HTC Vive Price Drops $200 Down To $599

[rgMekanic]

In a blog post today, HTC has announced it's dropping the price on the Vive by $200, down to $599 for "the foreseeable future." Also all VVive purchases will come with a free trial to "Viveport Subscription." The article also mentions that they are working on new tracker software and hardware, with consumer launch timing soon.

The very aggressive price cuts from the Occulus team must have finally forced a response from HTC . This is great for anyone wanting to get into VR, and will hopefully keep the market expanding. Although I will say the software package from Occulus keeps it very enticing to me.

We have continued to invest in growing the Vive hardware ecosystem. Google, Apple, Intel, UPS, Volkswagon, SalesForce and dozens of other global brands have all lined up with Vive for their VR efforts, and there’s more to come in the back half of the year.

 

[collegeboy69us]

Having never tried VR before - I jumped on the 399 oculus bundle with the free games, and picked up a 3rd sensor on amazon for full room scale (very proud of this




I was blown away, it worked perfectly, super smooth, and absolutely gorgeous. RoboRecall is the most fun I've had in years. The one thing to keep in mind with the 599 vive bundle, is that vive headphone strap is ~$100 on top of that from what I can see. (oculus includes it's own for free) Not sure if they are bundling it with any games.

Either way -- great to see prices coming down, there are some truly amazing AAA level games out there (while short) will really blow you away.

 

[Nenu]

They still havent fixed the lenses, sound system or weight distribution though.
I cant recommend the Vive until they at least match the Rift for those.
It would be nice to lose the unwieldy controllers as well.

If it costs more it needs to be better.

 

[JosiahBradley]

They sold out so fast on newegg/business and Amazon after the price cut. Had my finger on the trigger looking for lighthouse stands and it was gone. In cart for 549$ with business discount.

 

[RogueTadhg]

Yay price cuts!

I would still go with an Oculus rift though. For a generation 1 headset with it's only real benefit is a slightly larger play area and a little bit better tracking (which can be reflected off any shiny objects). It's SDE is worse and it's got the same resolution as a rift.

But whichever you choose, I'm glad you did. ...Welcome to VR! Buy and consume all the content the internet has because it'll help get better quality shit out faster.

 

[Krazy925]

Having never tried VR before - I jumped on the 399 oculus bundle with the free games, and picked up a 3rd sensor on amazon for full room scale (very proud of this




I was blown away, it worked perfectly, super smooth, and absolutely gorgeous. RoboRecall is the most fun I've had in years. The one thing to keep in mind with the 599 vive bundle, is that vive headphone strap is ~$100 on top of that from what I can see. (oculus includes it's own for free) Not sure if they are bundling it with any games.

Either way -- great to see prices coming down, there are some truly amazing AAA level games out there (while short) will really blow you away.

The Vive comes with headphones. The upgraded headphones are $100.

The upgraded headphones had issues with sweat and I haven't seen them in stock since the initial shipment.

You could also use a pair of cans laying around the house.
I've had my Vive over a year now.

 

[davethehedgehog]

I've had mine for ages now. Gets used all the time. Fantasic bit of kit. I've not used the Rift, but I can't imagine the difference is huge.

 

[Archaea]

I've had mine for ages now. Gets used all the time. Fantasic bit of kit. I've not used the Rift, but I can't imagine the difference is huge.

What do you play on it? I've seen the tech in the valve shop with the robot and was impressed but I'm not sure how much I would use it?

 

[RogueTadhg]

Yeah. I went ahead and unscrewed my headset's cans. A little more monkey business to do, but I feel it's worth it.

Honestly, Wireless, I think would be the best way to go with headphones though. But I've had issues with wireless headphones over the pc so.. bleh.

 

[Randall Stephens]

Was really surprised at the rifts headphones quality. I bought the rift but glad to see them back track on vive abour not lowering the price.

 

[akaliel]

Having never tried VR before - I jumped on the 399 oculus bundle with the free games, and picked up a 3rd sensor on amazon for full room scale (very proud of this




I was blown away, it worked perfectly, super smooth, and absolutely gorgeous. RoboRecall is the most fun I've had in years. The one thing to keep in mind with the 599 vive bundle, is that vive headphone strap is ~$100 on top of that from what I can see. (oculus includes it's own for free) Not sure if they are bundling it with any games.

Either way -- great to see prices coming down, there are some truly amazing AAA level games out there (while short) will really blow you away.

What are you using for USB & HDMI extension cables?

 

[Mut1ny]

Good. As others have said, anything that get's VR to become more popular and financially viable for game publishers is an OK thing by me!

Though I will say that the Vive seemed pretty over priced for a while anyways. After the Oculus Touch controllers came out the Vive pretty much lost one of the VERY few positives it had over the Oculus.

Most people certainly seem to prefer the Oculus more. I know their price drop had an effect here!

 

[Decibel]

Yay! I welcome everyone into VR. It isn't Rift vs Vive it's flat vs real immersion.

