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Why Is the Oculus VR So Hard to Buy For Christmas?

The Oculus Rift VR Headset (click here for pricing on Amazon) launched with great fanfare but while Sony is out there very visible doing demo's of their Sony PlayStation VR in stores like Best Buy and Fry's, and HTC VIVE had very visible promotions at the Microsoft Store (click here to see all the Microsoft Stores showing the HTC demo's), the Oculus Rift VR Headset is almost invisible in bricks & motor retail. 

There are a few Microsoft Stores carrying the Oculus Rift like this one in the Stanford Shopping Center in Palo Alto, California but their numbers are a lot less than the number of stores showing off the HTC VIVE.

The Oculus Rift VR Headset does use Best Buy as a distributor but only a few stores in the entire San Francisco Bay Area had a few units of stock.  Even when we went to one of the Best Buy's in the area, many of the sales associates didn't recognize the Oculus Rift VR Headset or even know which section of the store to find it in.  The Oculus Rift VR Headset didn't have any retail space and eventually after being bounced around several departments, someone was able to find a unit in the back stockroom.

Surprisingly, the Oculus Rift VR Headset did not come with any plastic wrap packaging and the outer layer was somewhat damaged.  Best Buy claimed it was unopened but it did seem a bit odd to sell a premium product this way.  For some reason, Best Buy didn't seem to be promoting the Oculus Rift VR Headset like it had been with the  Sony PlayStation VR.  Unlike other 2016 products which are being stocked up for the 2016 holiday season, the Oculus Rift VR Headset is generally hard to find and buy at Best Buy.

Removing the outer shell reveals the black carrying box containing the Oculus Rift VR Headset and its accessories.

The Oculus Rift VR Headset has a large number of accessories.  Other than the headset itself, it also has a motion sensor stand, VR controller, Xbox controller & batteries, USB adapter to connect to the Xbox controller, USB extension cable, stickers, and manuals.

The Oculus Rift VR Headset itself can look quite confusing at first with all its straps and possible adjustments.

We will next look at how well the Oculus Rift VR Headset works with several gaming systems.