Before fulfilling all preorders, Oculus Rift to be sold in some stores
You'll soon have the chance to try the Rift for yourself at select Best Buy stores.
The launch of the Oculus Rift has not been entirely smooth, and many people who preordered the headset months ago are still waiting to get their hands on one. Despite this, Oculus today announced that the Rift will be available in "extremely limited" quantities through certain retailers starting later this week.
The company revealed this as part of a broader announcement about retail plans for the virtual-reality headset. Its in-store presence will begin as part of the Intel Experience, an Intel-led initiative located inside of select Best Buy stores around the United States. Starting on May 7, stores home to the Intel Experience will offer customers the chance to try the Rift for themselves, and you can even schedule a demo ahead of time from the Oculus website. More Best Buy stores will get Rift demo units "later this summer."
Coinciding with this, a "small number of Rifts" will be sold at select Best Buy stores on May 7, as well as from Amazon and the Microsoft Store website on May 6 at 9 a.m. PST.
This was sure to cause anger among those who are still waiting on preorders from Oculus, so the company is taking steps it hopes will address that frustration. Anyone who has preordered the Rift can attempt to get one through Best Buy, Amazon, or Microsoft later this week. If they manage to do so, they can cancel their preorder with Oculus, but still receive the preorder benefits they would have receive from Oculus. These include the Eve: Valkyrie Founder's Pack and priority status on preordering the Oculus Touch.
The first Rift units began shipping in late March, but serious delivery problems ensued. This prompted the company to cover all shipping costs made on orders up until early April.
For more on the Rift, check out GameSpot's review.