HTC announces one-day Vive sale, launches subscription service for VR apps

[Jos]

HTC is celebrating the Vive’s first anniversary with a temporary price cut and launching a new subscription service. Starting April 5, HTC is flipping the switch on its Viveport subscription service that was announced in February, and giving everyone a full month of access for free.

The service allows subscribers to choose five apps from a catalog of 50 and try them for a month, after which you can pick another five apps every month for as long as you keep your $7/month subscription alive. HTC hasn’t announced the entire subscription catalog, but the selection will include TheBlu, Richie’s Plank Experience, Everest VR, physics puzzler Fantastic Contraption, and Mars Odyssey.

In addition to launching the new Viveport Subscription, the company is holding a special sale on April 5 that will knock $100 off the retail price of the Vive, and anyone will be able to download a free copy of Arcade Saga, a three-game package that normally costs $19.99 on Steam.

Last month Facebook-owned Oculus permanently slashed the price of its Rift headset and Touch motion controller bundle by $200, bringing the total cost down to $600 — or $500 for the headset and $100 for the motion controller if you buy them individually.

The move has no doubt put pressure on HTC and its Vive competitor which normally retails for $799. While the company doesn’t appears to have plans to match that, it’s making it easier for people to buy one with zero down and no interest financing for 12 months on a new headset under a new Vive payment plan.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/68776-htc-announces-one-day-vive-sale-launches-subscription.html

 

[Evernessince]

If their margins are big enough on these devices to just take hundreds off, they obviously don't want the technology to succeed that bad. It would have been wise for them to price low from the start, especially steam. They could have easily made the hardware a loss leader and regained the money with VR sales on their store.

 

[Skidmarksdeluxe]

Normally 800 bucks for things??? For a moment I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me. Even with their most gracious and generous new offers I'd still need my head read to buy into them. I'll stick around for another few years then they'll cost $50 outright, for the latest and greatest and that's assuming VR ever gets off the ground properly.

 

[Trillionsin]

Normally 800 bucks for things??? For a moment I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me. Even with their most gracious and generous new offers I'd still need my head read to buy into them. I'll stick around for another few years then they'll cost $50 outright, for the latest and greatest and that's assuming VR ever gets off the ground properly.

They won't ever get down that low. Unless you want a VR for your phone or one of those cheap ones. Considering some of these require a bit of hardware built in. Maybe the prices will get down around the $150 to $250 range in another 5+ years. Of course depending on whether VR will take off or not, and I really think it will. I think if they released a VR headset for $50 it will be a piece of **** you wouldnt want to buy anyways.... .like the ones they already have out for $50 - $100.

The price is going to be down to $500 for the headset and motion controller during the sale. That's what it looks like to me anyways. Keep in mind, I think that is assuming you already have a gaming PC with a decent GPU.

 

[Skidmarksdeluxe]

They won't ever get down that low. Unless you want a VR for your phone or one of those cheap ones. Considering some of these require a bit of hardware built in. Maybe the prices will get down around the $150 to $250 range in another 5+ years. Of course depending on whether VR will take off or not, and I really think it will. I think if they released a VR headset for $50 it will be a piece of **** you wouldnt want to buy anyways.... .like the ones they already have out for $50 - $100.

The price is going to be down to $500 for the headset and motion controller during the sale. That's what it looks like to me anyways. Keep in mind, I think that is assuming you already have a gaming PC with a decent GPU.

I'm anything but convinced VR will make a really big splash. If anything, AR is the one more likely to be crowned champion when it goes to the judges scorecards in my view.

 

[Panda218]

They won't ever get down that low. Unless you want a VR for your phone or one of those cheap ones. Considering some of these require a bit of hardware built in. Maybe the prices will get down around the $150 to $250 range in another 5+ years. Of course depending on whether VR will take off or not, and I really think it will. I think if they released a VR headset for $50 it will be a piece of **** you wouldnt want to buy anyways.... .like the ones they already have out for $50 - $100.

The price is going to be down to $500 for the headset and motion controller during the sale. That's what it looks like to me anyways. Keep in mind, I think that is assuming you already have a gaming PC with a decent GPU.

I'm anything but convinced VR will make a really big splash. If anything, AR is the one more likely to be crowned champion when it goes to the judges scorecards in my view.

I think VR will be bigger than AR for consumers, but businesses may use AR more for services. Why would consumers want to augment the reality they already live in with AR, when VR can take you places they've never been or even imagined?

 

[LNCPapa]

Their margins may not be that big - they could possibly (though I doubt it) be taking a loss on the devices which would help explain the temporary sale. Sometimes you sell the hardware at a loss and recoup on the software side.

Also:

Why would consumers want to augment the reality they already live in with AR, when VR can take you places they've never been or even imagined?

Have you ever used a Hololens or a Meta 2? I have a Hololens and recent got a chance to try out the Meta 2 - they can definitely change your reality enough to take you somewhere else. The only problem with the Hololens right now is the smally fov.