MWC 2016 -- While some may scoff at the $800 price tag HTC and Valve announced for the HTC Vive VR headset, the companies feel fully justified in charging a premium price tag for the headset, which has received rave reviews for its immersion experience before it has even hit the market.
“Do you want the most immersive, complete, best VR experience you can have? Buy the Vive system,” HTC vice president of VR, planning and management Dan O’Brien told journalists at a product briefing Sunday. O’Brien made his bold statement in response to a question about how he would convince someone unsure of whether they wanted to by the HTC Vive.
The HTC Vive will ship as a complete set when it becomes available in April. The set includes the Vive VR headset, two Vive controllers, two base stations and a computer hub and a set of Vive ear buds.
“We believe in providing the complete system, meaning you are in the middle of your content, you have the controllers, the input to actually interact in the space,” O’Brien said. “[We are] putting all of the pieces of the puzzle to create what we believe is that complete experience. That’s how we justify it.”
In comparison, the Oculus Rift, which is currently available for preorder for $600 does not come with its own dedicated controllers. The Rift bundle will include a sensor, remote, cables, Xbox One controller and two games EVE: Valkyrie and Lucky's Tale.
The HTC Vive will also sell in a bundle with two VR titles, Job Simulator: The 2050 Archives and Fantastic Contraption with more games coming soon. HTC would only say about plans to bring console games to HTC Vive that more announcements will be made at the Game Developers Conference in March.
At this time HTC and Valve have no plans to sell the HTC Vive handset independent from other components, such as the controllers. Valve writer Chet Faliszek told journalists that integration of the controllers is largely thanks to involvement from game developers.
“When we first brought [developers] in to talk with them about this idea of doing the system, the first thing [said] was ‘make it consistent. Don’t sell editions that I have think about making apart of my content’,” he said.
This ethos has trickled down to the HTC Vive consumer edition, which is notably different from the HTC Vive Pre handset showcased at CES. In addition to making slight tweaks to the design and finish of the Vive headset, the consumer edition also introduces a new feature called phone mode. This mode will allow users to connect their devices to the Vive and use their handsets while remaining in VR. Users will be able to answer incoming calls, check text message, view calendar events or view the Vive tab of the Steam dashboard without having to take off their Vive VR headset.
HTC and Valve look forward to selling the Vive to a host of premium customers, including game developers, Steam consumers, high-end PC gamers, tech enthusiasts, early adopters and VR enthusiasts.
“We think there’s a very healthy market of people who are willing to pay for the complete system, so they don’t have to go out and buy other things to have the complete system. If they’re getting the whole experience in one box for one price its very compelling,” O’Brien said.
O’Brien and Faliszek also spoke about other, non-game applications in which the HTC Vive is being used, including surgical theater, education, simulation, assault systems and sports and athletics.
“They see the freedom of being in the middle of the content and interacting with it,” Faliszek said, speaking in particular about athletics organizations that have used the HTC Vive.
The HTC Vive will be available at HTCVR.com or through Steam, where users will be directed to HTC’s online store. The HTC Vive also will be available at retail locations starting in early April; however, HTC and Valve have not yet revealed a specific date or information about in store stock.
