I think the opposite, they need to get this right the first time, or people will try it once, get a little dizzy or disconnected and decide "Oh VR makes me sick."
With the recent bumps in the specs, I think it shows that you need more power than most people have available to get that kind of performance.
Exactly this. Virtual Reality headsets for many will be an entirely new never before seen experience, if they get it wrong, people will definitely avoid trying it again and that will be bad not just for Oculus but the virtual reality industry as a whole. If Oculus are first to release, they have a lot of pressure on their shoulders to do it right because their v1 launch success will have a flow on effect to other devices.
The higher end specifications required to power Oculus will definitely be a stumbling block. Presumably the headset will cost more than the developer kits costs, then you need to throw in at least an additional $800 for a high-end graphics card to power the Oculus. This is the kind of money only hardcore gamers will warrant, not a small family with a few kids wanting to get them a Christmas present. I have always said Oculus need to partner with a graphics card company like AMD or Nvidia and give the headset away with a high-end graphics card purchase, or at least heavily subsidise it. They're killing two birds with one stone then.
This is exactly what Carmack said at Game Developers Conference. They don't want to "poison the well" by releasing before they're ready with games and experiences that make people ill.
With the recent bumps in the specs, I think it shows that you need more power than most people have available to get that kind of performance.