Oculus Rift virtual reality headset finally available for pre-order – at $600

Consumer version of Facebook's VR headset will ship from March costing 499 in the UK with two games and controllers, but needs a powerful PC to run it

The consumer version of Facebook's Oculus Rift virtual reality headset is finally available for pre-order, costing 499 in the UK and $599 in the US.

The headset, which was originally crowdfunded in 2012, will be one of the first full VR headsets available, beating Valve and HTC's Vive VR and Sony's PlayStation VR to market. On its official blogpost, Oculus states that shipping will begin on 28 March, but a subsequent press release states that headsets will be available "in limited locations at select retailers" starting in April.