Facebook (FB) Launches Oculus Rift In Europe And Canada

Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ:FB) announced that Oculus Rift will be available across various retail locations in Europe and Canada beginning Sep 20. Rift carries a price tag of £549 in U.K. and €699 in France and Germany.

Facebook also added that it has made Rift a little “localized” to better suit regional needs. Facebook is helping developers to localize games and experiences. Rift will also carry translated packaging, manuals, and software while the Oculus store will allow transactions in several currencies.

Facebook has partnered with Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) for distribution in U.K, France and Germany along with various regional retailers. For Canada, Facebook has tied up with Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) and Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Online store.

Rift has been one of the most highly anticipated products in recent times as it promises to bring a fully immersive VR experience right into your living room. However, the reviews were somewhat polarizing, reflecting a stark difference in opinion between the tech community and the general public.

Facebook had initially faltered with shipments of Rift when it launched it in the U.S this March. “Unexpected shortage of components” caused a delay in shipping of pre-orders of the much anticipated VR headset, much to the dismay of customers.

Facebook had acquired Oculus for $2 billion in 2014. With Oculus, the company is trying to fuel the company’s ambitious AR/VR efforts. Oculus has long been dubbed as a multibillion dollar opportunity along with Facebook’s other subsidiaries like Messenger Instagram and WhatsApp.

Though it stumbled with the initial shipments of Rift, Facebook isn’t likely to face much damage. At its second quarter conference call, Facebook added that retail demand for Rift has been good ahead of the holidays. Though it is too early to comment on its future, one thing is for sure that AR/ VR technology is here to stay. In fact, it is the next big technological innovation along with AI technology. According to recent IDC report, global revenues of AR/VR market are expected to grow at a CAGR of 181.3% from $5.2 billion in 2016 to over $162 billion in 2020.

At present Facebook sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). Other stocks worth considering in the tech space are MeetMe Inc (NASDAQ:MEET) and VeriSign Inc (NASDAQ:VRSN) . Both carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).