HTC has finally launched its virtual reality headset, Vive in India. The headset comes with a price tag of Rs 92,990 and will be exclusively available from Amazon via pre-order from April 22nd, 2017. Vive will soon be available for an in-store experience across select locations in India. These select locations will be equipped with an interactive Vive demonstration station, fully open to the public for individual sessions to experience a variety of virtual reality content supported by the platform.
The Vive VR solution includes wireless VR controllers, room scale movement, and Head Mounted Display featuring a built-in camera. The company if offering two VR experience with the launch namely Everest VR and Richie’s Plank Experience. The Everest VR is basically a virtual way to climb the Mount Everest. In Richie’s Plank Experience, one would virtually walk on a plank placed at 80 stories high above the ground.
For the unintended, HTC Vive is virtual reality headset from the company in association with Value. HTC and Valve have worked with thousands of developers and partners to create VR content across a wide spectrum of sectors, from gaming and entertainment to health, automotive, retail and education. The company recently revealed the Viveport, which is basically HTC global App store through which users will be able to download VR-centric apps and can even explore 360 degree content with or without any special VR headset.
With this move, HTC is clearly indicating its intention to be more than just a VR headset manufacturer. While players like Valve and Steam were HTC’s main competitors in the Desktop version, Google’s Day Dream platform is the latest competition as far as Android platform is concerned.
However, seeing the price point of the device, it seems to be a tad expensive option for some. We already have many VR headset available in the market including Samsung Gear VR in the mobile space, which comes with a price tag of sub Rs 10,000. While in the gaming space, we have Sony PlayStation VR, which comes with a price tag Rs 41,990 with camera and the VR headset without a camera is roughly priced at Rs 37,990. Plus, in order to use HTC Vive, one would also need a high-end gaming PC in order to fully utilize its potential, which is also an expensive affair.