Oculus Rift price slashed to $399 for good ahead of shopping season

Last summer, the Oculus Rift and Oculus Touch bundle enjoyed an appealing $100 six-week price drop down to $399. As of today, though, that's now the permanent price in the US.

Facebook virtual reality chief Hugo Barra made the announcement on stage during today's Oculus Connect event. However, the company has yet to disclose whether this price drop will make it to the UK and Australia.

That makes the combination of the Oculus Rift headset and the Touch motion sensors substantially more financially palatable than it was last year. At the time, the Oculus Rift headset alone sold for $599/£599 and the Touch controllers sold for $199/£199.

The new, permanent price is only $200 more than the budget-friendly $199 (about £150, AU$255) Oculus Go Facebook also announced today. The Rift also remains a wired unit that requires a connection with your PC, which makes it a disappointing alternative to Oculus's PC-free 'Santa Cruz' headset that's currently in development.

That headset, though, may still be a ways off. In the meantime, the new prices make escaping into virtual reality a less daunting undertaking than it was before.

According to Oculus's website, 'Each Rift bundle comes with Touch controllers, sensors, and six free apps that give you hours of entertainment including Epic’s arcade shooter, Robo Recall, and our creative tools, Medium and Quill.'

• This might help Oculus Rift sell big time on Black Friday