When will the Oculus Rift offer Mac support? When Apple releases a “good computer,” Oculus founder Palmer Luckey says.
“That is up to Apple. If they ever release a good computer we will do it,” said Luckey, adding that the problem is graphics capability. “It just boils down to the fact that Apple doesn’t prioritize high-end GPUs. You can buy a $6,000 Mac Pro with the top of the line AMD FirePro D700s, and it still doesn’t match our recommended spec.”
Luckey laid down that Apple burn in a video interview, shown above, with GamerHubTV. The complaint: even the highest-end Apple computers aren’t focused enough on graphics power to run most Rift-compatible software.
“Even if we can support it on the software side, there’s just no audience of people that can run the vast majority of software out there,” said Luckey.
If the specs problem changes, and Apple puts out computers with more gaming capability, Oculus will look into adding Mac compatibility.
“If [Apple] prioritizes higher-end GPUs like they used to for awhile back in the day I think we’d love to support Mac,” Luckey clarified.
Luckey went through a few other topics during the interview, including the lack of a front-facing camera on the Rift.
“Technology just isn’t at the point where you can do good pass-through in any kind of reliable sense,” said Luckey, adding that the cost increase and ergonomic problems are also a factor.
Talking about the $600 price point of the Rift itself, Luckey said that the device is already sold out so apparently price isn’t too much of an issue. But he also said things will change eventually.
“Over time cost is going to go down, quality is going to go up,” said Luckey.
Finally, when asked if he was worried about the other players entering the VR space, Luckey said if anything it was a reason for optimism.
“If we were the only people in this industry, that would probably be a scary indicator,” said Luckey. “The fact that there’s other people jumping into the VR space shows that VR is something people believe in.”
The Oculus Rift has been available as a developer kit for years now, but the consumer version is now available for pre-order. Devices are expected to ship by July 2016.
