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OCULUS RIFT, the device that kicked off the current rush on virtual reality, was invented in 2011, when 18-year-old Palmer Luckey, working in his parents’ garage, made a prototype. It’s been five years since then, plenty of time to develop consumer-friendly VR software like video games, let competition churn up tweaks and watch the hype build and build.
Last summer, Luckey was on the cover of Time magazine, barefoot and floating, tethered to the earth only by the umbilical cord of his Oculus. It was an evocative image for a technology yet to be birthed. But now it’s here. Oculus came to homes on March 28, chased just days later, on April 5, by the HTC Vive, another consumer VR device. And then there’s Sony’s VR headset, which will work with the PlayStation and is expected to arrive in October.