Oculus to sell virtual reality headsets for consumers from early 2016

(Reuters) - Virtual reality technology company Oculus said it would start shipping the much-awaited consumer version of its Rift headset in the first quarter of 2016. Pre-orders for Rift will start later this year, Oculus, which Facebook Inc bought for $2 billion (£1.3 billion) last year, said. Previous versions of the VR headset, available since 2012, were aimed at developers to make games and run tests. The consumer version was widely expected sometime this year. "In the weeks ahead, we'll be revealing the details around hardware, software, input, and many of our unannounced made-for-VR games and experiences coming to the Rift," the company said on a blog post. (http://bit.ly/1KLEt4g) (Reporting by Abhirup Roy in Bengaluru; Editing by Joyjeet Das)