SEATTLE — Many obstacles stand between virtual reality and a mass audience, from a lack of great games to the ungainly tangle of cables that connect the 3-D headsets to the computers that power them.

But the high price of high-end virtual reality systems may be the biggest hurdle of all, which is why one of the companies most invested in virtual reality — Facebook’s Oculus — has decided to sharply reduce the price of its product.

On Wednesday, Oculus announced that it has dropped the price of a package featuring its Rift headset and Touch controllers, which allow players to use their hands inside virtual reality, by 25 percent to $598 from $798. Oculus will also reduce the individual price of the Rift to $499 from $599 and Touch controllers to $99 from $199.

In a phone interview, Brendan Iribe, the leader of the Oculus group developing virtual reality products for personal computers, said the company had long intended to reduce prices on products as Oculus’s own manufacturing costs came down. Such cost reductions are common for game hardware as manufacturers reduce defects on assembly lines and volume discounts for parts kick in.