After announcing that Oculus Rift virtual reality headsets would sell for $599 (and begin shipping to pre-order customers in March), Palmer Luckey answered redditors’ questions Wednesday night in an AMA (Ask Me Anything).

Earlier today, the 23-year-old inventor received criticism for the high price point from gamers who hoped the final cost would be closer to the “roughly in [the] ballpark” of $350 price he indicated in September.

Luckey has defended the cost, insisting that his Facebook-owned company is “not making money” despite the high price tag:

To reiterate, we are not making money on Rift hardware. High end VR is expensive, but Rift is obscenely cheap for what it is. — Palmer Luckey (@PalmerLuckey) January 6, 2016

Cost aside, the new device is one of the most widely anticipated gaming hardware releases of 2016—so naturally, redditors had a lot of questions for the VR pioneer.

But first, let’s talk about that price tag again…

Can Gamers Expect a Cheaper Version Soon?

VR fans hoping for a less expensive model from Oculus are in for a virtual reality check. When one redditor asked if a “cheaper, stripped-down” version would debut after the release of the standard Rift, Luckey offered a frank reply:

“Very unlikely for the first generation of Rift. A standardized system is in the best interest in developers trying to reach the widest audience, and we cannot significantly reduce the cost without dramatically reducing quality.”

Why Did the Announcement Receive Such Backlash?

“I understand bleeding edge electronics is expensive,” one redditor wrote, “… [but] why was the messaging about price so poor? $599 is not in the ballpark of $350.”

In response, Luckey wrote a lengthy explanation (which you can read in its entirety here).

“I handled the messaging poorly,” he admits in a comment.

He goes on to explain that in the initial press buzz around the Rift, many believed the device itself cost $1500, when that estimate was the rough cost of a Rift headset and a compatible, high-end PC—whereas for gamers who already have computers that could support the Rift, that figure would be much lower.

However, Luckey notes that many news outlets inaccurately reported that the Rift itself cost $1500—and this confusion was the root of his misleading use of the word “ballpark”:

“In a September interview, during the Oculus Connect developer conference, I made the infamous ‘roughly in that $350 ballpark, but it will cost more than that’ quote. As an explanation, not an excuse: During that time, many outlets were repeating the ‘Rift is $1500!’ line, and I was frustrated by how many people thought that was the price of the headset itself. My answer was ill-prepared, and mentally, I was contrasting $349 with $1500, not our internal estimate that hovered close to $599—that is why I said it was in roughly the same ballpark. Later on, I tried to get across that the Rift would cost more than many expected, in the past two weeks particularly … to be perfectly honest, our biggest failing was assuming we had been clear enough about setting expectations.”

Finally, he reiterated a statement he made on Twitter earlier today:

“To be perfectly clear, we don’t make money on the Rift. The Xbox controller costs us almost nothing to bundle, and people can easily resell it for profit. A lot of people wish we would sell a bundle without ‘useless extras’ like high-end audio, a carrying case, the bundled games, etc, but those just don’t significantly impact the cost … our failing was in communication, not just price.”

The Oculus Rift Isn’t Just for Gaming

Another user wanted to know about the Rift’s non-gaming offerings.

“John Carmack tweeted that he expects gaming to occupy less than 50 percent of the time we spend in the Rift,” the redditor wrote. “What kind of experiences is he eluding to?”

Without referring to the device’s inevitable impact on video pornography, Luckey reminded gamers about the other ways they can use their new Rifts:

“Somewhat surprisingly, the majority of time spent right in Gear VR is video and experiences, not games. Over time, VR span beyond games, much like the evolution of computer and mobile platforms before it. Right now, gaming is going to be the primary driver of PC VR, but the content base will expand over time.”

Will Oculus Support Indie Game Developers?

“I know Oculus has been sponsoring select VR game developers,” an anonymous user wrote, “and I’m curious to know more about the requirements and terms. Who would be the best person to talk to at Oculus?”

Luckey outlined how indie game creators can get their work on the Rift:

“We announced an indie dev fund last year specifically for cases like yours, and we have been working with a lot of indie developers to make sure they succeed. Submit your build via the Oculus Developer Center submission tool so we can check it out! https://developer2.oculus.com/“

What Happened to “VR for the Masses”?

One redditor challenged Luckey on his statement from a 2013 interview that “If something’s even $600, it doesn’t matter how good it is, how great of an experience it is—if they just can’t afford it, then it really might as well not exist.”

How Will Luckey Make the Rift Cheaper in the Future?

Reddit user Ordinary123 posed this question after noting that the $599 put the Rift out of their budget: “What are your plans in the future to make this product more affordable to the average person?”

Luckey outlined a gradual plan, which might not satisfy most consumers:

“Continue working with GPU and CPU manufacturers to optimize for VR, thus reducing the required hardware cost. Use economies of scale and the passage of time to reduce the cost of good enough PC hardware. For the average person, the PC is by far the biggest cost, not the headset – the end goal is to make sure people can use the PC they already have in most cases.”

Will Competing Devices Turn Virtual Reality into the Next War of Incompatibility?

Gamers looking to purchase their first virtual reality kit are understandably worried about compatibility issues.

User Who-the-fuck-is-that asked Luckey raised this concern—writing, “Say I get an Oculus Rift but a game is released for the Vive or another headset later down the road. Is there a set standard that’s being agreed to across different companies or will everything be strictly proprietary?”

Who-the-fuck-is-that added, “I really don’t want a repeat of the whole Bluray/HD DVD fiasco.”

In response, Luckey compared the current stage of the VR market to a memorable XKCD comic, but reassured redditors that “There are several efforts to create a standard for VR games” and “Most games are going to support multiple headsets, since Unity and Unreal make it pretty easy to build for multiple platforms.”

What About the Touch?

The Rift is just one of Oculus’ virtual reality products. The Touch—a pair of handheld VR controllers—reportedly won’t be released until the latter half of 2016.

And if you’re wondering how much it’ll cost, don’t expect Luckey to offer any predictions.

“In what ‘ballpark’ can we expect Touch’s price to be?” one redditor asked.

Luckey fired back with a deadpan reply: “No more ballparks for now. I have learned my lesson.”

Check out the original AMA discussion to read all of Luckey’s answers to redditors’ questions.