Geeky Gossip: #GetHip to the Oculus Rift and Virtual Reality Wave

With all this buzz around the new Oculus Rift virtual reality console and other systems like it on the horizon; we had to dig into this topic and see what's next for this incredible movement... and see how long it'll take for us to get our hands on one!

Via Mashable:

The most recent indication of [virtual reality] potential mainstream viability is Facebook's purchase of gaming headset Oculus Rift in March. But is that an accurate sign of VR's return or simply an exaggerated uproar because it's Facebook? Even advanced devices like Oculus don't beget applications far beyond gaming — yet. The average consumer still can't picture what the practical applications could be, or even whether we need them at all.

The Oculus Rift Development Kit 2 costs $350; the original Kinect costs $150. We don’t know the cost of Sony’s Project Morpheus yet, but expect it to be under $400. Computers tens of thousands of times more powerful than what virtual reality pioneers used in the '80s and '90s now cost a few hundred dollars. An Arduino accelerometer sensor costs under $30. Augmented reality is possible through your $199 smartphone.

Still no clear answer on when it'll be consumable to the masses, but the Oculus Rift website is allowing pre-orders of their 2.0 version for delivery by Aug 2014. 

Can't wait? Check out this video below of how dope the technology can be in their new horror game "Alone in the Rift".