HTC Vive Steam VR gets $800 price tag

$800. That’s the amount it will take to buy HTC’s Steam VR Vive headset on launch day.

It’s a staggering amount of money, even surpassing Oculus Rift’s at-the-time astonishing $600 RRP. That, incidentally, translated to 500 in the UK, so if Vive follows the same pattern we could be looking at between 600-700 for the HTC device on this side of the pond.

Remember, too, that users will also need a beefy computer costing the best part of 1,000 to use the headsets.

Due out in early April, supporters will argue that you get substantially more for the premium you’re paying over Oculus Rift. Also included in the launch SKU are two wireless controllers and two Lighthouse sensors, which users will be required to wall mount in their homes.

Job Simulator and Fantastic Contraption will also be thrown in, for a limited time. HTC has also announced that the headset will include phone functionality.

From the beginning, Vive has been at the forefront of virtual reality, with HTC pioneering several ground breaking technologies,” HTC CEO Cher Wang said. Since announcing Vive this time last year, we have worked tirelessly with Valve to deliver the best VR experience on the market, winning multiple awards and receiving critical acclaim from media, consumers and the industry.

With the Vive consumer edition we are now able to realize our ultimate vision; bringing Vive into homes around the globe so that people can experience immersive virtual reality in a away that fires the imagination and truly changes the world.”

Sony now remains the only one of the big three players to have not yet divulged its release plans. Rumours have pointed to an autumn release for the headset, although the official release date remains H1 2016. It would seem that with a low RRP Sony has an absolutely fantastic opportunity to steal the early market here. At 200 or even 300 PlayStation VR could dominate, but is Sony willing to take a hit on each unit to aim for this?