Palmer Luckey

January 6, 2016

I am Palmer Luckey, founder of Oculus and designer of the Rift. AMA!

I am a virtual reality enthusiast and hardware hacker that started experimenting with VR in 2009. As time went on, I realized that VR was actually technologically feasible as a consumer product. In 2012, I founded Oculus, and today, we are finally shipping our first consumer device, the Rift. AMA!

Proof:https://twitter.com/PalmerLuckey



[No question]

Hang on guys, I am here, not ignoring you - I am responding to the initial 25 question megapost that was at the top of this thread.


The price is what it is, I understand bleeding edge electronics are expensive. My question is "why was the messaging about price so poor? $599 is not in the ballpark of $350"

Hijacking your post to respond to the earlier mega-post that was deleted, it included your question:

The price is what it is, I understand bleeding edge electronics is expensive.. My question is "why was the messaging about price so poor? $599 is not in the ballpark of $350 when your target audience is the mainstream".

I handled the messaging poorly. Earlier last year, we started officially messaging that the Rift+Recommended spec PC would cost roughly $1500. That was around the time we committed to the path of prioritizing quality over cost, trying to make the best VR headset possible with current technology. Many outlets picked the story up as “Rift will cost $1500!”, which was honestly a good thing - the vast majority of consumers (and even gamers!) don’t have a PC anywhere close to the rec. spec, and many people were confused enough to think the Rift was a standalone device. For that vast majority of people, $1500 is the all-in cost of owning Rift. The biggest portion of their cost is the PC, not the Rift itself.

For gamers that already have high end GPUs, the equation is obviously different. In a September interview, during the Oculus Connect developer conference, I made the infamous “roughly in that $350 ballpark, but it will cost more than that” quote. As an explanation, not an excuse: during that time, many outlets were repeating the “Rift is $1500!” line, and I was frustrated by how many people thought that was the price of the headset itself. My answer was ill-prepared, and mentally, I was contrasting $349 with $1500, not our internal estimate that hovered close to $599 - that is why I said it was in roughly the same ballpark. Later on, I tried to get across that the Rift would cost more than many expected, in the past two weeks particularly. There are a lot of reasons we did not do a better job of prepping people who already have high end GPUs, legal, financial, competitive, and otherwise, but to be perfectly honest, our biggest failing was assuming we had been clear enough about setting expectations. Another problem is that people looked at the much less advanced technology in DK2 for $350 and assumed the consumer Rift would cost a similar amount, an assumption that myself (and Oculus) did not do a good job of fixing. I apologize.

To be perfectly clear, we don’t make money on the Rift. The Xbox controller costs us almost nothing to bundle, and people can easily resell it for profit. A lot of people wish we would sell a bundle without “useless extras” like high-end audio, a carrying case, the bundled games, etc, but those just don’t significantly impact the cost. The core technology in the Rift is the main driver - two built-for-VR OLED displays with very high refresh rate and pixel density, a very precise tracking system, mechanical adjustment systems that must be lightweight, durable, and precise, and cutting-edge optics that are more complex to manufacture than many high end DSLR lenses. It is expensive, but for the $599 you spend, you get a lot more than spending $599 on pretty much any other consumer electronics devices - phones that cost $599 cost a fraction of that to make, same with mid-range TVs that cost $599. There are a lot of mainstream devices in that price-range, so as you have said, our failing was in communication, not just price.

In what 'ballpark' can we expect Touch's price to be?

No more ballparks for now. I have learned my lesson.

How many games can we expect to have available to us by years end?

At least 100 - Over 20 Oculus Studios titles, many more 3rd party titles.

John Carmack tweeted that he expects gaming to occupy less than 50% of the time we spend in the RIFT.. what kind of experiences is he eluding to. Oculus Medium? Toy box? How much is there to do in Toy Box?

Somewhat surprisingly, the majority of time spent right in Gear VR is video and experiences, not games. Over time, VR span beyond games, much like the evolution of computer and mobile platforms before it. Right now, gaming is going to be the primary driver of PC VR, but the content base will expand over time.

What kind of prices can we expect Movies/Experiences to have in the Oculus Store? Most experiences in the GearVR store have been free.

There will be the range of prices from free to higher priced AAA games. The pricing will be similar to what you see in console PC games.

Can we have some detailed information about the screens/displays? FOV/Resolution/pixelfill/pentile/etc... these are custom displays, we want to know everything

We will be sharing more soon. We have done a lot of work optimizing and building these displays, we definitely want people to see how awesome they are.

Post too long, about to post next bit...


Hijacking your post to respond to the earlier mega-post that was deleted, it included your question:

The price is what it is, I understand bleeding edge electronics is expensive.. My question is "why was the messaging about price so poor? $599 is not in the ballpark of $350 when your target audience is the mainstream".

I handled the messaging poorly. Earlier last year, we started officially messaging that the Rift+Recommended spec PC would cost roughly $1500. That was around the time we committed to the path of prioritizing quality over cost, trying to make the best VR headset possible with current technology. Many outlets picked the story up as “Rift will cost $1500!”, which was honestly a good thing - the vast majority of consumers (and even gamers!) don’t have a PC anywhere close to the rec. spec, and many people were confused enough to think the Rift was a standalone device. For that vast majority of people, $1500 is the all-in cost of owning Rift. The biggest portion of their cost is the PC, not the Rift itself.

