Yes, it is required. I liked it to my brother's account.

It sucks for a few different reasons.

1. It's very uncomfortable when you sweat, which you do for any of the active sports games. The Oculus falls off your head and causes you to break out.

2. If you have glasses but cant wear contacts (my issue) it's a lot harder to use.

3. Lack of interesting games. I like golf, the golf game is actually cool, one free course with the option of paying for 1 other course, so 2 total courses.

The current version is no where people are going to spend a lot of time in the near future.