Some shops may have gone days without giving a single demo of the Oculus Rift headset.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg dons an Oculus Rift VR headset.
Ask any expert: You’ve gotta try virtual reality before you can understand its true potential.
So it wouldn’t be a particularly good sign if, say, Facebook was having a hard time getting people to try in-store demos of its Oculus Rift VR headset .
Business Insider reported Wednesday that Facebook is closing 200 of its 500 pop-up Oculus Rift demo locations across the United States, due to « seasonal changes. »
« We’re making some seasonal changes and prioritizing demos at hundreds of Best Buy locations in larger markets, » an Oculus spokeswoman confirmed to CNET.
According to Business Insider’s sources, though, « seasonal changes » may be a euphemism. According to multiple unnamed Best Buy workers who reportedly spoke to the publication, it was common for the Oculus Rift pop-up stations to go days without giving a single demo.
It’s not clear why, though: One source suggested it was a lack of interest from the public, another software bugs, and a third that Best Buy wasn’t pushing people hard enough to try the headset.
(I can personally attest that whenever I walk into my local Best Buy store, the dummy headsets are left unmanned and it’s not clear how to actually try one on.