For gamers that already have high end GPUs, the equation is obviously different. In a September interview, during the Oculus Connect developer conference, I made the infamous “roughly in that $350 ballpark, but it will cost more than that” quote. As an explanation, not an excuse: during that time, many outlets were repeating the “Rift is $1500!” line, and I was frustrated by how many people thought that was the price of the headset itself. My answer was ill-prepared, and mentally, I was contrasting $349 with $1500, not our internal estimate that hovered close to $599 - that is why I said it was in roughly the same ballpark. Later on, I tried to get across that the Rift would cost more than many expected, in the past two weeks particularly. There are a lot of reasons we did not do a better job of prepping people who already have high end GPUs, legal, financial, competitive, and otherwise, but to be perfectly honest, our biggest failing was assuming we had been clear enough about setting expectations. Another problem is that people looked at the much less advanced technology in DK2 for $350 and assumed the consumer Rift would cost a similar amount, an assumption that myself (and Oculus) did not do a good job of fixing. I apologize.

To be perfectly clear, we don’t make money on the Rift. The Xbox controller costs us almost nothing to bundle, and people can easily resell it for profit. A lot of people wish we would sell a bundle without “useless extras” like high-end audio, a carrying case, the bundled games, etc, but those just don’t significantly impact the cost. The core technology in the Rift is the main driver - two built-for-VR OLED displays with very high refresh rate and pixel density, a very precise tracking system, mechanical adjustment systems that must be lightweight, durable, and precise, and cutting-edge optics that are more complex to manufacture than many high end DSLR lenses. It is expensive, but for the $599 you spend, you get a lot more than spending $599 on pretty much any other consumer electronics devices - phones that cost $599 cost a fraction of that to make, same with mid-range TVs that cost $599. There are a lot of mainstream devices in that price-range, so as you have said, our failing was in communication, not just price.

In what 'ballpark' can we expect Touch's price to be?

No more ballparks for now. I have learned my lesson.

How many games can we expect to have available to us by years end?

At least 100 - Over 20 Oculus Studios titles, many more 3rd party titles.

John Carmack tweeted that he expects gaming to occupy less than 50% of the time we spend in the RIFT.. what kind of experiences is he eluding to. Oculus Medium? Toy box? How much is there to do in Toy Box?

Somewhat surprisingly, the majority of time spent right in Gear VR is video and experiences, not games. Over time, VR span beyond games, much like the evolution of computer and mobile platforms before it. Right now, gaming is going to be the primary driver of PC VR, but the content base will expand over time.

What kind of prices can we expect Movies/Experiences to have in the Oculus Store? Most experiences in the GearVR store have been free.

There will be the range of prices from free to higher priced AAA games. The pricing will be similar to what you see in console PC games.

Can we have some detailed information about the screens/displays? FOV/Resolution/pixelfill/pentile/etc... these are custom displays, we want to know everything

We will be sharing more soon. We have done a lot of work optimizing and building these displays, we definitely want people to see how awesome they are.

Post too long, about to post next bit...

Part 2:

What accessories can we expect to see from Oculus for the Rift (replacement facial interface padding)

There are a range of accessories coming, and we’ll have a range of facial interfaces ourselves. Expect more news in the future.

The are some apps on the GearVR store that are unavailable to people in certain countries.. (MilkVR in Australia for example), are we going to have to deal with that bullshit with the Rift in it's Oculus store?

We want to have all Oculus Store content available everywhere in the world for Gear VR and Rift. There may be some cases where we can’t because of local policy or technical limitations.

Multiplayer experiences are obviously going to be a big thing when it comes to VR, what is Oculus doing to ensure its not the Wild West out their for connecting to other Oculus Users.. Id really rather not have to sign up to a hundred different gaming portals each with its own unique friends list and differing network performance…

Our games services provide devs the ability to use your Oculus Name throughout all of the Oculus games and experiences.

Are there any details about Oculus' Friends List/Store Front/Community/Library app/program. Basically im asking how is Oculus' answer to Steam going? Can we have some details?

We talked about the Oculus platform at the E3 Rift Reveal event in June and at Oculus Connect 2 in September, good to watch those talks if you have not already. No additional news yet.

Oculus have the Rift and Touch. Is there anything else VR related you guys are working on that your willing to let slip?

Yes, we are working on a wide range of VR technology. No, not willing to let more secrets slip here.

Will upgrading to Windows 10 be required for Rift? Will it provide a better experience for the Rift specifically? (compatibility, setup, etc)

We support Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 10.

Will we ever see a drum kit in Rock Band VR? or Multiplayer..

That’s a better question for Harmonix, the developers of Rockband.

How Long will the Cables be from headset to PC, is it feasible to extend that length for room to vr experiences?

4 meters from PC to Rift headset, though use of extenders is often possible.

Palmer the messaging you have been hammering out lately is "We'll see you in the Rift".. how exactly will that happen?

Multiplayer and social experiences like EVE Valkyrie, mostly! I can’t work all the time, gotta spend some time playing VR games myself.

