"We truly believe virtual reality will change the world," Oculus Rift devs say

Just over 12 hours after Sony announced its own virtual reality initiative, Project Morpheus, Oculus VR has revealed its own Oculus Rift Dev Kit 2 (DK2). Like the Crystal Cove prototype, DK2 employs a low-persistence OLED display as a means to eliminate motion blur and judder, which are known to cause simulator sickness.

The devkit also features a 960x1080p (per eye) display that aims to reduce the screen-door effect and boost clarity, color, and contrast. It also uses an external camera to allow you to move with six degrees of freedom, which should allow you to "lean in" to get a closer look at objects or peer around corners.

DK2 also includes updated orientation tracking, a built-in latency tester, a USB accessory port built into the headset, a redesigned SDK, and "further optimized Unit and Unreal Engine 4 integrations."

"DK2 isn’t identical to the consumer Rift, but the fundamental building blocks for great VR are there," Oculus said in a statement. "All the content developed using DK2 will work with the consumer Rift. And while the overall experience still needs to improve before it’s consumer-ready, we’re getting closer everyday. DK2 is not the Holodeck yet, but it’s a major step in the right direction."

DK2 will launch at $350 and developers can preorder a kit today at the Oculus website. The first wave of units will ship in July and production will ramp up based on interest, the company said.

But when will the consumer version of Oculus Rift be ready? The company said today that it is "deep into development" on the consumer version, and continues to make improvements in the areas of comfort, resolution, tracking, software, ergonomics, optics, and industrial design.

"Virtual reality is going to continue to evolve rapidly in the coming years," Oculus said. "There's no cutting corners or 'good enough' when it comes to VR; the consumer Rift needs to be perfect and we're dedicated to getting it right. We're moving as fast as possible and promise it’ll be worth the wait."

"We truly believe virtual reality will change the world--Thanks for being part of the journey with us."

We got to try out the Oculus Rift DK2 this week at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco. Check out our impressions in the video below.