According to most people who’ve used all of the major Virtual Reality headsets coming this year, HTV and Valve’s Vive is by far the superior one. It’s the conclusion our own Alessandro’s come to after using all three, and it’s a sentiment shared by Minecraft creator, former Mojang boss and hat-wearing Scandinavian chap Markus “Notch” Persson (though he hasn’t, by admission, tried the Rift past the DK).
It’s the more expensive of the impending head mounted VR displays, which makes it a frightfully pricy proposition. In the US, it’ll cost you $799 to jump in to the next generation of gaming. That’s on top of the $1500 PC you’ll already need to own if you want a system to drive the display.
If you live outside of the US, however, it’s going to cost even more. Brace yourselves, VR fans. In a new blog post, HTC’s released the international pricing for its new Virtual Reality headsets, and it’s pretty frightening stuff.
Pre-orders for the Vive open today, and here’s what it’ll cost you to pre-order for shipping on April 5:
Region | MSRP |
US* | US $799.00 |
Australia | US $899.00 |
Canada* | CAD 1149 |
China | CNY 6,888 |
Taiwan | NT$28,288 |
Japan | JPY 111,999 |
UK | £ 689.00 |
New Zealand | US $949.00 |
EU | € 899.00 |
Belgium | € 899.00 |
Czech | € 899.00 |
Denmark | € 899.00 |
Finland | € 899.00 |
France | € 899.00 |
Germany | € 899.00 |
Iceland | € 899.00 |
Ireland | € 899.00 |
Italy | € 899.00 |
Netherlands | € 899.00 |
Norway | € 899.00 |
Poland | € 899.00 |
Spain | € 899.00 |
Sweden | € 899.00 |
Switzerland | € 899.00 |
I don’t quite know in which universe $799 equates to € 899 (which, according to current exchanges is closer to $729), though it is worth mentioning that these listed prices for the US and Canada exclude applicable sales taxes, which makes up for some of the discrepancy. Given that we tend to pay European pricing for our consumer electronics, it’s not too much of a stretch to imagine the Vive retailing locally for close to R16 000. I’m keen on VR, but I’m not sure I’m R16 000 keen on VR.
For what it’s worth, Vive will be shipping with some free software; Google’s Tilt Brush – a VR app that lets you paint freeform paint in virtual spaces. Thrilling.
Last Updated: February 29, 2016
Commander Admiral Chief
February 29, 2016 at 10:03
Misread as “HTC’s Vive is going to cost even more THAN Europe”
Hammersteyn
February 29, 2016 at 10:08
Misread as Google Tit brush
Alien Emperor Trevor
February 29, 2016 at 10:08
You don’t brush tits, it ruffles their feathers.
BakedBagel
February 29, 2016 at 11:02
Imagine Hitlers reaction to reading that headline.
Pariah
February 29, 2016 at 10:07
Yeah R16k means that I’m pretty much never going to buy one. Ever. Can’t justify that – you can buy a serious gaming rig for that price.
Alien Emperor Trevor
February 29, 2016 at 10:09
R16k. Heh. VR might as well be screaming “revive me”.
Vernon Jonker
February 29, 2016 at 10:58
Give ME YOUR HARD earned MONEY!!!!!
Greylingad[CNFRMD]
February 29, 2016 at 12:33
Ok, wait, you mean to tell me that the pc required to run this, which I currently have, which also cost me R13 000 when I bought it, is less expensive than the headgear, which will probably turn in to a less optimistic R16 000 and aim toward the 18-19k pricing… There is a place reserved for these headsets, that’s as far as this guy explains it…
Deceased
February 29, 2016 at 13:29
But how can I get one here – in South Africa – I know this site is full of “unsavoury folk” who knows these things
Kromas untamed
February 29, 2016 at 13:35
Considering the Vive comes pre-packaged with both sensors AND the controllers and is only $200 more than the Rift it is still a better deal by FAR than its main competitor.
Wow I just realized somewhere I became a HTC fanboy.
Maybe I just prefer not getting Facebook updates while playing DayZ. 😛