The Oculus Rift hasn’t exactly seen the smoothest launch in the history of the gaming industry, thanks to a combination of technical shortcomings and shipping delays, but the Facebook-owned VR company is hoping a slightly cheaper price tag will help make amends with early customers.
Over the weekend, a number of Rift pre-order customers received a new email from Oculus; the first significant communication from the company since revealing some Rift buyers would need to wait an extra one to three weeks for their VR headset. According to Oculus, an “unexpected component shortage” is to blame for all of the delays. Sadly, the company still doesn’t know when it will be ready to fill all of the Rift pre-orders it’s already accepted. But Saturday’s email did outline a plan that Oculus hopes will begin to restore good faith.
“We know you're anxious to receive your Oculus Rift and apologize for not updating your order status sooner,” the company said. “Although many Rifts will be arriving on schedule and in line with original estimates, we'll be covering shipping and handling costs for all orders placed through today.”
Of course, while no one is going to argue with free shipping, Oculus’ offer doesn’t actually solve the problem for anyone who just wants to know when they need to schedule time off work. The company says it will provide shipping updates for all pre-order customers by April 12; however, it’s not clear whether this means the first orders will all be filled -- with revised timelines supplied for post-March orders -- or if Oculus doesn’t expect shipping to resume until later this month.
Here’s the full email:
We know you're anxious to receive your Oculus Rift and apologize for not updating your order status sooner. We've been working through an unexpected component shortage, and unfortunately, that issue has impacted the original shipping estimates for some early customers.
We're working hard to get up-to-date ship windows, and you should expect to see your order status updated on oculus.com by Tuesday, April 12. Although many Rifts will be arriving on schedule and in line with original estimates, we'll be covering shipping and handling costs for all orders placed through today.
We're shipping rifts everyday. Don't hesitate to reach out to the Oculus support team if you have additional questions.
Be sure to check back with iDigitalTimes.com and follow Scott on Twitter for additional Oculus Rift news throughout 2016 and for however long Oculus supports its VR headset in the coming years.
