On Monday, HTC announced a permanent Vive price reduction to $599, bringing the VR headset down from its original $799 launch price. The now-$599 standard HTC Vive kit includes the headset itself, two wireless controllers, two base stations, link box, earbuds, assorted connectors, and accessories. This move comes roughly a month after Oculus’ ‘Summer of Rift’ announcements that saw the Rift + Touch bundle permanently cut to $499.

Vive purchases come with complimentary copies of Google’s Tilt Brush, EverestVR, and Richie’s Plank Experience. In addition, HTC offers a one-month free trial to Viveport Subscription, where customers pay $6.99 a month for up to five titles to play. HTC also points out upcoming Vive exclusives, such as Fallout 4 VR and Doom VFR. In the background is natural compatibility with SteamVR, as Valve co-developed the Vive with HTC.

Currently, the Rift + Touch bundle is still available at its $399 summer sale price. However, the Rift + Touch bundle does require an additional $59 third sensor to achieve room-scale tracking, whereas the base Vive kit accomplishes this natively. In the same vein, the Vive price drop has not affected the separate $99 Deluxe Audio Strap. As noted last October, the Rift Touch controllers are more akin to “halves of gamepads”, as opposed to the Vive wands. Beyond our first looks with both the Vive and the Rift, both setups still emphasize different aspects of the VR experience despite offering similar capabilities.

While HTC has lowered the Vive’s price to $599, the Vive remains in pole position with respect to high-end VR market share. A few months earlier, research firm SuperData outlined its expectation that the Vive would outsell the Rift by 200,000 units. Now, despite the recent Rift price cuts, SuperData observes that HTC is still shipping more Vive units, although the ‘Summer of Rift’ sale did make up some ground. In the near future, HTC has the Daydream standalone Vive and Vive Knuckles in the pipeline, with the China-only Vive Standalone already shipping.

Nevertheless, price reductions for both Oculus Rift and HTC Vive bring high-end VR a step closer to widespread adoption. And for consumers, these continued price drops are the best news yet.

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Source: HTC

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  • Manch - Thursday, August 24, 2017 - link

    PSVR outsells Vive by 4 to 1. Vive isn't considered dead no more than Oculus.
  • oranos - Wednesday, August 23, 2017 - link

    eventually mobile is probably the only platform where VR will live on
  • vishwa108 - Friday, August 25, 2017 - link

    Let’s trust that this price reduction will not awaken “HTC Purse Strings” to the fact that Mesmerism, aka The Charge of The Enlightened Brigade, has no bounds of pricing or fashion other than perhaps A Necessity of Survival. HTC realises this, of course. Eons before said price cut, the result of some joker testing his saliva-ed finger in the air.

    So, the question being asked by others is, Why and Now too? And why not Sammy and that Infamous Mesmeriser, Appflings. Perhaps LG ought to follow suit – but not when yore other halves are busy minting eet. Of course. LG and their multi-segmented offerings of the G6. Shorely a joke gone too far. But not when Mesmerism is at The Helm. Yous wanna a G6? Wait for Failure’s Expectations & Demands. Just like this incarnation of HTC’s Mesmerisc Efforts.

    Humans have not changed from being 2-eyed to one for countless couplings – unless “The 3rd Eye” is your favourite eye. After all, when you see some cycloptic ambling yore way, you had better, “Git Outta Way”! So too will “Virtual Zist, Zat und zer Other”. Unless price Reduction has its way. Be aware, then, that Temptation is the best form of Persuasion, yet, for Dem Mesmerised.
  • james621lara - Thursday, December 27, 2018 - link

    This is a great post. I like this topic.
    https://games.lol/

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