Sales for virtual reality headsets have not been overwhelming so far. One potential obstacle is the price that makes buying a VR headset more of an investment rather than an impulse buy. HTC is now lowering this barrier somewhat by lowering the price for their VR System by $200 to $599. The system includes the headset, two base stations and two controllers.
HTC Vive price dropped to $599
Analyst Comment
If the price is the only barrier to stronger consumer adoption, this move may help just a little bit. Considering the amount of technology the price is not very high, but still it is much more than an impulse buy in $100 to $300 range. In addition,one has to have a computer capable of driving the system in order to enjoy the 200 games that Steam VR is offering. HTC offers a bundle with an MSI gaming laptop for $2,498, still a good bit of change. (NH)
HTC said that the price drop was not a response to the Oculus “Summer of Rift” sale (Oculus “Summer of Rift” Sale Extended), and HTC said that the price drop was to allow buyers to also get the Vive Tracker and Deluxe Audio Strap for the same price as the original Vive. The company denied that the move was because it is may be about to launch another PC-based headset. It has already let slip that there will be a stand-alone hedset (HTC VIVE Announces a Premium Standalone VR Headset for the China Market) (BR)
