Oculus Rift Release Date: Anticipated Device Will Have 'Social' Feature

By Juvy Garcia, Christian Post Contributor Monday, February 22, 2016

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg's message during the Mobile World Congress 2016 held at Barcelona, Spain was clear: VR will deliver a "social" experience to its users. Zuckerberg took the stage during Samsung's Galaxy S7 keynote event and announced how the social media company is working at making this vision happen through the Gear VR and its Oculus Rift.

Putting social in VR

Some people think that putting on a VR headset is antisocial, but Facebook aims to change that perception. Zuckerberg believes VR will be the "most social platform" where people can connect and share experiences.

"In the future, VR will enable even more types of connection — like the ability for friends who live in different parts of the world to spend time together and feel like they're really there with each other," Zuckerberg said in a blog post.

Facebook's Social VR Team

To achieve its goal, Zuckerberg announced during the Samsung event that Facebook has created a dedication "Social VR" team. The team will work with Oculus and other teams in the company to explore the possible ways people can connect, share, and be more social through the use of VR devices. The Social VR team is led by video game industry executives Daniel James and Mike Booth, according to Financial Times.

Facebook will begin shipping its Oculus Rift next month. The VR device is still available for pre-order at $599. Oculus Rift PC bundles are also available for prices ranging from $1,500 to $3,000, depending on hardware specifications.

Meanwhile, the Oculus-powered Gear VR will be free with every pre-order of Samsung Galaxy S7. The device will have improved 360-degree videos through new streaming technologies that Facebook will introduce in the future. The Gear VR also has more than 200 games and apps that are available from the Oculus store.