HTC Vive Pre-orders To Begin On February 29, Shipping Launch Units in April
2016 is seen to become the year of virtual reality. With Oculus VR starting the pre-orders for the Rift, HTC’s turn has come. Taiwanese smartphone maker HTC confirmed it will begin accepting pre-orders for its virtual reality headset Vive on February 29.
Expected to launch in April, the Vive was co-produced by HTC and video game developers Valve Software. Along with the headset, the Vive packs two controllers users hold in each hand to track their movements. Details on Vive’s pre-orders were released by HTC CEO Cher Wang. For now, it’s not clear what minimum requirements consumers will need to meet in order to use HTC Vive. There’s no pricing yet, but according to HTC, additional details on the VR headset — including price, release date and the final look of the consumer kit — will be shared to the public as it inches closer to the pre-order date.
Last week, Oculus opened up pre-orders for its Rift headset, which starts shipping in March for $599. According to the Oculus website, shipments of new Rift pre-orders have been pushed back as far as June due to the unprecedented high demand for the said VR headset.
The Vive represents the highest tier of first-generation VR experiences, with wall-mounted sensors and motion-sensing hand paddles plunging users into virtual spaces that occupy an entire room. While Oculus Rift, PlayStation VR and Gear VR all focus on sit-down content, the Vive encourages you to stand up and move. As of now, potential users of the Vive still has no clue on how much computing power will be needed to propel the VR experience on the Vive. For Vive’s content, HTC revealed on The Verge that Valve will be hosting a special event later this month to unveil games and other kinds of VR experiences specifically made for the Vive.
With the price point of the Rift set at $600, we are drawn to smart estimates that the Vive will be more costly than the Rift – considering more items packed in its box, including room sensors and handheld motion controllers.
For more information on the HTC Vive, please visit the following websites:
http://www.htcvr.com
http://www.virtualrealitytimes.com/2016/01/10/htc-vive-pre-vr-headset/
http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2016-01/14/htc-vive-pre-hands-on-demo
