Oculus Rift Games May Demand ‘Premium Pricing’

If you are into VR Gaming, you should probably prepare yourself to pay premium for such games as Oculus Rift developer hints the pricing strategy.

oculus rift
‘It’s my belief that the age of 2D gaming has run its course’.

That’s the statement from Oculus VR’s CEO Brandon Iribe, as he speaks to Gameindustry International regarding their flagship virtual reality gaming product, the Oculus Rift.

The nifty gadget has watered the mouths of many gamers, but one of bigger questions regarding the technology is: how much will the compatible games cost?

Iribe suggests that the conventional $50 to $60 price range for top-tier videogames won’t be quite the value for one that is developed for the Rift gadget. Though the CEO is reluctant to stamp a fixed price range, he does add that he won’t be shocked to see ‘premium pricing’.

It’s going to be up to the developers,” he says. “There will be some who make casual, simpler experiences – maybe bite sized. There are going to be Indie developers that make bigger experiences. And there are going to be bigger teams that make really big experiences. … And some that we’ve seen early prototypes of… Well, we’ve seen some that, boy, would I pay a lot to get that experience in virtual reality.

Increase in prices of current games hasn’t been well-received by consumers. The raise from the $50 to $60 range in 2005 saw many raised eyebrows and disappointed shakes of the head, and EA was bashed last year for their suggestion of incrementing it to $70 with the launch of the the Xbox One and PlayStation 4.

But Iribe suggests that the pressure would be more on the developers than Oculus VR.

“They’d better deliver if they’re going to charge more than $50 or $60 for a game,” he said.

“VR is a fundamentally different experience,” he says. “This is the next generation of computing in a very big way. … This is something that’s going to change so many things.”

The Oculus Rift has shipped more than 50,000 developer units so far. The latest working prototype was revealed during the CES 2014 last week.

Iribe or any other Oculus VR official is reluctant to announce an official or non-official release window for the product.

We’re not going to ship until we have a version that delivers a highly immersive, comfortable experience at a low price,” Iribe said. “I don’t mean just the foam padding and things like that. The experience of virtual reality has to be comfortable. VR has never been close to comfortable. We’re confident we will deliver a very comfortable experience for version one. It’s my belief that the age of 2D monitors has run its course.

What’s your take on the Oculus Rift? Would you be willing to spend extra cash for a 3D virtual-reality based gaming experience?

 

Haider is a freelance contributor, who loves video games, playing guitar, and aviation. He is a competitive FPS player and also enjoys exotic RPG games like Diablo and Xenogears (his favorite game of all time) ...