HTC Vive headsets will now ship within three days of purchase

The regular consumer edition of the HTC Vive is priced at $1,149 and now ships within two days of placing an order, giving the headset, which features room-scale tracking capabilities out of the box, a significant advantage over the Oculus Rift.

HTC wants to drive commercial uses of virtual reality with a new iteration of its Vive headset aimed squarely at businesses.

Unlike the consumer edition of the Vive, which is sold on a one-per-customer basis now, HTC is guaranteeing multiple Vive systems so that businesses can outfit an entire company with the room-scale VR system.

The hardware maker has partnered with software company Dassault Systemes who are developing VR platforms specifically for businesses environments. Those pre-ordering in February had waited more than a month for their Vive to be delivered in early April.

The Vibe BE system includes the following: headset, two controllers, two base stations, 3-in-1 Cable, and four face cushions. The Oculus Rift ran into similar hurdles, demoing units while also catching up on pre-orders in late March.

This special edition is available from this month in the US, Canada, UK, Germany and France only. Several industry analysts believe that the company should consider a reduction in the headset’s price to drive more customer traffic.

From now on, the manufacturer vows, if you purchase a Vive from its website, that Vive will be shipped within three days. The pursuit of brilliance is at the heart of everything we do, inspiring best-in-class design and game-changing mobile and virtual reality experiences for consumers around the world. The aforementioned retailers will begin to see an expanded demo presence for the HTC Vive, with select stores carrying the headset for purchase.