Recommended specs are 970/290.. anyone buying a RIFT will EXPECT to play all games at max settings and have the best experience possible.. is a 970 up for that challenge? will Nvidias Pascal GPU's be better suited for VR? what will YOU (@palmer) be running on your rift set up?

You won’t necessarily be able to play all games at MAX settings on the recommended spec. You will be able to play everything in the Oculus store at a high quality level (90 FPS) on the recommended spec. Personally, I am going to be running the standard rec spec rig to make sure I get the same experience as most users.

Will Oculus Cinema be able to play our 3D/2D Bluray movies off the disc or do we have to go through the whole rip/convert phase.

On Gear VR, Oculus Video has a paid video store that features full-length films from our content partners. It also supports sideloaded video playback. You can expect similar features to come to Rift over time.

I want to know more about the small new remote, can we play games with it? What was the decision behind it and what functionality can we expect from it

We designed the Oculus Remote to be simple and intuitive input device for navigating VR experiences, especially when a fully-featured gamepad doesn’t make sense. An example is Oculus Video on Gear VR, which can be explored with just with gaze and tap. The remote is also ideal for non-gamers who want to try VR but aren’t familiar with a gamepad. It is also a good fit for apps that are ported across from Gear VR to Rift.

Will only apps downloaded from the Oculus store work or will we be able to use software that is downloaded outside the app store?

You’ll be able to do both. You can download Rift titles from our store or elsewhere and run them.

When CV1 is out, what happens to DK1 & DK2 compatibility? are they phased out immediately or will the SDK allow seemless support for them for games and experiences? is this all on the developers themselves? Will the introduction of Touch phase out DK2 completely when it comes to games with "Touch required"?

We want to make sure that developers with DK1 and DK2 can continue developing for Rift. We’ll have more news on DK1 and DK2 compatibility over the next few months.

The Case that the CV1 comes in, is there a place for the Oculus Touch in that case?

Maybe…

Will we see CV2 before 2020? Can’t say too much about future products yet.

What kind of 3D support can we expect for traditional, non-VR games? If I want to play Overwatch or Heroes of the Storm or Counterstrike on my Rift, can I use it as a dummy 3D display? If not, why?

This may be enabled via 3rd party applications, but it isn’t something we’re focused on for Rift launch.

Can we expect to ever see a cheaper, stripped down Rift SKU (-Xbox controller, -headphones, -games, etc)

Very unlikely for the first generation of Rift. A standardized system is in the best interest in developers trying to reach the widest audience, and we cannot significantly reduce the cost without dramatically reducing quality. Also see my first post.

What's the rough cost breakdown that goes into the $600 cost of production? Roughly how many % of the price is the OLED, optics, audio, electronics, peripherals, and manufacturing?

And spoil the first tear down?! I wish I could share the detailed breakdown, but I cannot, for both internal and partner related reasons. I will use whatever credibility I have left to assure you that you are getting a pretty crazy deal.


Well my new IAmA question just became:

Do you have blisters on your hands now for being a badass and answering that mass of questions everyone wanted answered but got deleted by the mods?

Thanks for the detailed replies!

No, I have thick calluses on my hands from wielding tools in the lab. Real tools, not power tools.


And spoil the first tear down?! I wish I could share the detailed breakdown, but I cannot, for both internal and partner related reasons. I will use whatever credibility I have left to assure you that you are getting a pretty crazy deal.

You can spoil it a little :)

How about an idea of the pack-in value of the two most talked about items? The pack-in preipherals (XBox controller and Oculus Remote) and the built-in headphones?

Really looking forward to the latest version near the end of this year, looks like you've done everything you could to make it incredible.

I can't break down the cost of those, but it is insignificant.


So, has your personal philosophy changed with regard to the "$600/might as well not exist" comment? Because, it seems to me you set out to make VR for the masses and ended up making VR for the wealthy.

The landscape has changed a lot. We are not the only player, and the Rift is not the only headset. GearVR is $99, Rift is $599, and other players are going to be entering at various price ranges on both console and PC.

I want to do what Oculus can uniquely do.


The pricing will be similar to what you see in console PC games.

/r/pcmasterrace just shit a brick.

Sorry, meant console and PC! Just wanted to differentiate from mobile or handheld games.


We will be sharing more soon

I don't quite understand why it's necessary to remain secretive about the specs when you're already selling the devices. Maybe it's some industry voodoo that relates to how you trickle out information among competition or something, but unless you're planning to re-tool the CV1 and change specs before March, why not just let people know what they're buying?

Among other reasons: Because some of the specs are tightly tied to manufacturing, and we have to respect our partners. We have been letting people try it since E3 of last year, though!


No more ballparks for now. I have learned my lesson.

I literally laughed out loud at this. I can see you just throwing your hands up in the air.

Sometimes, singing


cutting-edge optics that are more complex to manufacture than many high end DSLR lenses

No offense, but I find that a little hard to believe, high end dslr lenses consist of like 14 elements in 10 groups and need to be able to very rapidly autofocus, not to mention things like flare control and ED elements, what's going on with your optics that competes with that sort of complexity?

You are right, I was talking about individual elements. DSLR lenses are pretty crazy lens assemblies, but the individual elements/lenses inside them are comparatively simple.

Can't get into the details now, but they are essentially hybrid lenses that combine the best of traditional optics and fresnel lenses into a single element.


