News Currys PC World to open VR demo rooms, employee claims

I really don't think either Oculus or HTC are going to keep their prices as high as they are for long. The way I see it, they're using that price point to gauge people's interest and commitment, while also making sure they can keep up with stock.

Think about it:
If the 2 most popular headsets were in the affordable range (so somewhere around $300), everyone would want one, including casual gamers, rich whiny adolescents, and people who use Intel IGPs to play games. That is a massive, and terrible group of people to be involved in something that can't afford it's reputation from being tarnished. By having a very high premium, only the most interested people will get involved first; patient people, who won't cry loudly when things aren't perfect.

The high premium also makes sure there are enough parts in stock, while also preventing the product from getting into too many hands when an inevitable hardware upgrade will be needed.


When you consider the competitors of these 2 head sets, such as OSVR, they're at a much lower price point, but they have their own drawbacks. OSVR, for example, is very user-unfriendly, and Google Cardboard has very limited uses.


Though the Rift and Vive have high price points, I see them as necessary.

 

I don't think prices will drop until a new generation of HMDs arrive. These things are REALLY expensive to produce: you have a pair of custom short-production-run OLED panels (Samsung can fire up a production line to build several tens of millions of S7 panels. Oculus and HTC combined will be lucky to even reach 1 million panels ordered), custom precision optics, an assembly with multiple moving parts, optical precision, and that needs to be light enough to strap to your head but rigid enough not to warp during head movement. Plus either a pair of reasonable good machine vision cameras, or a pair of laser basestations (with duel spinning optical elements each, and safety interlocks for the Class 3R laser to be included in a Class 1 product).
While some component costs may come down over time, it's unlikely much can be shaved off the price without a redesign. At that point it makes more sense to wait to produce a new HMD to implement those changes.

 

Im glad to hear they'll be available in stores to try, the price is a huge blocker for me, but the most important aspect is that i dont know whether i even want one, and im not going out of my way to fund one to find out. Everyone knows if they want a TV or car, they just need to decide which. With VR, until we know what we're getting and what impact that has for its cost, its hard for people to make that commitment, and im not doing it by hype alone.

I half expected stores to be way way down the list, because the companies would have enough backlog to deal with from people who know they want it without trying it, without adding casual customers who've seen it running in a store joining the queue too. Good to see that wont be the case.

Would be nice to hear it in an official capacity though, and which other stores will have them. The comment being removed makes it seem like its not just someone taking the initiative, hopefully theres more than just those 3 though.

 

Everyone moaning about the price, but quite happy spending similar money on the latest smartphone!

 

Really? When's the last time you met someone who coughed up £700 for a phone, instead of getting a £700 phone as part of a two year contract?

Back on topic:
It makes sense to provide a demonstration area in a mainstream store. I bet half the 3DTV sales came off the back of the family sitting on that demo couch in Currys and trying out the glasses (well, I thought it was sh!t, but clearly some liked it).

 

Sim free or if you add up the contract total it easily exceeds £700 on an S7 or equivalent. Could get a loan to buy a headset and pay monthly just like with a phone contract. At the end of the day it still costs however you do it.

 

Yes - I didn't suggest otherwise. You are buying a service for two years too; it doesn't come free with the phone.

Again, yes you could and, unless you drop on an interest free loan, it'll end up costing you even more.

There is a distinction between a mobile phone package and a gaming headset but, for the record, I don't know anyone who actually warrants the need for a Galaxy S7 either.

 

Agreed but i think if you had the money for a PC capable of running VR id guess if VR was your thing then it's just an upgrade. Just like adding a new CPU or GPU. You spend what you can afford. I went for 2 970's SLI so cost about £600. People have choice, could just go with PSVR and have an inferior VR experience or pay for quality.

 

I just have to quit pizza for a year. No problem!

 

Yup

 

Yup? Yup!