Oculus opens preorders for second-generation Rift dev kit

Newsbrief: Oculus announced today that developers can now pre-order the second version of the Oculus Rift development kit, titled simply Rift Development Kit 2. The second-generation development hardware, which costs $350 and starts shipping in July, is a slicker version of the Crystal Cove prototype Oculus showcased at CES earlier this year. It sports the same external camera, which allows the headset to track three more "degrees of freedom" -- forward/backward, left/right, and up/down -- than the first Oculus Rift development kit. The 1080p screen in the unit has also been upgraded from LCD to OLED, which offers improved screen refresh times and thus less "image persistence," a trigger for simulation sickness. The DK2 also sports an integrated latency tester and a built-in USB accessory port, as well as improved support for both Unreal Engine 4 and Unity. Plus, the clunky control box has been eliminated entirely. If you're attending GDC 2014 in San Francisco this week, Oculus will be running demos of the Rift DK2 at their booth on the show floor.