I'd like to ask about the messaging leading up to the Rift release.

There is a lot of backlash from people who were under the impression that the price of the Rift would be much less due to the fact that Oculus had Facebook money and would be selling at cost. The price is actually quite reasonable when you compare it to a $1000+ Sony 720p HMZ or consider that it's only $200 more than the DK2 for a monumentally better product.

But it's the messaging that lead folks to believe it would be lower since the last statements they heard were 'in the $350 ballpark','we can afford to sell at cost,'and "If something’s even $600, it doesn’t matter how good it is, how great of an experience it is — if they just can’t afford it, then it really might as well not exist."

Then there's the pre-order itself; we got no official announcement of the price before pre-orders went live, there was no announcing of the full launch title lineup to help justify that price, no one still knows much about the Remote (it was just a surprise), and we were to pre-order without knowing the price of the itegral Touch controllers or when they would come out.

Do you feel like Oculus/your messaging is responsible for of some of the hurt feelings, and if so what would you have done differently in hindsight if anything?

You have this spot-on. I cover this in my big reply.

We showed a lot of the launch lineup at E3, and more of it at Oculus Connect. We will have more to show soon.

As far as announcing price ahead of time, price and preorders usually go hand in hand, and there is usually not an advance announcement of preorders. In this case, people were begging us to give them some advance notice of when they would go live - that is why we decided it would be a good idea to announce preorders ahead of time. It did not make sense to announce price in a vacuum without all the other info.


[deleted]

It costs us almost nothing to bundle. We bundle it because developers really wanted to a known target, and because developers wanted assurance that anybody who buys a Rift will be able to play their title.

If you already have a gamepad, or just don't want it (sim racing, flight simming, etc), you can sell it and effectively get a subsidy. If you keep it, you effectively get an almost-free controller.


And the headphones as well. As an early adopter with a budget enough to afford this product, I've already got my own high quality headsets that I'm probably going to prefer.

I'd love to be able to purchase without the headset to shave some off of that price.

The overhead of managing a SKU without headphones would cost more than the savings of removing headphones. The integrated audio hardware is better than most cans out there, even expensive ones - the Rift has a built in low-noise DAC and amp, and our audio SDK is tuned around that hardware. Good audio does not cost much to build, especially when it is piggybacking on existing materials and distribution (ala the Rift). Give it a chance!


Why does it cost so much more in Europe? That is the only thing about this that I can't understand. Of course the thing was never going to cost 350 dollars, but what on earth posessed you to charge almost 30% more in the EU? Disgraceful is what it is.

what on earth posessed you to charge almost 30% more in the EU?

Your very high taxes, which we are required to include in the price.


Well if it's 500$ or 400$ worth of tech I can understand, anything less in the final teardown will make me suspicious either way. If it's the "magic of the creative cloud" and it turns out to be 200 bucks worth of tech in a 600$ crowdfunded device I'm going to lose my shit just on behalf of the people who threw down major donations for the new Facebook-VR.

It's like the KS community lifted it up, then Facebook had a risk-free project to take at just the right time without putting in any initial R&D.

I really want to like VR, but the 599 US dollars is not helping. Hopefully you're right and we'll see every dollar on this thing.

We don't make money on the hardware at $599.

We had almost $100 million in investment outside of the Kickstarter, which we actually lost money on. Oculus was and is nowhere close to risk-free, and the vast majority of the risk was taken by employees and investors, not the Kickstarter backers who got what they backed for (and now get a free consumer Rift).


ndled the m

Why you are forcing the consumers to buy an xbox controller, I already have one and if I would sell it, the price I would have to sell it is less that it originally costs, so for example, in a market of second handed items i would lose $15-$20, why I would buy it at the beginning?, better to not support this kind of behaviour and buy it myself and recommend others to buy it separately through second handed vendors, you could really make it a lot cheaper just tossing asside another bundle without it

It costs us almost nothing to bundle the controller. You can sell it secondhand for more than it costs you as part of the bundle. It literally saves you money if you don't want it.


Good evening Mr. Luckey; thank you very much for doing this AMA!

The VR community has suffered something of a divide over the price of the Rift that was announced for the pre-orders today (especially in Australia and the UK). It has unsurprisingly disappointed many people and pushed it over a price point that your average earner (such as myself) could reasonably afford. We're concerned that this will alienate a lot of enthusiasts and potential enthusiasts alike.

What was the rationale behind this decision, and why has the cost for the CV1 risen so drastically from the initially ballparked figure of ~$350 and the cost of the DK1 and DK2?

We look forward to hearing your response, thank you!

Check my other post, it covers most of this. I share your concerns - believe me, I want nothing more than for VR to succeed in the long run. Weak currencies in certain countries is especially a bummer, since we can't control it.

The unfortunate reality we discovered is that making a VR product good enough to deliver presence and eliminate discomfort was not really feasible at the lower prices of earlier dev kits that used mostly off the shelf hardware.

We could have released a lower quality product and saved one or two hundred bucks, but the all-in cost for the average consumer (including PC) would not have budged significantly. To address a later post, mums and dads would be paying in the $1300 to $1500 range regardless.

