May 6, 2015 7:21 PM PDT    Text size: 

SAN FRANCISCO — Oculus VR announced today that it has a shipping window for the consumer version of virtual reality helmet Oculus Rift — the first quarter of 2016.

Oculus VR said it will begin accepting pre-orders later this year, and additional information will be announced in the coming weeks.

The consumer version supports seated and standing "experiences," and has "updated ergonomics" to make it more comfortable to wear, the company said. So far, Oculus VR has shipped two developer prototype virtual reality helmets.

According to reports, the most recent prototype that was made available for developers as the Development Kit 2, better known as  DK2. It was released in July 2014 for $350.

News of a consumer launch is good news for the adult entertainment industry and porn fans who are about to get their first glimpse of sexual freedom’s new reality.

One company has placed a large bet on Oculus Rift and virtual reality, a market that is forecast to reach $30 billion in revenue by 2020, according to Digi-Capital.

Brian Shuster, CEO and founder of Red Light Center and Utherverse, disclosed earlier this year that his company invested $40 million making Red Light Center 2.0, a 3D-animated online sex club, now compatible with Oculus Rift, the goggles at the forefront of the movement for virtual reality.

Shuster, a noted technologist, spoke at the XBIZ 360 Digital Media Conference earlier this year to offer his view on what he see as the next-biggest technological leap — the marriage of virtual reality, teledildonics and haptic devices.

“The paradigm shift of change is going to be so profound it will be larger than anything humans have ever experienced,” Shuster said. “When you are immersed in a virtual reality headset what you’ll be seeing are real people. And you’ll be able to touch, interact, hug, dance and have sex.”