In the absolute sense, yes, $599 (before taxes by the way) is a lot of money. So much in fact that it's a major factor for a lot of people when considering buying one.xer0s wrote:Is it really that much money? Same price as a new smart phone...
What also doesn't help is earlier statements from Palmer Luckey about the price target and the DK2 costing only $350. People assumed the consumer version would cost a similar price and Oculus failed to clear that up in their PR. Palmer Luckey admitted as much in his Reddit AMA linked earlier in this thread. That is basically where the disappointment from a lot of people comes from: they suddenly cannot afford a desirable piece of technology that they expected to be able to buy before.
Also, with this price Oculus is no longer targeting the mainstream consumer, but only enthusiasts. Oculus has talked about targeting the mainstream consumer before and a VR revolution. You won't get a revolution with a relatively few enthusiast early adopters.
Is the price high in a relative sense? No, it's a fair price. Oculus doesn't have any margin on the price. Lots of phones have huge margins (a $700 iPhone costs like $250 or less to make).
The comparison to a phone isn't entirely fair though. A phone is a device you use daily and carry with you a lot of the time. How much will you actually use a Rift? Not that much I guess. Also, remember that a phone is often included with a phone contract. You still pay for the thing, but the cost is hidden, so people are much quicker to get an expensive phone than shelling out $600 at once for a Rift.
