HDMI cable to connect my TV to the video card as well. It's not possible to know which games require this setup until you actually try to launch them, so I'd recommend looking into this before buying an Oculus Rift for yourself.
Overall, totally worth it. This feels like the future!
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Customer reviews
**Updated! Still get the Rift, but only buy games through Steam!
Reviewed in the United States on October 26, 2018
The touch controllers are fantastic! Rift has a whole library of games that are only for Rift. You can play almost ALL steam games! This is lighter. But the main reason is the controllers.I really like this and Robo Recall is fantastic (comes free to rift). I wish it had co op's, that would make it even better!It is a little tricky at first figuring out how to navigate around and how to open and close the windows. I will be getting the wireless when the price gets back to normal $350 on amazon... I got the 3rd sensor and it's funny to take the mask off and realize which way you are facing... Tracking is spot on all the time. I like that it comes with built in headphones and they sound great. Cables are too short but active 3.0 extensions fix that right up.******UPDATE: 30 October 2018So I got a game and knew I didn't like it after playing for 21 min. The game was 50gb. I looked at the refund policy and saw that I was eligible for a refund. I requested the refund and uninstalled the game. I got an email saying the refund was denied. I only had it for 2 days... I emailed oculus support as to why my $39 refund was denied and got the response in the image... "Even though they can see I only played for 21 min, they cannot give me a refund because I removed the game"??!!?? There is no phone number where I can contact them so I am not able to call and complain... There return policy does not say that you cannot uninstall the game that you want to return!! I was telling all my friends to only use the oculus store but have now been saying not to. I have linked oculus to Steam almost all the games are there as well. You can have the steam games displayed in the oculus home so you do not even have to go to steam VR.Sorry for yelling, this just makes me mad...
Reviewed in the United States on October 26, 2018
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Reviewed in the United States on June 30, 2018
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Reviewed in the United States on March 8, 2018
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Florian
Ohne Worte. [UPDATE 27.01.19]
Reviewed in Germany on July 21, 2018Edition: Oculus Rift + Touch SystemVerified Purchase
Florian
Reviewed in Germany on July 21, 2018
Ich muss hier mal kurz was richtig stellen, da ausgerechnet die verlogenste und falscheste (Ein-Stern-)Rezension ganz oben als Top-Rezension gelistet wird.
Sie ist einfach komplett falsch und zieht das Image dieses grandiosen Produkts völlig zu Unrecht in den Dreck.
Erstens: "Spionage seitens Facebook"
--> Man kann die Brille/Software komplett ohne Facebook verwenden und man muss sich nicht über Facebook anmelden. Das ist Fakt, Punkt.
Eine einfache Registrierung mit ausgedachtem Nutzernamen, Passwort und Email genügt um die Oculus Rift in vollem Funktionsumfang zu nutzen.
Zweitens: "10EUR im Monat für Batterien"
--> Ich weiß ja nicht wo Sie ihre Batterien beziehen, aber für 10€-12€ inklusive Versand bekomme ich auf Amazon 40 Batterien, die etwa eineinhalb Jahre halten dürften. 30h Batterielaufzeit ist auch nicht wenig, sondern sehr viel.
Ich benutze einfache AA-Akkus, welche ich etwa alle 4 Wochen (noch vor Entladung) auswechsle und auflade.
Drittens: "Beschränkung bei der Sensoreinrichtung"
--> Man kann die EMPFEHLUNGEN, die Sensoren anders im Raum aufzustellen GANZ EINFACH per "Weiter" überspringen und mit der Einrichtung fortfahren.
Man kann die Sensoren aufstellen wie man möchte und es gibt keine Probleme.
So...
Und ich möchte nach ziemlich genau einem halben Jahr Nutzung nun nocheinmal sagen, wie zufrieden ich mit der Oculus Rift bin. Ich habe schon sehr viel Zeit in der virtuellen Realität verbracht und viele unvergessliche Spiele gespielt und Erfahrungen gesammelt.
Weiterhin kann ich dieses Headset jedem wärmstens ans Herz legen.
Es gab bisher wirklich niemanden, der zu Besuch kam, die Rift testete und nicht völlig von ihr gehyped war.
Die Zukunft des Gamings hat begonnen!
[Ursprüngliche Rezension vom 21. Juli 2018]
Ok ein paar Worte...
Ich hatte zuvor die Samsung Gear VR mit der Oculus Home Software und das war schon ganz gut.
Aber das hier ist einfach unfassbar geil und noch viel viel viel (...) besser!
Habe mir das Rift Bundle inkl. zwei Controllern am Prime-Day für 399€ gekauft und ich kann nur sagen es war jeden Cent wert!
Die Controller fühlen sich an wie die Verlängerung einer echten Hand. Das sorgt für perfekte Immersion.
Übrigens reichen die beiden beigelegten Sensoren für ein 360°-Setup.
Wenn man sie in die USB-3.0-Frontpanel Steckplätze steckt braucht man noch nicht einmal Verlängerungskabel.
Ich habe mir dennoch 2x 3m Amazon Basics USB-3.0-Kabel dazugekauft um sicherzugehen, dass der Platz reicht.
Jedenfalls muss man in der Kalibrierung einfach die Warnung ignorieren, dass die zwei Sensoren etwas zu weit auseinander stehen.
Für ein optimales 360°-Setup sollte einer der beiden Sensoren von unten und der andere von oben auf den Spielbereich gerichtet sein.
Desweiteren sollten sie genau 180° zueinander stehen, damit alles genaustens abgedeckt wird.
Danach muss man wirklich keinerlei Abstriche machen - Es funktioniert perfekt!
Wer bei 400€ nicht zuschlägt ist wirklich selbst Schuld.
Günstiger wirds nicht. Habe mir wie gesagt noch 2x Kabel dazugekauft, sowie heute noch ein VR-Cover/Polster, da man beim längeren Zocken schon ein wenig ins Schwitzen kommen kann und dann dieser schwammartige Schaumstoff sich mit Schweiß vollsaugt.
Allerdings kann man diesen recht schnell wieder mit einem Handtuch trocken drücken. Ein bisschen unhygienisch finde ich es trotzdem, weshalb ich mir das Polster bestellt habe.
Angeblich soll 2020 die Nachfolgegeneration erscheinen.
In zwei Jahren wird also aufgerüstet - Ich bin völlig verzaubert.
Please take all my money!
Danke.
PS:
Die Oculus braucht MINDESTENS eine Grafikkarte des Typs GTX970.
Ich habe sie auch auf meinem Laptop mit der deutlich langsameren GTX970M betrieben, was akzeptabel funktioniert in anspruchslosen Anwendungen und Spielen. Ich empfehle jedoch dringend mindestens eine GTX1060.
Selbst nutze ich eine übertaktete und wassergekühlte GTX1080 mit Power-Limit-Mod.
Je besser die Grafikkarte, desto besser das Erlebnis! Das muss einem klar sein.
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Snowy
Virtually speechless...
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 29, 2018Edition: Oculus Rift + Touch SystemVerified Purchase
Karin
Nicht so der Hammer
Reviewed in Germany on November 2, 2018Edition: Oculus Rift + Touch SystemVerified Purchase
Nitin Singh
No support even after multiple follow-up
Reviewed in India on June 19, 2019Edition: Oculus Rift + Touch SystemVerified Purchase
Valentin Necsescu
Do not believe the hype
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 18, 2018Edition: Oculus Rift + Touch SystemVerified Purchase
