Oculus Go<\/strong><\/a> — meant to be the company\u2019s most accessible VR device — will be available in early 2018. Facebook also trimmed the price of its high-end Oculus Rift headset and controllers by $100, to $399. That compares with $599 for a top competitor\u2019s product, HTC Corp.\u2019s Vive.<\/p>\nBoth moves will help Facebook reach a goal of putting 1 billion people in virtual reality, a technology that enables immersive gaming, video viewing and social networking, Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg said Wednesday at Oculus Connect, the annual conference of Facebook\u2019s virtual-reality division. The company has focused on selling virtual reality as a way to remotely connect with other people and experience new things, as opposed to just as a gaming device — the way most people use VR today.<\/p>\n
Zuckerberg touted an 80-year-old British grandmother who uses virtual reality because she\u2019s too old now to go “on holiday,” and talked about how the technology would let his daughters experience being on the International Space Station. Facebook also announced a product called Venues, which will let people wearing Oculus headsets experience sports and concerts in virtual reality.<\/p>\n
\u201cSome people think that VR is isolating and antisocial,\u201d Zuckerberg said at the event in San Jose, California. \u201cI honestly think it\u2019s the opposite. If you can\u2019t think of any way that your reality can be better then you\u2019re not thinking hard enough.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Go device fits into Oculus\u2019s lineup between the $130 Gear, which needs to be paired with a Samsung Electronics Co. phone to run, and the Rift, which requires a personal computer. Go is designed to be light and comfortable, said Hugo Barra, the executive in charge of virtual reality at Facebook.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt feels natural to wear it and it practically disappears when you\u2019re in VR,\u201d Barra said on stage.<\/p>\n
Zuckerberg has said virtual reality will be the next major computing platform, after mobile phones. He has been investing\u00a0heavily in the medium since purchasing Oculus VR for $2 billion in 2014. In order for the technology to go mainstream, Facebook has been focusing on building more relatable avatars — the cartoon depictions of humans within VR worlds — that move their lips when people talk and point their eyes in the right direction when focusing on something within a game.<\/p>\n
The company today announced a wider range of skin colors and clothing options for these avatars. Zuckerberg said the more real everything feels, the more likely people are to use VR for normal social interaction, lifting geographic barriers.<\/p>\n
\u201cEnabling us to be present anywhere creates opportunities for people everywhere,\u201d Zuckerberg said, noting that not everyone has the same economic opportunities as his audience in Silicon Valley.<\/p>\n