I must admit at the onset of this article that this is not going to make it any easier if you are sitting on the fence with regards to the decision of buying an Oculus Rift or a HTC VIVE headset. A lot has been said around the pricing of the headsets in the last week. There are fans that made sure that the pre-order page on Oculus was choking out of breath when the link was announced and there were others that were bitter and felt that promises were not kept. I tried for the 15 minutes and then gave up.
Every company, when launching a new product grapples with the issue around how much of the Customer’s wallet share can it really attract and retain on an ongoing basis via customer loyalty programs. It is tough being Oculus! On one hand, they are sincere in their efforts in trying to deliver the best virtual reality experience to their fans and on the other hand they have to make strategic pricing decisions to make the stockholders content. When it comes to this unique product category, there are hardly alternative choices available. Purchasing a VR headset along with a PC is certainly going to cost you anywhere between $1800 – $2000. This includes the headset, the controllers, the gaming PC and the games.
The big question is do you wait for the prices to come down or move forward with the purchase as a brave early adopter?
One way, I like to think about this problem is to explore the economies around substitution for the experience that the new VR platforms promise.
So what else can two grand provide me in terms of experience and upgrading my toys today? Here are my 10. What are yours?
- Two months of Home loan payments based on average mortgage in US with a 30 year loan term.
- A 15 inch 2.2 Ghz /256GB Apple Macbook Pro with Intel Iris Pro Graphics
- A 55 inch Samsung 4K SUHD Nano Crystal technology TV with bells and whistles, if you were looking for a TV upgrade
- A month’s loan payment on a 2016 Porche Coup Carrera with 72 month financing.
- 3 Night Stay at Four Seasons, Las Vegas over Valentine Day Weekend with money to spare for booze and Black Jack! ($400 a Night)
- Used DJI Inspire 1 Quadcopter with 4K Camera and 3-Axis Gimbal (Version “B”) at B&H Photovideo
- A 128 GB iPhone 6S Plus along with a 64 GB new Apple TV along with a decent Harmon Kardon Receiver
- 8 weekend visits at Pete Luger Steakhouse in Brooklyn, Voted #1 Steaks in US, enjoying Porterhouse for Two.
- Sony Playstation 4 Star Wars Battlefront Deluxe Edition Bundle plus Sony XBR 55X810 4K Ultra HD and $500 to spare for VR upgrade
- 20 Shares of Facebook or 60 shares of NVIDIA, your pick.
Of course you still get to wear your Google cardboard for a few more dollars to do a lill VR’ing with any of the choices above and wait for the prices to come down with economies of scale.
As nice and tempting as some of the choices above may sound, I still think that Playing the EVE Valkyrie on the Rift when it arrives at your doorstep could be a lifetime experience for the serious gamers amongst you.
I’m sure you will be able to describe that experience some day to your grand kids!