The collaboration of the Taiwanese phone maker and video game developer and distributor Valve have enabled both companies to release a prototype variant of the HTC Vive, a VR headset dedicated to immerse the user in virtual reality gaming sessions. According to MCV, HTC's marketing manager Jeff Gattis has stated that both firms are working together to provide a ground breaking experience to users.
The executive stated:
"We're going to deliver a consumer product to stores this calendar year. That's a pretty big step for the industry. So far VR has been confined to hobbyists and tinkering. Oculus and PlayStation have done some great things, but everything's been developer editions with no firm release commitment. We see VR as a once in a generation technology. It's not just about changing the way people play games, but how people interact with computers. We'd explored the space, as had Valve. It had built a baseline platform but it hasn't got great hardware expertise – to put it lightly – but it has a great software experience, access to thousands of developers and hundreds of millions of users on Steam. Yet it lacks that hardware piece, so it was a nice fit."
The individual also stated that the product's premium experience deliverance will be matched by its high price tag. Gattis was quick to state that initially, the product will be expensive since the market for virtual reality has just started developing but that price tag will be lowered as the market starts to display some positive responses from virtual reality products.
HTC's Vive was considered a favorite at the 2015 GDC thanks to its low lag input and lowered motion sickness that plagues every user while they are using a virtual reality headset. While the official price tag of the product was not unveiled, consumers should prepare themselves to pay a premium price if they want to experience the best of what virtual reality has to offer.
