Oculus, the virtual reality firm acquired by Facebook last year, announced that it would begin shipping its Oculus Rift headset to consumers early next year. The headset, designed for immersive gaming and other applications, has built a strong following among developers and has won praise from analysts for limiting the motion sickness which affects users of virtual reality (VR) gear. Facebook last year bought the company for some $2 billion. Facebook co-founder and chief Mark Zuckerberg said earlier this year that the acquisition of Oculus was a long-term bet that making the social network's offerings more immersive would pay off in the future.