DK1 and DK2 cost a lot less - they used mostly off the shelf components. They also had significantly fewer features (back of head tracking, headphones, mic, removal facial interfaces, etc.) For Rift, we’re using largely custom VR technology (eg. custom displays designed for VR) to push the experience well beyond DK2 to the Crescent Bay level.


I was re-reading this interview with him and it shines a different light on recent events.

It sounds like Oculus switched gears from trying to make one headset for everyone, to making the best headset since there are other companies that will have lower price points.

"It does change the equation a little bit when you’ve got something like Gear VR and when you’re working with partners to make lower cost head mounted displays available to people… it’s a different equation than when you feel like you’re the only person service the entire market, in that case you’re trying to make these balances… what if it was the opposite if you were like ‘if only it’d been a little cheaper then we would have been able to reach more people,’ but with all the projects we’re working on and all the partners we’re working on, I’m confident there’s going to be VR existing at multiple quality points and price points and with the Rift, it makes sense to do what nobody else is doing which is invest in making the best possible quality headset."

Exactly. We already work with one partner, Samsung on Gear VR. Year ago, we said that we would not be able to sell a billion units on our own, and that is still true. In the long run, there are going to be a ton of VR devices out there serving every price point, much like the television market.


The unfortunate reality we discovered is that making a VR product good enough to deliver presence and eliminate discomfort was not really feasible at the lower prices of earlier dev kits that used mostly off the shelf hardware.

if what i´m experiencing with the DK2 right now is "not good enough", i´m thrilled what the CV1 will deliver.

We could have shipped something along the lines of DK2, but I really don't think it would have been good enough to kickstart the consumer VR industry, especially in the long run. It would also cost more than people think - Shipping a real consumer product is more complex than janking out a dev kit, even something nearly identical to DK2 would have ended up costing $400+, and the all-in investment including a PC would still be around $1300, not enough to make the jump from enthusiast to mainstream.(No exact numbers, not done this cost analysis exercise in a long time


In the long run, there are going to be a ton of VR devices out there serving every price point, much like the television market

Are you working with any kind of consortium to develop a cross platform VR API, a sort of OpenGL for VR in order to ensure that this broad range of VR devices don't all die due to a fractured base of applications available for each HMD?

We are focusing on launching our own product right now, but when standardization does eventually happen, it will be the result of collaboration between many companies, not control by a single company.


"nobody else is doing"

Also known as at least two other companies (FOVE and Vive), and arguably Morpheus which uses RGB instead of pentile and has "120 fps" (quotes for upscaled fps).

We have been working on VR for a long time. A lot of these players did not even come into the game until long after we were well along on our current path - when Vive was first announced, for example, we had already shown our Crescent Bay prototypes six months prior, and showed the final Rift just a couple months later. Our strategy cannot change at the last second just because competition shows up and ships after we do.

Same goes for future research - we are researching nobody else is, and have by far the largest VR team in the world to do so. We will continue doing things that we are uniquely positioned to do.


How long do you see the first generation of the Rift lasting, and are there any features that weren't feasable for this generation that you hope to eventually fit in?

Neat-o, first AMA answer. Now its time to start saving for my PC upgrades and Rift.

Somewhere between a console and a mobile phone, much closer to a mobile phone. The PC spec for Rift won't change during the 1st generation.

Quite a few features. We have a lot going on in Oculus Research, some of which will make it into the next product, some of which will go into products even further down the road. VR is still advancing very rapidly, there will be some pretty huge technological shifts happening.


What is the ballpark price of the touch controllers?

Repeating my other answer, but no more ballparks from me for now. I learned my lesson - I usually try to underpromise and overdeliver, and I need to hold myself to that better in the future.


Will you have sex with me?

Yes.


I'm not surprised. I don't know of any AMA where the person sifted through a list of dozens of questions from one post.

It also violates the commenting rule: A subreddit or other website organizing and voting for a group comment/question is considered to be vote cheating and is subject to removal. It is a violation of the rules of reddit and risks a sitewide ban.

I don't know of any AMA where the person sifted through a list of dozens of questions from one post.

Now you do!


Yes.

I don't remember writing this.


What details can you share about the Remote? Does it include a gyroscope/accelerometer?

Will the Kickstarter backer shipments will be in the March window? Will they have the same place in line for Touch orders?

Will Oculus be artificially restricting use with computers below the min spec?

No gyro. It is essentially the input set of GearVR made into a remote. You are technically able to replace the battery, but the included battery life should last for about 4,000 hours of use.

Kickstarter backer shipments will be shipping in March. They will indeed have the same place in line for Touch, along with the other pre-order bonuses.

We will not be artificially restricting use of computers. Not my style. Some apps will run on lower spec machines, especially things like movie apps, but we can't officially support that, especially since many low end cards are physically unable to output the framerate and resolution required for the hardware to operate.


When will the 1.0 Rift SDK be made available to all developers?

At launch.


I'm a Seattle based indie game developer working on our very first VR game called "Spellbound" (embarrasing pre-Alpha game play trailer). In March 2015, I decided our studio would go all-in with VR and make the very best VR game we can, from the ground up. Our ambitious goal has been to create a VR game which not only does VR right, but also advances the VR industry so that future VR developers will follow in our footsteps. Our small team has been working really hard to get where we are today and we're getting close to release. We are tentatively going to launch our game in March 2016.

