HTC made about $12 million in roughly ten minutes when pre-orders for the HTC Vive opened up. Over 15,000 HTC Vives were purchased in those first couple minutes, and considering that the device costs $799 and requires a $1,000+ PC to run, the consumer enthusiasm bodes well for the future of virtual reality gaming.
The Vive was created out of a partnership with Valve, the infamous entertainment software and technology company behind Halflife and Steam, and HTC, the Taiwanese smartphone manufacturer. Valve had originally been working with Oculus before Facebook acquired the company and its VR headset device, the Oculus Rift.
Pre-orders for the Oculus Rift have been open for quite some time now, and the headset is being sold at a lower price than the HTC VIve, for $599. However, the Oculus Rift pre-order bundle does not contain the Oculus Touch wireless controllers, which will require an additional purchase on their eventual release, and will instead come with an Xbox One Controller.
The pre-order bundles for both headsets come with two games: EVE: Valkyrie and Lucky’s Tale for the Oculus Rift, and Job Simulator and Fantastic Contraption for the HTC Vive. For a more detailed technical breakdown about the differences between the two devices, plus exactly what is included in each pre-order bundle, check out this guide .
In separate VR-related news, Google has updated the Google Store to have a Virtual Reality section where VR fans on a budget can purchase a Google Cardboard ($15), a Goggle Tech C1-Glass VR Viewer ($14.99) or Mattel View-Master VR goggles ($29.99).
Apple had started carrying the Mattel Viewmaster View-Master VR goggles in its online store as well, but the listing seems to have disappeared.
