Thanks to shipping fiascos, the wait for the Oculus Rift continues for many. Despite this, the device is heading to its first physical retail outlet very soon.
Oculus has confirmed that ‘select’ Best Buy stores across the US will start to sell the device from May 7th. A total of 48 stores will also have demo pods for the device as part of the in-store Intel Experience, which promotes new technology. These outlets will be showcasing games like Crytek’s The Climb, and Oculus’ own Farlands, as well as other experiences such as Oculus Dreamdeck. More locations will put the Rift up for sale later this summer as the availability of the device steadily grows.
But the company isn’t leaving those that are still waiting on their pre-ordered units in the dark here. Oculus will be giving those customers a chance to get one of these retail units earlier than their pre-ordered unit and still get their hands on EVE: Valkyrie for free as well as a place in the queue for Oculus Touch pre-orders. From May 6th fans will be able to pick up one of these retail Rifts and then let Oculus itself know they have done so via their order status page. Oculus VR will cancel the corresponding pre-order while also giving them the free game and bonus in the process.
If you’re still adamant to order online, the Microsoft Store and Amazon will start selling the Rift at 9am EST on May 6th, though quantities are said to be ‘extremely limited’ while the company is still working through its backlog of pre-orders.
For now, though, you can visit the new Oculus Live site to schedule a demo of the Rift at one of the Best Buy outlets. Physical store sales are also in the plans for both Canada and Europe, with Oculus teasing that it will have more to share on this front in the fall. Getting a foothold in physical stores where people can try the VR experience for the first time will be essential to the Rift’s success, so the sooner the better in this case.
