HTC Reveals The Vive Pro's $799 Price Tag, Opens Pre-Orders

[kcarbotte]

The HMD-only upgrade kit for the existing Vive platform carries a staggering $799 price tag. Pre-orders are now open, and shipments are expected to begin on April 5.

HTC Reveals The Vive Pro's $799 Price Tag, Opens Pre-Orders : Read more

 

[Ninjawithagun]

Technically, still first gen VR. No thanks. Too bulky and resolution is still too low. Wait for 2nd gen VR - trust me!

 

[cryoburner]

The pricing is not particularly attractive. I was expecting them to price it around $800, but for the full bundle including the second-generation SteamVR base stations and controllers that should be coming out this year. Anyone buying this as an upgrade for the original Vive will likely also want those new peripherals when they launch, driving up the total cost to around $1000. Plus, a higher-end graphics card will be needed to handle the increased resolution, and GPU pricing is terrible right now.

By lowering the price of the current Vive, we are making VR more accessible while expanding the potential market for developers.

Did they miss the part where Oculus reduced the price of their headset and controllers to just $400 almost a year ago? Or how about the variety of WMR headsets with controllers that can be found for under $250 now? They might be making the Vive platform a little more accessible, but not VR in general.

Hopefully, it won't be too much longer until we see competing SteamVR headsets from other manufacturers making use of Valve's second generation base stations and controllers.

 

[-Fran-]

Sorry about my potential reading comprehension failure, but...

This new version of the HMD is just that and DOES NOT include the new tracking stuff from Valve, nor the old ones, correct?

Also, there's no assurance this will be forward compatible with them, is that correct?

Cheers!

 

[21_yk114160]

sorry that the price had to increase too 800$

 

[kinney]

Price doesn't matter to me, I just want it to not be a waste. It needs to be right. Would rather wait for the Pimax headsets to bake a bit than invest in this.

 

[audie-tron25]

I guess they did warn us that it was going to be priced for businesses. Kind of suprised they didn't lower the original Vive's price much. Still $860AUD for the Vive compared to $600AUD for the Rift, still an easy choice for many consumers.

 

[t1022k]

I see nothing on HTC's web page which indicates that the Vive Pro includes Fallout 4. Can anyone verify that the headset includes it and this article is correct?

 

[kcarbotte]

I see nothing on HTC's web page which indicates that the Vive Pro includes Fallout 4. Can anyone verify that the headset includes it and this article is correct?

It does not come with Fallout 4.
The regular Vive does. Somehow that got changed in editing. I've corrected the story.

 

[kcarbotte]

Technically, still first gen VR. No thanks. Too bulky and resolution is still too low. Wait for 2nd gen VR - trust me!

There's always something new coming around the corner.
We have no indication from any manufacturer when we'll see a "gen 2" VR system, and there's no indication of what that would entail.

There is no reason to "trust" that you should wait for 2nd gen VR. That's like telling people not to buy and Xbox One because the next Xbox will be "so much better!" or not buying a top tier graphics card because the new one is "just a couple months away,"
There is no good reason to deny yourself the pleasure of current generation technology when we don't even know when the next generation would be coming, or what it would be.

 

[kcarbotte]

Sorry about my potential reading comprehension failure, but...

This new version of the HMD is just that and DOES NOT include the new tracking stuff from Valve, nor the old ones, correct?

Also, there's no assurance this will be forward compatible with them, is that correct?

Cheers!

The Vive Pro box includes the HMD, the new link box, a power cord, a usb cord, and a display port mini to display port cord.
It does not include controller or base stations. The package is intended to be an upgrade for existing Vive owners.

The new headset is fully compatible with the existing Steam VR tracking system, and it has the new sensors which are compatible with the upcoming Steam VR 2.0 tracking system with updated base stations.

 

[FreyjasChosen]

I pre-ordered as soon as I saw this article. Thanks for the heads up, I've been awaiting a release date on the Vive Pro since they first announced it. Currently using an Oculus Rift and looking forward to the higher resolution.

 

[Evolution2001]

I recently posted in the VR forum here a side-by-side comparison of the Vive -vs- Samsung Odyssey. I'm lucky enough to have access to all the major HMD players, including the MS hololens and Lenovo offerings. I can tell you that the Samsung Odyssey has better visuals in terms of pixel count, but if that's the primary evolution of the Vive Pro, lots of people are going to be disappointed. You still get the 'screen door' effect with the Odyssey, it's just not as pronounced as it is with the Vive.
I think HTC is really shooting themselves in the foot trying to pass this off as an $800 upgrade for 'just' the headset. For the price, I'll keep my existing Vive and just buy the Samsung Odyssey outright. Then I'll essentially have the Vive Pro plus an additional $400 left over. Keep in mind, Steam has a VR translator for WMR HMDs, so any SteamVR content that you already have can be played with the Samsung Odyssey.

I see the HTC Vive Pro playing out like the iPhone X. People that gotta have it are gonna get it. Everyone else will realize it's not that special compared to existing alternatives, especially from themselves (iPhone 8 and the standard Vive).

I agree with some of the other comments here: Skip the Vive Pro and go with a current gen unit. (I recommend the standard Vive.) Or wait for 2nd Gen HMDs. For my money, I'd pick up an existing HTC Vive, enjoy the hell out of it, and then wait to see how the Pimax plays out. If it's all that and a bag of cookies, I'd sell my HTC Vive and put the money towards the Pimax.