Oculus Rift Shipping Delays Due to 'Component Shortage,' Expect Updates on April 12
The makers of Oculus Rift which is a unit of Facebook Inc., prided itself as the first manufacturer to release the first-ever virtual reality headset. Preorders were accepted as early as January 2016, with targeted shipping dates in March. Come March, units were indeed being received by some early adopters but later on, shipping started to slow down. According to a Wall Street Journal report, Oculus admitted that an "unexpected component shortage" was causing the delays. The report said that CEO Brandon Iribe tweeted last Saturday that the "First set of Rifts are going out slower than we [originally] estimated, so we're giving free shipping for all preorders, including international."
Another report in The Verge also mentioned that the company sent out an email to its customers about the situation, saying that they will get more detailed information about updated shipping dates on April 12. The company however noted that not all customers have been affected as some have already received their headsets.
A report in Tech Times however cited that the free shipping and handling offer will only be applicable to preorders placed on or before April 1.
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The announcement citing the reason for the delay has been long awaited by Oculus customers, especially those backed the project via Kickstarter. Tech Times reported that the Oculus had kept mum about the delay and only spoke up after the device was officially launched last March 28.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the delay is a "setback" for Oculus and will likely impact future sales. Some customers who received their units are already saying that it may not be worth it given its high price and potential for making one nauseous while using it. The fact that early adopters also need to buy a high-end PC in order to use the headset is also a factor in future sales, the report said.
The delay also says something about the nature of the new technology. Oculus is not the only VR company that has had delay issues. Sony who was supposed to launch the PlayStation VR within the first half of 2016, recently announced that it was pushing it back to October 2016.
