HTC, the former smartphone giant, has fallen on hard times. ‘A VR headset, perhaps called Vive, can solve its woes,’ I hear you yell. Alas, perhaps not.
HTC’s much-anticipated Vive was supposed to be released around now, capturing the madness of December shopping, as well as the enthusiasm around all things virtual reality (VR) of late.
Now, though, the company says there are delays, meaning Vive, which Valve is helping make, won’t be out until the very end of spring next year.
To put that into context, both Oculus and Sony will, probably, have released competing headsets before then – months before then – putting huge pressure on HTC to deliver a top-notch device.
The proposed design of HTC’s Vive, created with Valve – image via HTC
A developer conference for the Vive is being held in China in the run-up to Christmas, with a wave of developer packs to be released at CES in January, before “commercial availability” in April.
The cause of the delay remains a mystery, with the company merely mentioning its focus 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.”
Main VR headset image via Shutterstock
