Why does the Oculus Rift need four USB ports?

​In case you haven’t heard, the Oculus Rift requires a total of four USB ports.

If you use any less, it looks like you won’t be getting the ‘full experience’ delivered by the virtual reality headset.

So what is the quartet of ports used for exactly? Oculus VR founder Palmer Luckey explains: “This assumes using Touch and an Xbox One gamepad at the same time.

“Many people will be able to reduce port utilisation with hubs, but your experience will vary by computer and hub.

“We want to be totally honest with the maximum-use scenario so people can prepare and not have to swap ports around depending on the game they play.​”

Oculus VR originally intended for the Rift to require only two USB 3.0 ports, but that figure has since been expanded to three USB 3.0 ports plus one USB 2.0 port.

​Pre-orders for the Rift opened yesterday (January 6), while the actual devicewill start shipping at the end of March.​

​The entire day-one stock of the virtual reality headset reportedly sold out in just 14 minutes​.