Oculus Rift devs hoping for "Matrix-level" virtual reality

Oculus VR founder Palmer Luckey has high hopes for his company's Oculus Rift virtual reality headset and for the future of virtual reality overall.

Speaking with Eurogamer this week, Luckey said though virtual reality technology still has a ways to go, it could advance to the level of what was seen in The Matrix in the coming years.

"VR tech today is still very crude, but it's advancing rapidly," Luckey said. "I think in a few years, maybe a few decades depending on how lucky we are, we'll be able to get Matrix-level virtual reality."

Also in the interview, Oculus VR COO Laird Malamed said the company has held discussions with Microsoft and Sony about bringing the technology to consoles.

"They're a little busy," Malamed said. "We've chatted, but they're trying to bring their new consoles out. It's a possibility--it would work. It's the same thing as iOS--it could technically work, but the business side isn't there."

There's even the possibility that Microsoft and/or Sony are working on virtual reality headsets of their own. Malamed said he would welcome this move, because it would mean the market for virtual reality games is growing.

"They're big companies with lots of resources. For us we'd say good," he said. "With John Carmack coming over as our CTO, we've had a great Kickstarter campaign; they continue to be great supporters, but we're still a start-up. VR's had a lot of failures in the past, and so the more people that enter the market is good because developers that ultimately have to develop the content, they know they'll have people playing their games, which is better for all of us."

Malamed also revealed that more than 20,000 developer units of the Oculus Rift have been shipped since they became available earlier this year. Development kits are available today for $300 each.

Earlier this month, Doom studio id Software cofounder John Carmack joined Oculus VR as its chief technology officer.