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[ArtHands]

http://uploadvr.com/htc-vive-consumer-version-slated-for-april-2016/

Also new developer kit in Jan
Pre order starts in late feb

HTC updated the blog post, pre-orders will start in February apparently. Site is hemorrhaging right now for some reason, may not load.



http://blog.htc.com/2015/12/htc-vive-update/

Additional update thanks to ashcitism

http://blog.htc.com/2015/12/htc-vive-update

Page is dead right now but this is apparently the update:

In an effort to clear up speculation and misinformation surrounding the launch of HTC Vive this month we are excited to give the community an update on the status of HTC Vive. We remain committed to delivering the HTC Vive to a broader group of content creators and partners, and remain focused on delivering the very best experience possible for a consumer release.

Since announcing the HTC Vive in March of this year we have focused on developing immersive content, refining both hardware design and user experience, and building relationships with new partners both inside and outside of the gaming industry. In collaboration with Valve, we have been distributing the HTC Vive Developer Kits to developers and content creators, and are continuing to work with many other innovative companies to create content that spans gaming, entertainment, medical, education and retail. This includes hosting a developer conference in Beijing on December 18th, launching the second generation of the HTC Vive Developer Kit at CES and engaging audiences at key events including The Sundance Film Festival, SXSW, GDC and MWC while expanding our demo tours.

We will be starting the new year by making an additional 7,000 units available to developers, followed by commercial availability in April 2016. We are incredibly excited about the future and look forward to sharing more information as we move forward towards launch.

 

[Enter the Dragon Punch]

alright great thread, lots of info, very in depth

 

[ashecitism]

http://blog.htc.com/2015/12/htc-vive-update

Page is dead right now but this is apparently the update:

In an effort to clear up speculation and misinformation surrounding the launch of HTC Vive this month we are excited to give the community an update on the status of HTC Vive. We remain committed to delivering the HTC Vive to a broader group of content creators and partners, and remain focused on delivering the very best experience possible for a consumer release.

Since announcing the HTC Vive in March of this year we have focused on developing immersive content, refining both hardware design and user experience, and building relationships with new partners both inside and outside of the gaming industry. In collaboration with Valve, we have been distributing the HTC Vive Developer Kits to developers and content creators, and are continuing to work with many other innovative companies to create content that spans gaming, entertainment, medical, education and retail. This includes hosting a developer conference in Beijing on December 18th, launching the second generation of the HTC Vive Developer Kit at CES and engaging audiences at key events including The Sundance Film Festival, SXSW, GDC and MWC while expanding our demo tours.

We will be starting the new year by making an additional 7,000 units available to developers, followed by commercial availability in April 2016. We are incredibly excited about the future and look forward to sharing more information as we move forward towards launch.

https://www.facebook.com/HTCVive/posts/726437547486324

 

[Feep]

alright great thread, lots of info, very in depth

That's all the info there is, and it warrants a new thread. Stop backseat modding.

 

[Enter the Dragon Punch]

That's all the info there is, and it warrants a new thread. Stop backseat modding.

backseat modding? jesus, i'm just playing around, chill out

https://www.facebook.com/HTCVive/posts/726437547486324

wonder how the 7k extra dev kits are gonna effect the adoption of VR in upcoming titles

 

[diablos991]

Any info on pricing?

 

[Eggbok]

alright great thread, lots of info, very in depth

 

[studyguy]

All this competition around VR is cool to see if nothing else.

 

[cyberheater]

Thanks OP.

April. Okay. When are the other two likely to launch.

Now we need to know pricing.

 

[Despera]

At least we have an official release window for the consumer version.

April 2016 it is then.

 

[ashecitism]

Going to be hilarious if both Rift and PSVR beat them. They were supposed to be the first lol

 

[Ricker]

Any info on pricing?

This...

 

[Enter the Dragon Punch]

Thanks OP.

April. Okay. When are the other two likely to launch.

Now we need to know pricing.

wonder if they can squeak under $400 USD? the canadian price ain't gonna be pretty either way ;_;

 

[Josman]

Sigh... and here I thought they'd start shipping in late december.

 

[KingSnake]

Well, this is quite disappointing news, as the soft launch was delayed to January and the distribution of the first batch seems to be really restricted.

 

[bomblord1]

What happened to the limited CONSUMER release in 2015?

 

[T.O.P]

Kinda disappointed, january would've been fantastic

 

[Sleeping Lesson]

So much for first to market. Seems like a big failure on HTC's part to have to give up that advantage. Better than launching their HMD half-baked, of course.

 

[piratepwnsninja]

I have a feeling this isn't going to go well for them.

