A couple of months back, HTC unveiled what was easily among the best virtual reality or VR headsets in the market. The Taiwanese company did not reveal pricing and availability for the headset at the time.
Not anymore. The Vive Pro has been put up for pre-order for a price-tag of $799, which is significantly higher than the original Vive. It is also a puzzling to know that the Vive Pro won’t come with controllers to begin with. A complete price for the full kit is yet to be revealed.
HTC Vive Pro
People who purchase the Vive Pro before June 3rd will get free six month access to HTC’s Viveport service, (HTC’s answer to Steam which usually costs $6.99) and gives access to five games each month.
Expensive Accessories
Whether Vive Pro will get mainstream popularity or not is unclear. While the Vive Pro is meant to be a replacement for existing Vive setups, new users who buy two controllers ($260) and two base stations ($270) are looking at a steep asking price, around $1,329.
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But that’s not all in the press release. HTC is also dropping the price of the current Vive by $100 to just $499, a deal which, guess what, does come with two controllers, two base stations, and a copy of Fallout 4 VR.
Vive+Vive Pro a Good Deal?
As Forbes notes, you are better off buying a Vive Pro, and a Vive ($1,200 total), as that would be cheaper than buying the Vive Pro and all the essentials which don’t come with it.
The Vive Pro does come with some major benefits, such as a more comfortable design and a 78% improvement in clarity, thanks to better higher-resolution lenses and more cameras. Either way, the VR market is expanding by leaps and bounds and is sure to see mainstream use soon.
