The Oculus Rift Launch: How Has it Gone?

The Oculus rift is undoubtedly one of the most anticipated devices in a long time. With initial shipments selling out in under quarter of an hour, it's clear that people are enthusiastic about the recent launch. But has it been a success? We take a look at the highs and lows of the company's launch week. 

Initial reviews for the Oculus Rift have been largely positive, with a number of technology magazines and websites giving glowing reviews to the device. There have been some concerns raised about some of the features though, with some commentators point out the much narrower field of view compared to HTC's offering which will be shipping next month. The lack of a camera to chaperone the user has been cited by some people as a reason for stumbling into chairs and walls while using the device. Overall though, the majority response from people that have used one has been largely positive. 

There are 72 released games already, and around the same number in beta or alpha. Reviews for these have been mixed, with some games getting applause and some getting panned. This isn't entirely unexpected with such a large launch line-up. Certainly, we've never seen a console with 72 games at launch so it would be unfair to hold a few stinkers against Oculus.

In what was a particularly original PR move, Palmer Luckey hand delivered the first device. Not all users have been quite so fortunate however, with many people yet to even see their cards charged a large number of people taking to Twitter and reddit to complain at emails stating delivery would take 1-3 weeks due to an "unexpected component" shortage. There's a lot of people stating that they aren't happy and even a number of cancelled pre-orders. Updated shipping dates are expected on the 12th April and the company have promised anyone that's been affected will receive free shipping to make up for the issues. 

In another blow to the company, one user on reddit raised a few privacy concerns. they noticed that the Rift continues to collect information while it is not in use, even after you close the software that it requires to run. This information can be sent back to Facebook, owners of Oculus, for the purposes of personalised marketing from Faceboook and third parties. This might not come as a surprise to some, Facebook have had a number of privacy concerns directed their way over the years, they have yet to issue any comment on this particular issue at the moment however. 

It's normal with any large product launch to expect a few teething problems, so it would be unfair to say that the launch hasn't been a success for Oculus. They did sell out after all and failure to meet demand isn't necessarily bad PR, it shows that there's certainly demand. But with the HTC Vive round the corner and the PlayStation VR coming in October, can they keep their place as the go-to company for VR or will the small problems stack up to give an advantage to their competitors? Only time will tell.