SAN FRANCISCO -- Virtual reality is just about ready to hit the store shelves.

The Gear VR, a virtual-reality headset designed to be used with Samsung smartphones, will reach consumers by the end of this year, said John Carmack, Oculus's technology chief. The device, which was developed jointly by Oculus and Samsung, will be accompanied by a specialized app store, said Carmack. He advised developers to work closely with Oculus if they hope to make and sell apps for the device.

"For people to do mobile games, that's a reasonable-ish timeframe," he said during a speech during a speech at the Game Developers Conference here. He added that the Gear VR that will eventually hit store shelves will not be very different from the prototypes the company has shown so far.

The launch plans mark an inflection point for the nascent virtual reality industry. Until now, most VR technology has primarily existed as an effort among game developers, with various prototypes of devices and games being shown at trade shows and in high-profile announcements. But every day consumers have largely been unable to buy these products.