Just as Oculus and their “time limited” summer discount for Oculus Rift + Touch at mere $399 turned into a full time pricing, HTC could not sleep in peace after seeing the tide shifting in favor of its rival, owned by Faceb00k. HTC could not afford to continue selling Vive VR headset for $799 at the time when $458.99 gets you a roomscale Oculus Rift + Touch + Sensor.
Ever since its debut, HTC received many accolades and support in the gaming industry. Keeping the open approach to content and not going for exclusives proved to be a winning bet for the company which got hurt badly in recent years of smartphone wars. By launching Vive VR headset supporting roomscale VR from day one, Vive platform grew first on “joined-at-hip” partnership with Valve, adding its own Viveport marketplace in the process.
At Gamescom gaming conference in Cologne, Germany – the company announced a 25% price cut, taking price down from $799.99 to $599.99 (plus applicable sales tax), while the actual hardware (or packaging) doesn’t change one bit. What changed is content – purchasing Vive VR headset now gets you an impressive software bundle. Google Tilt Brush is a family favorite, while Everest VR never ceases to amaze. Richie’s Plank Experience will test your nerves, and perhaps cure (or give you) vertigo. The new price is applicable to Vive.com, and we can expect that price to move through the e-tail and retail channel.
Last but not least, there’s a one-month-free subscription for Viveport, giving you access to vast number of VR applications, all optimized for HTC’s popular VR headset.
For end, we leave you with popular videos for the (now free) experiences:
