HTC Vive Price And Release Date: $799 VR Headset Ships In April

HTC announced a new feature for the Vive Sunday called Vive Phone Services.

The consumer edition of the HTC Vive also includes phone functionality, so you can receive text messages, take calls, look at pictures, etc. It will also have SteamVR integration to stay current with the gaming platforms’ latest features.

UPDATE (17:48 GMT): HTC have confirmed the price point of the Vive headset, following the leak by numerous outlets earlier this afternoon. For a limited time, the consumer release of the HTC Vive will include two VR games: Owlchemy Labs’ Job Simulator and Northway Games’ Fantastic Contraption. Pre-orders will begin from 29 of February, and the sales will begin from April onwards. A staggering sum and a full 0 over its competitor, the Oculus Rift. There are other minor improvements over the Vive Pre devkit as well, including an added microphone (replete with open API) on the headset.

HTC said today its Vive virtual reality headset will cost $799 and will be available for pre-order on February 29. Both games should serve as excellent introductions into the world of virtual reality.

But the Vive has huge challenges ahead of it. The Oculus Rift, which has better optics, richer supporter from game developers, and a cheaper price tag, appears to be the early favorite in the VR platform war.

Vive will be accompanied by two base stations, a link to the PC, and two controllers. It is set to be delivered a few days after Facebook’s Oculus Rift, which is due to be shipped next month for $599. Though they’re not really anything to cry home about.

However, HTC and Valve justify the headset’s higher price by saying that Vive is a complete kit to provide a total immersive experience.

Vive is one of the top talked-about VR headsets, an industry that has been emerging strongly in the past year.