My biggest challenge right now is financing. To date, I've been funding everything from my personal savings account, which is drying up quickly. My limited funds put staffing, scope and time constraints on the game content we can produce. I believe that in order for VR to flourish as an emerging industry, the content creators need to be invested in to become well established long term content producers. I know Oculus has been sponsoring select VR game developers and I'm curious to know more about the requirements and terms. Who would be the best person to talk to at Oculus?

-Will Oculus be hosting an online store/platform for distributing VR content? If yes, what are the terms and conditions? What is the process to get my VR content posted (ie, greenlight)? How will people discover and access the store? Will the store front be VR enabled?

-With the $600 retail price, I'm worried that a lot of consumers are going to be priced out of the early VR market and that's going to affect my early sales. Can you give us a cost break down to support the price tag for the Oculus Rift? How much do the bundled games and accessories contribute to the final price? Will future generations of hardware come down in price?

-Properly immersive VR uses hand gesture input. Currently I'm using Leap Motion for that, but it's a stop gap measure pending access to a better solution. Can we get a set of Oculus Touch controllers for the development of our game? Do we have to wait for the consumer edition to be launched to add support for it?

Thanks for your time and good luck with your launch,

Eric N.

I know Oculus has been sponsoring select VR game developers and I'm curious to know more about the requirements and terms. Who would be the best person to talk to at Oculus?

We announced an indie dev fund last year specifically for cases like yours, and we have been working with a lot of indie developers to make sure they succeed. Submit your build via the Oculus Developer Center submission tool so we can check it out! https://developer2.oculus.com/

Will Oculus be hosting an online store/platform for distributing VR content? If yes, what are the terms and conditions? What is the process to get my VR content posted (ie, greenlight)? How will people discover and access the store? Will the store front be VR enabled?

Yes. We had some talks about this at our developer conference, Oculus Connect 2, they are viewable online. We will have more public info as we get closer to launch, but we can fill you in as a dev earlier.

-With the $600 retail price, I'm worried that a lot of consumers are going to be priced out of the early VR market and that's going to affect my early sales. Can you give us a cost break down to support the price tag for the Oculus Rift?

I cannot give a detailed price breakdown, but check some of my other posts in the thread that touch on the cost breakdown.

How much do the bundled games and accessories contribute to the final price? Will future generations of hardware come down in price?

The bundled games and accessories are not a significant cost. The core technology is. The cost of VR (and the PCs required) will drop in price over time, much like mobile phones have.

Properly immersive VR uses hand gesture input.

Debatable! There are a lot of great VR experiences that don't have input of any kind, and many others that don't use hand gestures. Most others, actually.

Currently I'm using Leap Motion for that, but it's a stop gap measure pending access to a better solution. Can we get a set of Oculus Touch controllers for the development of our game? Do we have to wait for the consumer edition to be launched to add support for it?

Developer center!


Hey Palmer! Super excited about the consumer launch, I have a few questions for you!

1) Details on fraudsters being removed and pre-orders being moved up (When, how will we know if we’ve been moved up etc.)

2) Were any Rifts allocated to physical retailers for launch?

3) The VR Short “Henry” will be available for the CV1 at launch, but what about the VR Short “Lost”?

Thanks!

We’ll be removing fraudulent pre-orders as we go. No plan to notify users other than your Rift arriving on your doorstep earlier than expected.We’re allocating a limited number of Rifts to select US retail locations for April. Retail is a fine option (though there will be very limited quantities), but by pre-ordering you reserve your place in line. Retail won’t be option for international customers in April. Henry and Lost will be available on Rift at launch.


Will Oculus offer extention cords and if not can you recommend a third party?

We will not be offering extension cords. No point in doing so when third parties like Amazon can sell for less than we can. Extensions will sometimes work, it depends on the PC and configuration, so no official support.

Will Oculus offer a way to buy additional IR cameras?

Yes, both as part of Touch, and individually.

Has Oculus labs experimented with light field displays yet ..

Yes.

do you envision a future version of the rift using it?

Can't say!

When do you think we will see the first game using Nvidia GameWorks VR sli?

Ask Nvidia!

Why is Unity dragging it's feet on incorporating GameWorks VR?

Ask Unity!

Why is SDK v1.0 being hidden from the public?

We talk about this in the SDK 1.0 blog post, can't go beyond that right now.


How long will the shipping cord be?

Four meters.


I have been planning on purchasing a VR headset since I heard about the Oculus Rift over a year ago. Like many others, I am unable to afford it at the recently-announced price point. I have three questions:

1.) What are your plans in the future to make this product more affordable to the average person?

2.) What is your response to this, in which you said “If something’s even $600, it doesn’t matter how good it is, how great of an experience it is — if they just can’t afford it, then it really might as well not exist?”

3.) The HTC Vive is expected to cost a little more than the Rift. If the price point is relatively close, what does the Oculus Rift have that makes it compete with the HTC Vive?

1.) What are your plans in the future to make this product more affordable to the average person?

Continue working with GPU and CPU manufacturers to optimize for VR, thus reducing the required hardware cost. Use economies of scale and the passage of time to reduce the cost of good enough PC hardware. For the average person, the PC is by far the biggest cost, not the headset - the end goal is to make sure people can use the PC they already have in most cases.

