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Oculus Rift claims 85,000 dev kits sold

Beating out expectations

Oculus Rift claims 85,000 dev kits sold

Virtual reality specialist Oculus VR has claimed it has sold 85,000 Oculus Rift development kits to date, with demand from studios for the virtual reality headset having taken the firm by surprise.

The figure, which has been given to TechCrunch, is made up of 60,000 orders for the original development kit and 25,000 further orders for the second-generation DK2 development kits.

Though DK2 has received less orders to date, it's claimed take up is currently outpacing that of the original headset at the same stage of its life.

No rift

The news comes weeks after Oculus was acquired by social network giant Facebook for a total figure of $2 billion.

Just what Facebook has planned for the company and Oculus Rift itself is somewhat up in the air – critics have already suggested it's unlikely the headset will ever hit retail in its current guise – though Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg did say Oculus has the "chance to create the most social platform ever, and change the way we work, play and communicate."

"Facebook plans to extend Oculus' existing advantage in gaming to new verticals, including communications, media and entertainment, education and other areas," detailed Facebook in a statement at the time.

[source: TechCrunch]

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With a fine eye for detail, Keith Andrew is fuelled by strong coffee, Kylie Minogue and the shapely curve of a san serif font.