HTC slashes Vive VR headset cost by $200, now yours for $599

[Shawn Knight]

Facebook last month temporarily slashed $200 off the cost of its Oculus Rift virtual reality headset and Touch controller bundle. Shortly after, the company introduced a permanent price cut that brought the cost of the combo down to $499 (it’s still $399 via the temporary cut, FYI).

Now, it’s HTC’s turn.

The Oculus rival on Monday said it is reducing the cost of its Vive headset by $200, dropping the price of the high-end VR solution down to $599.

HTC notes that all Vive purchases include a free trial to Viveport Subscription, granting access to up to five titles per month to experience, as well as copies of popular VR software such as Google’s Tilt Brush, EverestVR and Richie’s Plank Experience.

The company also points out that they’ll have more information to share regarding the consumer launch of new Tracker software and hardware in the near future.

Virtual reality as we know it today burst onto the scene in 2012 with a Kickstarter campaign for the Oculus Rift. It would be several more years before consumer-grade solutions arrived to help usher in the age of modern virtual reality.

Costly gear, requisite high-end PC hardware and technological limitations, however, have kept VR from going full-on mainstream. Price cuts like these certainly help advance the initiative but don’t guarantee the platform’s long-term success. For that, we’ll need further price cuts, advancements and adoption beyond gaming (Facebook).

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https://www.techspot.com/news/70656-htc-slashes-vive-vr-headset-cost-200-now.html

 

[Skidmarksdeluxe]

Still struggling to move them then. Not surprising at all, it's common knowledge to avoid all 1st gen stuff like the plague but hey, there has to be guinea pigs otherwise there'll be no follow up to following gens. If this VR gag ever takes off and become widespread, that's when I'll take an interest in it and view (pun not intended) it in another vein.

 

[IAMTHESTIG]

From my research it sounds like the Oculus software/driver isn't all that reliable and it has issues just working. The HTC Vive sounds to be good but the lenses aren't quite as good as the Oculus'. So not the best options, and considering these are still quite low resolution displays I think I'm going to wait until I can get the entire package for $300 or less to be worth it. Just my opinion...

 

[jonny888]

I still feel like the main barrier to adoption is content, or lack thereof. I've got a Vive that I really haven't used all that often, but when I have I've really enjoyed it (as have people I've shown it too). There just isn't all that much content out there with any real longevity. Most of it is impressive but incredibly short tech demos, or simple and fun games which start to lose their appeal rather quickly. This seems to create a vicious cycle of "big producers won't buy-in to make AAA titles because not many people are buying, and not many are buying because of lack of titles". But I'd always recommend anyone who has a chance to try one should, as it really is a very different experience.

 

[dogofwars]

I bough the Oculus Rift and I must says it's blurry at least for text and the resolution is lowered and it feel more like console than PC games but the immersion is really good and I can play hours with it though at the end at first I had some headaches but manage after a few try. It is still worth it for the immersion but if you want good graphic you will need to wait.

There will be improvement in software but the one that will kick is the "4K panels" with high resolution rendering where the eyes look and the rest less define which will allow to have really good definition without hammering down the system. In other word it does not render the whole scene in 4K but keep the highest resolution where you look only and the rest to be something like 720p

 

[Evernessince]

Still struggling to move them then. Not surprising at all, it's common knowledge to avoid all 1st gen stuff like the plague but hey, there has to be guinea pigs otherwise there'll be no follow up to following gens. If this VR gag ever takes off and become widespread, that's when I'll take an interest in it and view (pun not intended) it in another vein.

I really don't think that's the problem. I got one used for $520 and resold it for $650 after I messed around with it a bit. IMO it's worth it at $600 for sure. Only problem I had is with the cords getting tangled over time.

 

[Skidmarksdeluxe]

I really don't think that's the problem. I got one used for $520 and resold it for $650 after I messed around with it a bit. IMO it's worth it at $600 for sure. Only problem I had is with the cords getting tangled over time.

Yeah, it's niche right now. It may remain that way or it could explode, hopefully not literally naturally. Only time will tell.

 

[captaincranky]

Yeah, it's niche right now. It may remain that way or it could explode, hopefully not literally naturally. Only time will tell.

Yes indeed, keep those damned lithium ion batteries away from you eyes and manly bits...

 

[Evernessince]

Yeah, it's niche right now. It may remain that way or it could explode, hopefully not literally naturally. Only time will tell.

Yeah, more games need to come out and VR needs to refine some more. That said I really hop it doesn't explode on itself. These price drops are nice and should help things along.

 

[IAMTHESTIG]

I still feel like the main barrier to adoption is content, or lack thereof. I've got a Vive that I really haven't used all that often, but when I have I've really enjoyed it (as have people I've shown it too). There just isn't all that much content out there with any real longevity. Most of it is impressive but incredibly short tech demos, or simple and fun games which start to lose their appeal rather quickly. This seems to create a vicious cycle of "big producers won't buy-in to make AAA titles because not many people are buying, and not many are buying because of lack of titles". But I'd always recommend anyone who has a chance to try one should, as it really is a very different experience.

I think you about nailed it on the content part... at the same time though some customers like me aren't buying AAA titles because they don't have any or good VR support. It feels an awful lot like the Nintendo Wii, a good attraction and fun for awhile, but limited content will kill it. I worry this will happen with VR as well. Price, display quality, and content are all very big, valid concerns for a potential buyer.