Oculus Rift "Crystal Cove" prototype
Oculus has said it expects Oculus Rift games could cost more than the Xbox One and PS4 alternatives.
Brendan Iribe, Oculus CEO, said he wouldn’t be surprised if Oculus Rift titles cost more than the £50 RRP of Xbox One and PS4 games when they launch in the future.
It seems that to be able to experience the full virtual reality Oculus Rift immersion, we could be asked to pay the premium price.
“It’s going to be up to the developers,” said Iribe. “There will be some who make casual, simpler experiences – maybe bite sized. There are going to be indie developers that make bigger experiences. And there are going to be bigger teams that make really big experiences. Some that we’ve seen early prototypes of… Well, we’ve seen some that, boy, would I pay a lot to get that experience in virtual reality.”
Game prices spiked with the launch of the Xbox 360 and PS3, but have since fallen due to the competition from pocket-change priced mobile gaming titles.
However, seeing as virtual reality games won’t be like any other currently on the market, this opens the door for a new pricing level to be introduced that could exceed everything including brand new PS4 and Xbox One titles.
“VR is a fundamentally different experience. This is the next generation of computing in a very big way. This is something that’s going to change so many things. [But,] they’d better deliver if they’re going to charge more than $50 or $60 for a game”, Iribe warned.
However, Aaron Davies, Director of Developer Relations at Oculus, suggested that the price hike may not come in the form of an exceedingly high initial retail price. VR developers may well opt to use the microtransaction business model that makes it easier to pay in smaller chunks, and makes the overall cost a little less painful for the consumer.
"The whole concept of charging a premium is somewhat outdated,” said Davies. "It's not to say it's going to be upfront. It could be this is going to be an experience you get dialled into. We'll see how it monetises. If you create content or an experience that someone is passionate about, you're creating a lifestyle for them. And they'll pay for that."
"If people are willing to spend a lot of money on VR games, it obviously means we're doing something right," adds Iribe.
Read more: Best new games of 2014 – what to look forward to
Via: Games Industry International
