The virtual reality revolution is coming soon, but the first Oculus Rift will cost you $600

Virtual reality is almost here, and I'm not talking about the Google Cardboard experience of holding a phone up to your face to casually watch videos in 3D. I'm talking about the more immersive, substantial experiences that major technology companies are hoping paves the way for the future of education, teleconferencing and video games, among other things.

Facebook-owned VR company Oculus, which has an office in Dallas, has finally announced the price for their first consumer model of the Oculus Rift. The package, which comes with the headset, a sensor, an Xbox One controller for gaming and a copy of the 3D platform game Lucky's Tale will set you back $599. It starts shipping on March 28, and pre-orders are open now.

The price isn't unheard of for the first generation of brand new technology, but it does mean that VR probably won't be penetrating the mainstream market in 2016.

The Oculus journey began in earnest back in 2012, when the company raised more than $2 million on Kickstarter (back then, the development kit for a much earlier Rift cost $300). In 2014 Oculus was purchased by Facebook for $2 billion.

The Rift isn't the only VR headset launching this year. HTC and video game company Valve are partnering on the HTC Vive while Sony plans to launch their PlayStation VR add-on for the PlayStation 4. Neither piece of hardware has a release date or price yet.