 

[dmr87]

I think Palmer said Q1 for the Rift, can't remember where I saw or heard it.

 

[jmga]

At least I expect a big evolution in their new dev kit. First one was the best HMD by far when shipped to devs, their positional tracking is also the best one today by a big margin, better than consumer version of PSVR and Oculus. If they are delaying it 4 months there must have been big changes.

 

[Felix Lighter]

Looks like I'll likely be going with the Oculus Rift then. I'd be happy to go with either but I'm so itching to experience VR, I won't be able to resist going with the first available unless some weird curve ball comes out of nowhere.

 

[Maximo]

More time for software, im ok with this.

 

[wanderingprostheyltite]

It seems like they're taking the Oculus kickstarter down-to-the-wire-delay-announcement approach I see xD

At least people didn't have pre-orders invested ¯\_(&#12484_/¯

Hopefully some pricing info comes out soonish. Frankly I'm a bit relieved, I'm entirely too impulsive when it comes to anything VR and would have gladly thrown a pre-order their way if it was available, though truth be told I'd rather hold out for Oculus cv1 with Touch.

What happened to the limited CONSUMER release in 2015?

I was always skeptical they'd be able to iterate that quickly on a cv design plus production pipeline in that time frame, phone maker or no.

 

[ashecitism]

I have a feeling this isn't going to go well for them.

They don't even have exclusives and are expected to be the most expensive lol

 

[Despera]

Going to be hilarious if both Rift and PSVR beat them. They were supposed to be the first lol

Based on what a Sony rep told me a couple of months back the PSVR will probably come out in the 2nd half of 2016.

And according to Technolust's Blair Renaud, the Rift is coming out Q1 2016 (apparently he knows the date?). So it's indeed possible the Rift is coming out before the Vive.

 

[Clawww]

so no early limited release? just another 7k dev units April? =(

 

[Sleeping Lesson]

so no early limited release? just another 7k dev units April? =(

I would speculate that those units are what was going to be the limited release, and instead they'll just have a regular consumer release.

 

[ArtHands]

Thanks OP.

April. Okay. When are the other two likely to launch.

Now we need to know pricing.

Rift is Q1 and PSVR is Q2.

I am guessing Rift will be at the end of Q1(march)

 

[Clawww]

I would speculate that those units are what was going to be the limited release, and instead they'll just have a regular consumer release.

no way

7k is nothing, they cannot even describe that as anything but another round of dev kits. way too little. they would get 7k orders in the first minute or some shit, I don't even know.

 

[Man]

Seems like it will be book-ended by Rift and PSVR.
...assuming Rift will be out by Q1.

 

[Sleeping Lesson]

no way

7k is nothing, they cannot even describe that as anything but another round of dev kits. way too little. they would get 7k orders in the first minute or some shit, I don't even know.

Maybe, but I wouldn't put it past HTC given their PR handling thus far.

 

[Dreamwriter]

Any info on pricing?

Just what they said before - it's going to be sold for a premium price, because it's the premium VR device.

And we know it'll be pricier than the Oculus Rift because Oculus is selling theirs for cost, making money solely on software (and ads?), while HTC doesn't make any money off of software, since Valve is of course making that money - HTC has to make a profit from the hardware itself. Oculus Rift is going to cost "more than $350".

 

[Bookoo]

It is hard to believe that HTC failed this hard. They announce 2015 soft launch and have people reiterating that fact as recent as Oct/Nov. All while they continue to be radio silent on the issue.

Now they are thrilled to announce a delay and that they have been misleading everyone for 8+ months? They should have announced this a while ago unless something went horribly wrong recently that caused this...although that seems unlikely.

no way

7k is nothing, they cannot even describe that as anything but another round of dev kits. way too little. they would get 7k orders in the first minute or some shit, I don't even know.

That is honestly what made the wait even worse because even though we were hoping for Holiday 2015...we had no idea what was in 2015. My bigger concern was a extremely limited number and not being able to get one.

 

[Sleeping Lesson]

It is hard to believe that HTC failed this hard. That announce 2015 soft launch and have people reiterating that fact as recent as Oct/Nov. All while they continue to be radio silent on the issue.

Now they are thrilled to announce a delay and that they have been misleading everyone for 8+ months? They should have announced this a while ago unless something went horribly wrong recently that caused this...although that seems unlikely.

They must have known for a while that they wouldn't make their limited launch. Very poor communication has been their MO, and it makes me less confident in the product.

 

[Ferrio]

I don't see the Vive being very successful in the long run. It'll have a niche market, but that niche market is also the one that happens to be the harshest when it comes to companies fucking up.

 

[Bookoo]

I don't see the Vive being very successful in the long run. It'll have a niche market, but that niche market is also the one that happens to be the harshest when it comes to companies fucking up.

