While Valve and HTC are technically keeping their promise to release the extremely compelling Vive headset in 2015, it seems most consumers won't be able to get their hands on a unit until early next year. In a press release, Valve said that "later this year, HTC will offer the first commercial Vive units via a limited quantity of community and developer systems, with larger quantities shipping in calendar Q1 2016."
The specific wording of that statement is a bit confusing. Valve has been taking applications for free developer units since April—the company says it received more than 10,000 inquiries for those kits and knows of over 80 VR games currently being made for the Vive. We've reached out to find out what members of the "community" will be eligible to purchase those limited quantities of 2015 headsets as well and will let you know if we hear back.
For now, though, it seems that Valve and HTC are simply doing a token launch in 2015 so they can continue to claim the Vive as "the first complete VR system heading to consumers," as they put it (Samsung's Gear VR isn't complete without an integrated handheld motion controller, we suppose). For most intents and purposes, however, those early adopting consumers will mostly be seeing the Vive alongside the Oculus Rift and Sony's Project Morpheus, both of which are planned for an early 2016 launch.
Theres still no word on a price for the Vive, but an HTC executive said back in March that we should expect "a slightly higher price point" for the unit.
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