HTC reveals SteamVR 1.0 tracking bundle for new HTC Vive Pro purchasers
HTC reveals SteamVR 1.0 tracking bundle for new HTC Vive Pro purchasers
Remember that this headset doesn’t ship with VR controllers or SteamVR motion tracking, making it an upgrade option for existing Vive owners, not a full Vive Pro kit. If users were to try and buy the required motion tracking equipment separately, the price to pay would have been around $500, an amount that is almost identical to a standard Vive bundle.
Today marks the two-year anniversary of the HTC Vive, and today HTC will start to offer a standalone SteamVR 1.0 tracking kit with motion controllers. This kit will cost $300 and can be purchased with an HTC Vive Pro to provide a full Vive Pro VR package. In total, an HTC Vive Pro and HTC’s SteamVR 1.0 kit will cost $1099.99 in total, an extremely high price for a new VR headset.
What should be noted is that Valve is set to release SteamVR 2.0 later this year, which is why HTC has opted not to release their full Vive Pro bundle yet, as it is designed to function with SteamVR 2.0 equipment. This upcoming bundle will offer redesigned base stations and controllers, though at this time it is unknown how much this bundle will cost or when it will be officially released.
Amongst other things, SteamVR 2.0 will allow HTC’s motion tracking system to use quieter base stations which require fewer moving parts to function, which is expected to make base stations cheaper to produce. This change involves the use of modernised tracking chips on controllers and headsets, though these chips will offer VR users higher levels of accuracy.
At this time it is unknown whether or not SteamVR controllers will see a radical redesign, aside from the use of modernised tracking technology, so it is unknown whether or not the whole SteamVR 2.0 package will offer HTC with a lower build cost and end users with lower pricing.
You can join the discussion on HTC’s SteamVR 1.0 tracking kit on the OC3D Forums.