Devkits of HTC Vive will become available for the developers before the commercial release.
Valve and HTC will launch Vive virtual reality headset in April 2016. Developers will be able to get their hands on 7000 devkits before the commercial launch of the device. Before that HTC promised to launch the product in 2015, which obviously did not happen.
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The market will be overflowed with new VR-systems in 2016. We’re going to see a wide variety of new VR-systems, like Oculus Rift, PlayStation VR, HTC Vive. Interestingly enough the Virtual Reality market is already very segmented. Each VR-system will have their own marketplaces, their own selection of games and completely different user bases.
It’s difficult to say, which technology will become the best. Some analysts believe that PlayStation VR will get the upper hand, because it already has a huge database. Some believe that eSport is the way to go for VR and the first company which will support esports on an industrial scale will definitely win the race. We’ll just have to wait and see how the market will develop.
HTC-Vive
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.
HTC Vive Blog
Source: blog.htc.com