Where is the "Yes, because I backed the original Kickstarter campaign" option?

I've added said option, because I'm guessing quite a few of us fall in that camp

Have you actually used a Rift or a Vive? There's a world of difference between them and previous attempts. It's still a niche market at the moment, but I'm with Hodgman on this. Future VR tech will allow for some amazing experiences.

Nope, as I stated, the gimmick of having to put on the peripheral makes it to where I have no interest in it. I want to pick up the controller and go, not spend time adjusting it so I feel comfortable wearing it. Not to mention I don't see the appeal of having the monitor that close to your eyes. I could go on with things I don't like about it, but my point is that it isn't for me.

I also question how well it will take off due to the fact that when I play online games that offer a voice chat channel, I regularly hear players complain about headsets not fitting right and being annoying. I can't imagine those gamers liking a VR headset.

Where is the "Yes, because I backed the original Kickstarter campaign" option?
http://www.wired.com/2016/01/oculus-kickstarter-backers-get-a-free-rift/
/humblebrag

Oh wow. I didn't read the emails they sent out so I didn't realize I was getting one. Thanks!

I might've let that KS survey email slip by and missed out on my free rift...

Whenever I see people in VR, they look like they're having a lot of fun, and that makes other people want to try it

I would expect you and most other people on GameDev to want to try it because we all have a vested interest in video games. However I wouldn't expect the same from joe public.

There are lots of activities I see people doing that look like they are having fun but doesn't mean that I am going to try them or spend money trying them (Larping, cosplay, BASE jumping, cup stacking, furries).

Am surprised at the number of people on a gaming site that have voted for "I don't plan on getting one" :/

Even accounting for likely differences between the camera effect processing and what the user actually sees, it looks like an incredibly exciting technology

Yeah, I really want to try the hololens in real life.

Looks amazing in the demos, but these things always looks way better when you film it with a camera, specially in a controlled environment.

You hide a lot of the small positional errors that make your brain go "hey, this isn't right...", and you can hide the resolution difference between the virtual and real world, and make sure your lighting matches better.

but then I remembered how many keyboard controls I still use even with my HOTS setup and the though of losing that just doesn't sit well.

come on guys, who looks at the keyboard? ;)
I think It works fine to use a keyboard while wearing a headset.
At least if its set up so you don't have to move your hands too much, easier to keep alignment.

Except that's the exact problem Phantom is describing. You can easily use a keyboard/mouse, or a controller, or even a HOTAS. The problem is when you have to take your hands off the stick to hit a button on the keyboard.

In fact, something else just occurred to me which is so simple I'm surprised it didn't pop up before - taking a drink.

I tend to keep a pint glass of water on my desk, long gaming sessions requiring fluids and all that - right now if I want a drink its a relatively simple matter of grabbing the glass.. with a headset on this suddenly becomes yet another chore :|

Have you actually used a Rift or a Vive? There's a world of difference between them and previous attempts. It's still a niche market at the moment, but I'm with Hodgman on this. Future VR tech will allow for some amazing experiences.

Nope, as I stated, the gimmick of having to put on the peripheral makes it to where I have no interest in it. I want to pick up the controller and go, not spend time adjusting it so I feel comfortable wearing it. Not to mention I don't see the appeal of having the monitor that close to your eyes. I could go on with things I don't like about it, but my point is that it isn't for me.

I also question how well it will take off due to the fact that when I play online games that offer a voice chat channel, I regularly hear players complain about headsets not fitting right and being annoying. I can't imagine those gamers liking a VR headset.

The effort to get it all setup is a reasonably valid point. I have a racing wheel that I have used all of twice.. because it is a lot of effort to set it up (I bought it in preparation for VR so I haven't really wanted to use it much yet). Same for my HOTAS, it's not as bad to setup but it does require effort, far more than just using the keyboard/mouse or picking up a controller.

I think you need to be able to dedicated a reasonable amount of time to make the setup of things worth the effort but really, a VR headset should be like the controller, pick it up form desk (or wherever it is) and put it on your head. The tracking camera doesn't need to be put away, I have TrackIR, the camera just stays there like a webcam would, the IR lights are on my headset so it's no more difficult to use that than putting my headset on my head.

Wearing the thing and comfort remains to be seen. What you have to consider is people complain a lot about a lot of things and negative comments tend to be far more powerful than the equivalent positive comment. I can imagine you don't often hear people saying "My headset feels so good today, the headband is so soft on my head and the ear cups aren't pressing me too tightly." I find people criticize more than they point out good things.

Even my father in his 60s wants me to get one of these so he can try it and he hasn't played a computer game in his life and he barely knows anything about VR but he certainly knows it's a totally different experience.

In fact, something else just occurred to me which is so simple I'm surprised it didn't pop up before - taking a drink.

I tend to keep a pint glass of water on my desk, long gaming sessions requiring fluids and all that - right now if I want a drink its a relatively simple matter of grabbing the glass.. with a headset on this suddenly becomes yet another chore :|

This is unfortunately very true

Drinking from bottles is slightly easier.

My personal low-tech "solution" to the vision problem is to have a small gap in the lining around my nose.

Sounds silly, but this little hole is not really noticeable while playing, and it is very useful to be able to tilt your head up a bit and look down along your nose and see a bit of your hands and table.

I tend to keep a pint glass of water on my desk, long gaming sessions requiring fluids and all that - right now if I want a drink its a relatively simple matter of grabbing the glass.. with a headset on this suddenly becomes yet another chore :|

I'm sure someone will release a Rift beer hat attachment in time :)

Just ordered one.. wasn't going to but it looked so cool.. will probably order the Touch control when it's available.

No Linux support and to expensive. By that time the Vive should also be available. 600.- without controller, I call such a joke.