2.) What is your response to this, in which you said “If something’s even $600, it doesn’t matter how good it is, how great of an experience it is — if they just can’t afford it, then it really might as well not exist?”

I talked about this exact quote in two of my other posts in this thread. TL;DR: Landscape changed a lot, and we are in a better place to do what only we can do.

3.) The HTC Vive is expected to cost a little more than the Rift. If the price point is relatively close, what does the Oculus Rift have that makes it compete with the HTC Vive?

I can't comment on price speculation, but I think the Rift is the best headset with the best content and the best long-term support.


Hi Luckey, thanks for the AMA! I just have a couple questions:

  1. Will the integrated DAC+amp be usable with third party headphones? e.g. through a 3.5mm jack on the headset. Or only with the shipped ones?

  2. As a self-professed audiophile, how would you rank the integrated audio solution alongside entry-level audiophile headphones like the ATH-M50x, or the HD 598s?

  3. We've all heard of the concept of the metaverse, and there have been more than a few concepts released. As a partner with Facebook, it seems perfect for a first-party application to be released that would give us some of that functionality (having our own place in VR where we can socialize with friends/other users, small activities, etc.). Can you talk about any plans for such an application, or if Oculus will continue to release first party applications for the Rift besides its suite of launch software?

  4. What is it like working with Carmack?

Will the integrated DAC+amp be usable with third party headphones? e.g. through a 3.5mm jack on the headset. Or only with the shipped ones?

Not officially, and not without a little hardware hackery. Our DAC+amp are optimized for our specific driver modules, and are definitely not designed for high-impedance cans. The quality of our built-in audio stack is pretty great, if you really want something better, you are probably better pairing off with an external DAC.

As a self-professed audiophile, how would you rank the integrated audio solution alongside entry-level audiophile headphones like the ATH-M50x, or the HD 598s?

Favorably. They are open-back drivers with pretty accurate response and a great soundstage. Somewhat similar to ATH-AD700s.

We've all heard of the concept of the metaverse, and there have been more than a few concepts released. As a partner with Facebook, it seems perfect for a first-party application to be released that would give us some of that functionality (having our own place in VR where we can socialize with friends/other users, small activities, etc.). Can you talk about any plans for such an application, or if Oculus will continue to release first party applications for the Rift besides its suite of launch software?

We will continue to release first party applications, but I can't share anything more specific right now.

What is it like working with Carmack?

Awesome. There are only a handful of people with comparable expertise in both hardware and software.


Hey, thanks for doing this AMA. One of my main concerns is compatibility. Say I get an Oculus Rift but a game is released for the Vive or another headset later down the road. Is there a set standard that's being agreed to across different companies or will everything be strictly proprietary? I really don't want a repeat of the whole Bluray/HD DVD fiasco.

We are basically in the XKCD standards comic scenario, at least for now. We have been building our SDK for years, and it is currently the best one out there (IMO) - getting our own product out the door is our current priority, we will look at other headsets if and when they hit the market. There are several efforts to create a standard for VR games, all of which work different, some of which are controlled by a single company.

Most games are going to support multiple headsets, since Unity and Unreal make it pretty easy to build for multiple platforms.


How many rifts have been pre-ordered?

Can't say, sorry. Financial disclosure regs and stuff.


As a kickstarter backer, I'm chuffed, thanks! I would have bought at $600 anyway, but nice to not have to join the pre-order scrum :)

Apologies for the lots of questions below, but unfortunately the Oculus site is rather light on technical details at the moment. Sooooo....

What are the HMD Specs:-

Other questions:

Edits to add follow-on/related points from /u/afx7 /u/jam1garner

We will be talking about some of these soon, some I have already answered. Sorry, so many questions!


In 2013, you specifically said that $600 would be too expensive for a VR headset. What changed?

http://allthingsd.com/20130606/oculus-co-founders-luckey-and-mitchell-on-the-rifts-progress-price-and-limitations-qa-part-one/

Answered this in a couple other replies.


What does CV1 offer that the HTC Vive doesn't?

Hard to say, nobody has seen their final product, content lineup, specs, or price. I am obviously biased, but I personally think Rift is the best headset with the best content.


What's a store exclusive?

A game that is only sold through our store. This is the case with Oculus Studios titles.


To be fair, the Rift's specs are just as vague.

Not really, we have been publicly showing our final consumer product since June, along with a big chunk of our launch software.


Can we please get a final answer on the Australian and New Zealand pricing? First off, why is it cost $130 USD to ship this to us? Secondly you charge us $50 extra which I'm assuming is tax/gst, which means you'd be shipping out again from Sydney (For Australia) then we revert back to why it's costing us $130 for shipping? I can literally ship it from the US for cheaper, why are you charging us so much? I understand paperwork/warehouse deployment and all that, but it should never cost almost double or triple of what a consumer could pay to ship the same product from overseas.

