Facebook finally launches the Oculus Go. Will it matter?

VR evangelists have been praying for a low-cost, stand-alone VR headset, with no wires and no high-end smartphone, PS4, or PC required. The idea is that turning VR from an expensive peripheral into a more reasonably priced stand-alone device is just what VR needs to become a thing. Well, on the first day of F8, Facebook has answered their prayers by officially launching the Oculus Go.

As reported by TechCrunch:

Oculus Go, Facebook’s cheap and capable standalone VR headset, is now on sale. It costs $199 for the version with 32GB of onboard storage, and $249 for the 64GB variety.

Why: VR headsets where you have to stick your phone in are clumsy and prevent Facebook from controlling the whole experience. Instead of relying on the Samsung Gear headset shell and your iPhone or Android, Facebook gets to dictate everything about the perfect VR rig you can strap on first-timers.

[...]

Oculus wants you to watch TV inside its new Go headset. At first you’ll get Facebook Watch, but expect apps like Netflix and Hulu to arrive eventually.

Why: There just aren’t enough great VR experiences, but perhaps Facebook can get people spending more time in their headsets by creating a virtual big screen for 2D content.

Yeah.... good luck with that. I'm going to stand by my earlier prediction, though: with "just not enough great VR experiences" to drive adoption, it won't matter that FB's new headset is a cheaper stand-alone. It still offers no obvious value to the consumer, which means that its value per dollar of cost is still effectively zero. This is the problem that plagues VR, and the fact that Oculus want you to watch TV in VR, because there's nothing else to do with the Go, eloquently illustrates it.

If this thing sells even as well as Samsung's GearVR, I'll be astonished, given that the hype and excitement around VR has completely dissipated everywhere except in tech media. Look for the Go to sell about as well as the Rift, and for prices to be dropping by X-Mas.