As you might expect, HTC has received quite a bit of negative feedback following the announcement that the commercial launch of the HTC Vive had been pushed back until April of next year. On order to clear the waters, HTC has issues a follow-up statement which explains the company’s reasoning for the delay. Based on the new information, the HTC Vive’s launch was postponed because developers still don’t have the second version of the Vive Developer Kit which will include “technology advancements that deliver on the promise of the best VR experience.”
The new HTC Vive Developer Kit will be unveiled at CES in January and will start taking pre-orders for the HTC Vive starting in February.
“HTC announced an updated timeline for the consumer availability of the HTC Vive, now planned for release in April 2016. Understandably this caused some concerns amongst people who were hoping to get their hands on the world’s most advanced VR system earlier. The reason that we have made the decision to shift consumer availability is because we are committed to delivering the best possible product, the most vivid VR experience, and the most immersive content on the best content distribution platform in the world. In less than a month at CES, we are going to be revealing the next version of our Developer Kit with technology advancements that deliver on the promise of the best VR experience. Furthermore, we would like to underscore the fact that we are 100% committed to beginning Vive pre-orders in February, with final products in consumers’ hands (and on their heads) in April. We’re confident that when you experience Vive for yourself in April, you will agree with the decision to deliver the product once it’s perfect.”
There’s still no indication as to how much HTC plans to charge for the Vive, but we have a feeling that Valve will try to keep the quite reasonable to ensure that its Steam platform becomes the number one destination for virtual reality content.