Both are very good. Whichever choice you make, set up an Oculus account and come join us in Echo Arena while it's still free in the Oculus store.

 

[Decibel]

What are you using for USB & HDMI extension cables?

For my three sensor, room scale setup I'm using:

2x https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00C7SA21U (one for one sensor, one for the HMD)
1x https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008D5ETHE
1x https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01GHL72XS

Along with the included 16 foot active USB 2.0 cable that came included with my third sensor, some heat shrink and 1/2 inch cable sleeving, and a couple of cable raceways to clean things up.

 

[homernoy]

I love my Vive. I don't know how people are so up on the wired base stations on the Oculus. For me wireless is the way to go, and it makes the whole setup easier to bring to another persons house. I think whether you get a Vive or a Rift, you are doing way better than getting PSVR.

For me that whole setup is an abomination.

 

[homernoy]

Having never tried VR before - I jumped on the 399 oculus bundle with the free games, and picked up a 3rd sensor on amazon for full room scale (very proud of this




I was blown away, it worked perfectly, super smooth, and absolutely gorgeous. RoboRecall is the most fun I've had in years. The one thing to keep in mind with the 599 vive bundle, is that vive headphone strap is ~$100 on top of that from what I can see. (oculus includes it's own for free) Not sure if they are bundling it with any games.

Either way -- great to see prices coming down, there are some truly amazing AAA level games out there (while short) will really blow you away.

I really like the way you have the Oculus and controllers hung on the wall. That makes me want to do the same, instead of putting the Vive back in the box every time I am finished using it.

 

[steakman1971]

We are almost to the "don't need wife permission" price. I swear - life keeps popping up need this/that. Soon. Soon...

 

[Twisted Kidney]

So now it's only overpriced by $400, nice.

 

[heatlesssun]

Having never tried VR before - I jumped on the 399 oculus bundle with the free games, and picked up a 3rd sensor on amazon for full room scale (very proud of this




I was blown away, it worked perfectly, super smooth, and absolutely gorgeous. RoboRecall is the most fun I've had in years. The one thing to keep in mind with the 599 vive bundle, is that vive headphone strap is ~$100 on top of that from what I can see. (oculus includes it's own for free) Not sure if they are bundling it with any games.

Either way -- great to see prices coming down, there are some truly amazing AAA level games out there (while short) will really blow you away.

My I ask, how did you run all of the cables for the cameras? What did you use for extension cables? TIA!

 

[collegeboy69us]

What are you using for USB & HDMI extension cables?

My I ask, how did you run all of the cables for the cameras? What did you use for extension cables? TIA!

Using some "Cable Matters" usb3 extension cables from amazon (cheap and they worked great) For the furthest sensor, I actually ran it up and into the attic and dropped it back down in that little nook area

Currently not running any HDMI extension (I want to) but finding a cable that actually works with it has been tricky, even putting an inline signal booster didn't help. Apparently either the oculus or the 1080Ti I have it hooked to is very selective with which cables it will work with. When I did extend the cable, it would work (kinda) but I'd get random disconnects or not a clean signal.

 

[heatlesssun]

Using some "Cable Matters" usb3 extension cables from amazon (cheap and they worked great) For the furthest sensor, I actually ran it up and into the attic and dropped it back down in that little nook area.

Thanks! What's the longest cable run you have?

 

[Nenu]

Using some "Cable Matters" usb3 extension cables from amazon (cheap and they worked great) For the furthest sensor, I actually ran it up and into the attic and dropped it back down in that little nook area

Currently not running any HDMI extension (I want to) but finding a cable that actually works with it has been tricky, even putting an inline signal booster didn't help. Apparently either the oculus or the 1080Ti I have it hooked to is very selective with which cables it will work with. When I did extend the cable, it would work (kinda) but I'd get random disconnects or not a clean signal.

Get an HDMI 2.0 extension.
Even a crappy one should handle HDMI 1.4 as long as its not a fake.

 

[Derangel]

I love my Vive. I don't know how people are so up on the wired base stations on the Oculus. For me wireless is the way to go, and it makes the whole setup easier to bring to another persons house. I think whether you get a Vive or a Rift, you are doing way better than getting PSVR.

For me that whole setup is an abomination.

The Lighthouse sensors are a better option, but you still have to worry about plugging them as well, just to an outlet instead of a PC. If you don't have an outlet near where you are hooking up a sensor you're going to running an ugly extension cord. Personally, I'd rather see cables running across the ceiling then down walls.

 

[Youn]

Yay price cuts!

I would still go with an Oculus rift though.

Harsh... can you imagine if everyone felt that way and HTC/Vive saw no bump in purchases following this price cut?

If you aren't a fan of FB/Oculus, you can at least thank them for pressuring a price cut like this sooner rather than later. It's this type of competition that'll help ensure VR sticks around this time around...

+1 for everyone