And a final answer on are we getting charged USD or AUD/NZD? Twitter says it's USD, but you have your support people saying it's AUD as per https://www.reddit.com/r/oculus/comments/3zt2ri/yet_another_conflicting_report_for_australian/

Edit: Our main concern is the shipping cost and why it's so high. No other company ever has this absurdly high shipping cost, why do you? Every other company ever has warehouses and import fees etc. Why are you passing it onto the consumer when this is part of your cost of running your business? It should be being paid out of your profit/investors/etc.

edit2: NZD Have it just as bad as us, They're charged $699 USD + $132 USD in shipping, where is there's being sent from? Does it cost the same to have a warehouse there as Australia? NZ end up paying 831.00 USD = 1,252.71 NZD

I wish I could get into the details on this, but I can't. I really wanted to make sure we shipped to as many countries as possible, and sometimes the cost is higher than we would like.


Edit: To change this from the question answered in the megapost, are there any educational or training focused applications of the rift you've been particularly impressed with?

Hey Palmer, Carmack referred to less than 50% of time in the rift being spent on gaming, what use beyond gaming are you most excited for?

https://share.oculus.com/app/the-apollo-11-experience


Where did statements like the following go during the choice of hardware for CV1?

"Gamers are not known to be the most affluent population of people. If something’s even $600, it doesn’t matter how good it is, how great of an experience it is — if they just can’t afford it, then it really might as well not exist. We’re going for the mainstream, but time will tell what the market is."

http://oculusrift-blog.com/allthingsd-speaks-palmer-nate-d11/1616/

-and-

"Even if visiting Paris for real is something that’s better [than doing it with VR] it’s not something that eight, nine, 10 billion people in the world are going to be able to do."

http://www.businessinsider.com/facebook-oculus-palmer-luckey-schools-need-vr-2015-11

I know from experience the lower income school districts you talk about in that second quote will not buy a CV1. Period. The dream of moving Oculus into the mainstream is severely hampered by the high cost of the Rift. Perhaps a lower cost version, with specs closer to the DK2, would've allowed this dream and the others you and Mark Zuckerburg have been discussing to come true. The price is simply too high to justify the cost for the average person you're trying to inspire. Where along in the design process did the focus on the highest consumer experience, regardless of accessibly, begin?

On another note, what is Oculus planning to do to avoid missteps as in the first quote? This ties into my first questions heavily, but many of your hardcore fans are wondering where these changes originated and where in the development process they started.

I still view advanced VR as one of the greatest developments in recent technological history, but am just a bit saddened by the high cost of entry for the key "first wave" of users who will generate interest in the field in years to come.

Wish you only the best and I only raise these concerns because I deeply care about the future of this exciting technology.

Answered this in a couple other posts.


Aye Palmer is there anything new you can tell us about Touch? Anything?

I understand that shit is all under wraps. I want to ask about dev kits. Will they be going on in a similar capacity to DK1/2? Is there plan to put them out to retails similar to what you're doing in April for the Rift? All that crap I'm sure you can't say. But really what I just want to know is if theres any chance I'll be able to try them in the UK this year.

I do not envy you Palmer. You have the patience of a saint. One day you'll be put off doing shit like this but hopefully that day is not today. Have a nice day if you can lol Hows CES btw?

I can't tell you anything new just yet, sorry!

CES is super busy, can't wait to get some time to walk the floor.


Hi Palmer!

In your teens you hacked together head-mounted displays (HMD) in your parent's garage. You have the world's largest collection of HMDs. I'm so happy for you, that you were able to turn your hobby into your job. You dreamt the VR dream when no one did and kickstarted the entire VR industry. You're an inspiration to young engineers and entrepreneurs everywhere. Meeting and interviewing you at gamescom was one of my favourite memories of 2015.

My question: Do you still have the time to sit down and tinker around, to assemble new hardware prototypes or to code software? Or are you too busy with interviews, meetings, and managerial duties? Are you doing 18h workdays or are those days over?

In short: What does your typical day look like now?

My question: Do you still have the time to sit down and tinker around, to assemble new hardware prototypes or to code software? Or are you too busy with interviews, meetings, and managerial duties? Are you doing 18h workdays or are those days over?

I am not much of a coder, but I definitely still tinker. Not as much as I used to, though - I have not been the best hardware engineer in a very long time, no point in pretending I am!


Palmer, this must be both an awesome and a tough time for you. I've followed VR since DK1 and am happy to have preordered, and have got two questions for you:

Q: If we want a Rift, what benefits us from preordering - couldn't we just buy it from a retail store in April or May and skip the whole shipping/import fees issue?

and;

Q: Will Oculus have it's own version of Virtual Desktop?

I want to navigate my Windows environment in VR: Reddit, a TV show playing, a few widgets - all on a huge "screen" around me.

Q: If we want a Rift, what benefits us from preordering - couldn't we just buy it from a retail store in April or May and skip the whole shipping/import fees issue?

Free EVE: Valkyrie, reserve your spot in line for Touch.

Q: Will Oculus have it's own version of Virtual Desktop?

Not a focus for us right now.


How do you plan to show these devices to the public? i.e. Mall Kiosks, etc

We announced that we will have retail partners today, more info soon! Demos are important.


[No question]

Hey guys, gotta go for now. Thank you for taking the time to ask these questions, I hope I covered most of what people wanted to know.

I will try to drop in later, but need to get back to CES for the moment.


This interview was transcribed from an "ask me anything" question and answer session with Palmer Luckey conducted on Reddit on 2016-01-06. The Reddit AMA can be found here.