HTC Vive Virtual Reality Headset Will Retail At $799
Coming in at just under a grand to buy, the HTC Vive will make virtual reality on PC very expensive at launch, no matter the device.
As soon as Oculus VR announced the price of the Oculus Rift, the spotlight was on HTC as they waited and waited to announce their launch details for the HTC Vive. While the official announcement was planned for Monday morning, several outlets have broken embargo (one GameSided was not involved in) to reveal that the HTC Vive will retail at $799 USD.
The headset, which includes Valve’s SteamVR, will also ship with dual controllers for each hand and two “Lighthouse” tracker stations in order to create a small room for use within the virtual reality.
Announced at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, the HTC Vive will also include Bluetooth integration that will allow users to answer calls from a variety of smartphones. The games Job Simulator and Fantastic Contraption will be bundled in with the device, as well.
If you’re looking to make a joke about Job Simulator to pay off the price of the HTC Vive, it’s already been made by the parody Twitter account for Sony CEO Kaz Hirai.
The HTC Vive is $799. It comes with Job Simulator, so you can practice for the second job you’ll need to pay off your $799 credit card bill
— Ex-CEO Kaz Hirai (@KazHiraiCEO) February 21, 2016
But honestly, the costs involved with getting into virtual reality on PC inherently make the PlayStation VR a viable consumerist option for getting into virtual reality. The HTC Vive will easily be the most powerful option as the market begins to form this year, but at $200 more expensive than its already-pricy competition, the market will certainly be smaller at launch than expected.
h/t UploadVR