Virtual reality is seeing a very real price war take place.
HTC has reduced the price of its Vive VR kit by $100, bringing it to $499. The company also announced its recently unveiled Vive Pro headset, which will feature sharper images and improved audio, will begin shipping on April 5 for $799.
The price reduction on the original Vive puts the headset $100 higher than Facebook’s Oculus Rift—and is the second price cut by the company in the last nine months. (HTC originally cut the Vive’s price last August.) The Vive, however, is a full room VR experience that allows users to explore the virtual space physically, whereas Rift users remain stationary. There are currently over 3,000 titles available for Vive owners, according to HTC.
The Vive Pro, while it might be tempting to some shoppers due to its better images, is largely targeted to professional and high-end users. The $799 price is for the headset alone. Users will have to pay separately for trackers that set the boundaries for the virtual space.
Vive has been a moderate success for HTC, but (like the Rift) has found itself trailing Sony’s PlayStation VR, which has proven to be a success in part because users don’t have to have a powerful PC to operate the system.