Originally posted on: www.roadtovr.com
Between high demand and manufacturing interruptions due to the Coronavirus, Oculus Quest and Rift S have been in extremely short supply, often commanding a 150% price premiums (or more) in aftermarket sales.
Those looking to pick up an Oculus headset may not have to wait too much longer; a global stock check by Road to VR appears to indicate that stock for Oculus headsets is steadily returning.
We checked stock availability for direct purchases from Oculus.com for Quest (64GB), Quest (128GB), and Rift S across all regions where the headsets are sold.
The latest shows that the Quest stock situation has rapidly improved over the last two weeks, with Quest (64GB) and Quest (128GB) currently available in all regions except for North America and South Korea. This is the most global availability Quest has seen in months.
Meanwhile, Rift S is nowhere to be found; the headset is currently sold out in all 23 regions. We did see a bit of stock for Rift S pop up here and there in the last two weeks, but it seems to have been a minimal amount which was bought up quickly.
The reason for the disparity between the availability of Quest and Rift S isn’t clear at this time, but we’d guess that it’s related to the fact that Quest is manufactured by Oculus while Rift S is manufactured by Lenovo. It may also have to do with Facebook prioritizing Quest production given especially strong demand for the headset.
There’s now a clear indication that this recent stock infusion is more than just a blip in the overall picture. In addition to direct availability of Quest being nearly green across the board, we’re also starting to see the headset pop up at third-party retailers again as well. Unfortunately we’re still often seeing Quest sold on Amazon at prices much higher than MSRP.
Since Facebook announced back in early February that it expected the Coronavirus to impact the availability of its headsets, the company hasn’t provided any update on the situation, but we’ve reached out for comment. Shortages prompted the company to begin selling refurbished versions of the original Oculus Rift headset which had discontinued the year prior.
According to the New York Times, China—where Oculus headsets are manufactured—has been steadily reopening its factories. “By some measures, China’s economy is getting back on track.
By the end of February, most of its factories and mines had reopened, according to a variety of data, cranking out everything from steel to cellphones at a blistering pace through March. Industrial output rebounded to a near-record level,” reports Keith Bradsher, the publication’s Shanghai bureau chief, on April 28th.
The availability of Valve’s Index headset has also been substantially impacted by the Coronavirus, with new orders still backordered by eight weeks or more across the board.
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