It's a pretty big fuck up and currently it means they are going to be launching after Oculus, which will have a lower price point (not factoring in Oculus Touch)
However the room scale is one of the coolest things about it and Oculus won't have that at launch and currently it isn't as good as Vive. Maybe it will be improved by the time Oculus Touch comes out in Q2 2016.

 

[YuShtink]

I knew from the very beginning that they were absolutely bullshitting about the 2015 launch to try to steal the thunder from Oculus. If they did release this year it would have been an ugly mess. HTC/Valve have been the scummy ones imo.

Oculus have been the real leaders here since the beginning, have been honest from the beginning about their release window, and have been working for years now to build up a real launch that gives VR a good reputation. Facebook and funded exclusives or not, THEY are the ones doing this right. Sony is doing it right. HTC and Valve are not. They might have an ingenious tracking system, but they are wayyy behind in every other category.

 

[ashecitism]

the article in the OP has been updated

The email from the SteamVR team details a new HTC Vive developer edition premiering at CES in January with a new industrial design that is said not to impact development. The reveal will be followed by a content showcase in Seattle where some developers will show experiences they have been working on to press and public. This event will be followed by additional showcases throughout the first quarter of the year as well as showings at SXSW and GDC.

 

[wanderingprostheyltite]

the article in the OP has been updated

Times like these I can tolerate the dreary cesspool of weather in Seattle, glad they've got a presence here, will check that out for sure.

 

[eosos]

Hmm I was originally planning on the vive due to the early release date. Hoping the oculus and vive come out at the same time so that I can see some comparisons.

 

[uncleniccius]

the article in the OP has been updated

Interesting. It is all about the content at the end of the day (at least imo). Let's hope they bring the goods.

 

[Seiru]

Not surprised in the slightest.

At least this means I only have to get a Rift. I would have been too weak-willed to pass up on the Vive.

 

[Turin Turambar]

I think the CV1 was supposed to be released by now (I mean, speaking about Oculus internal plans), but it was delayed to Q1 2015.

Vive was supposed to release in Q3 2015... and now it's delayed to Q2 2015.

Surprise surpise, the same happened. Releasing a device and all the related sofware is hard.

 

[Dreamwriter]

Hmm I was originally planning on the vive due to the early release date. Hoping the oculus and vive come out at the same time so that I can see some comparisons.

Oculus Rift is due Q1 2016, while HTC Vive is Q2 2016 (April), so they'll be 1-3 months apart. But I wouldn't be surprised if the Vive DK2 was the same as the Vive consumer version, so journalists will be able to compare them pretty quick. The price probably won't be revealed until shortly before the Vive consumer release, though.

 

[EVIL]

wonder if they can squeak under $400 USD? the canadian price ain't gonna be pretty either way ;_;

oculus has been hinting at 500, doubt the vive will sit under that

 

[Bookoo]

I think the CV1 was supposed to be released by now (I mean, speaking about Oculus internal plans), but it was delayed to Q1 2015.

Vive was supposed to release in Q3 2015... and now it's delayed to Q2 2015.

Surprise surpise, the same happened. Releasing a device and all the related sofware is hard.

Vive was never had Q3 2015 date. All they ever announced was Holiday 2015 (so basically Q4) with a larger consumer push in 2016. They were always vague about what the 2015 launch really was but made it sound like a soft launch with little marketing put behind it. Although later to say it was a "limited launch".

For Oculus the FB buyout obvious changed their plans it hopefully for the better. It seems like we are getting a much better product than we would have in the first gen.

wonder if they can squeak under $400 USD? the canadian price ain't gonna be pretty either way ;_;

Oculus will probably hit the $400-500 mark, but Vive won't. Vive is coming with base stations and controllers. Oculus is coming with headset and Xbox 1 controller pack in.

 

[Hale-XF11]

Aren't there a bunch of devs that have VR software scheduled to launch this month?

Whoops!

 

[Zeouterlimits]

Oculus Rift is due Q1 2016, while HTC Vive is Q2 2016 (April), so they'll be 1-3 months apart. But I wouldn't be surprised if the Vive DK2 was the same as the Vive consumer version, so journalists will be able to compare them pretty quick. The price probably won't be revealed until shortly before the Vive consumer release, though.

Wouldn't financial Q1 be March - June?

 

[Reallink]

I wouldn't even be 100% convinced this thing is going to come out at all. HTC as a company may very well be filing for bankruptcy next year (>50%), and launching AFTER Oculus at a no doubt HIGHER price point is just digging their hole deeper. This is by no stretch a guaranteed consumer product at this point.