Oculus President Explains Why Exclusivity Is Fine, $199 Oculus Touch Available For Pre-Order

Exclusivity has been an issue that has dogged Oculus from the very beginning, largely thanks to the promise that its inventor Palmer Luckey had made that there would be no such thing before the company was acquired by Facebook. Now, Oculus President Jason Rubin is trying to defend their decision to keep a significant number of VR titles exclusive. He also addressed the “Oculus Touch” price of $199, which is now available for pre-order.

Gamespot caught up with Rubin during the recently concluded Oculus event where he was asked about the matter of exclusivity with their VR headset among other things. Based on his explanation, it would seem that Oculus wanted to make games exclusive in order to supposedly push its competitors to match them in terms of innovation.

“What we’d love to see is everybody match us and everybody push things forward,” Rubin said. “I’d love to see exclusive content come out on other platforms, as it is on PSVR, as it will on [Google’s] Daydream--more and more of it. We have absolutely no problem when they announce exclusives.”

Rubin and Oculus, in general, might have no problems with exclusivity, but gamers have a different opinion. They also have opinions on the price of the new gaming peripheral called “Oculus Touch,” which currently stands at $199, which many think is too much.

Rubin had an answer for this as well, saying that his company’s competitors are also producing products that cost about the same. He noted how some VR companies are not offering as many accessories and add-ons with their products even though they are cheaper. So when everything is added together based on quality and number of peripherals, Rubin argues that the prices are practically no different.

Speaking of peripherals, the “Oculus Touch” is now available for pre-order, The Verge reports. Those who choose to reserve their set will get a bundle that comes with two controllers and a tracking camera for the headset.