At Mobile World Congress in Barcelona HTC unveiled pricing and availability for the HTC Vive VR Headset. Available for pre-order from February 29th the HTC Vive will cost $799 US. Pre-Orders will be fulfilled and be generally available to consumers starting early April.
The HTC is launching the Consumer Edition of the Vive with improved hardware from what people have experienced with the previous version. Including updated wireless controller with hepatic feedback, a front facing camera, a redesigned head-strap and a brighter display to immerse players in a more exciting VR experience.
The Consumer Edition of the HTC Vive will also include two full VR experiences at launch. Job Simulator: The 2050 Archives from Owlchemy Labs and Fantastic Contraption developed by Northway Games.
In a statement about the release, Cher Wang, chairwoman and CEO, HTC said: “From the beginning, Vive has been at the forefront of virtual reality, with HTC pioneering several groundbreaking technologies. Since announcing Vive this time last year, we have worked tirelessly with Valve to deliver the best VR experience on the market; winning multiple awards; and receiving critical acclaim from media, consumers and the industry. With the Vive consumer edition we are now able to realize our ultimate vision of bringing Vive into homes around the globe so that people can experience immersive virtual reality in a way that fires the imagination and truly changes the world.”
It is exciting to see more players in the VR space give an overall concept of cost and investment people will need to put in to experience VR. The HTC Vive will cost around $200 more than the Oculus, but for that cost, you are also getting the controllers and the full setup to ensure you will experience a full VR experience. In the end, it will all depend on game support, and right now, that is very much up in the air.
