Oculus seeking ‘sweet spot’ with new set

SAN JOSE, Calif. — Facebook’s Oculus wants to get 1 billion people into virtual reality, but consumers might think twice about the technology if they see a high price tag.

Now, Oculus is trying to make virtual reality more affordable for the masses.

On Wednesday, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said Oculus will be releasing a new virtual reality headset for $199 next year that doesn’t need to be tethered to a computer. The headset — called Oculus Go — will be higher quality than the cheaper Samsung Gear VR, which is designed to work with a smartphone.

Oculus has been trying to find a “sweet spot” when it comes to the price and quality of a virtual reality headset. It also slashed the price of the Oculus Rift and touch controllers, which require a high-end personal computer, from $499 to $399 on Wednesday.

“We believe that one day, almost everybody is going to use virtual reality,” Zuckerberg said at Oculus’ annual developer conference.