Some analysts have identified the announcement of the Oculus Go as the start of a new phase in virtual reality (VR) hardware. The Oculus Go offers many advantages, being much more portable than its tethered PC-based big brother, the Oculus Rift, but also offered better visual clarity than mobile VR devices like the Samsung Gear VR. Now users in Europe will be able to test this for themselves with the start of the roll-out of the Oculus Go to store shelves across Europe.
Pre-orders for the Oculus Go went live earlier this month, and Oculus have now announced that from today customers will be able to purchase the device online and from over 300 stores in Europe, the UK and Canada.
The price for the Oculus Go has been said to start at £199/€219 and is available at the following retailers:
- Austria: MediaMarkt
- Belgium: Cool Blue
- Canada: Best Buy
- France: Amazon, FNAC/Darty
- Germany: Alternate, Amazon, MediaMarkt, Saturn
- Italy: Amazon
- Netherlands: Cool Blue
- Spain: Amazon
- Switzerland: Digitec
- UK: Amazon, Argos, Currys PC World, Dixons Travel, Harrods, Littlewoods.co.uk, very.co.uk
The announced price is believed to be for the 32GB version of the device, which comes with built-in speakers, a 3DoF controller, a fast-switch 5” 538ppi LCD display capable of a resolution of 2560 x 1440, which features what Oculus has described as ‘our best lens yet’. There is also a microphone for voice chat.
Software is compatible with the Samsung Gear VR, which offers users a large library of apps and videogames to choose from, along with newly announced apps such as Oculus TV and Oculus Venues, which offers users the ability to share in the social experience of watching TV or live events in a shared virtual space.
On the videogame front, Coatsink recently announced that its psychic-themed puzzle title Esper will be heading to the Oculus Go, giving customers another reason to consider the stand-alone device.
For further coverage on the Oculus Go and other VR hardware, keep checking back with VRFocus.