HTC rolled out its $799 Vive virtual-reality headset to select Microsoft, GameStop and Micro Center stores and accelerated shipment times for orders made through its web store at Vive.com.
The three retailers are also expanding the number of stores where free Vive demos are available, with 100 stores to offer them in June, up from 45. Select stores began offering the demos in April.
HTC also said pre-orders placed through the three retailers will be fulfilled beginning this week.
Orders placed through HTC’s web store will be shipped in two to three business days. The company began shipping Vive from its web store on a limited basis in April and, at the time, promised to ship in the month noted in a customer’s order-confirmation email.
For the demos, Microsoft is expanding the number of stores offering demos this month from 29 to 51, with GameStop expanding the number to from 10 to 40, and Micro Center expanding from five to 10. The list of demo stores is at www.vive.com. The demonstrations are open to the general public.
The PC-tethered Vive headset comes with two handheld motion controllers with haptic feedback to let users interact with a virtual world. The headset’s front-facing camera blends physical elements into a virtual world. A pair of laser-emitting sensors places a user’s hands and head within a virtual space and lets users walk around a room inside a perimeter established during the setup process.
More than 200 VR titles from Steam are available for use with the headset and Windows PCs.
The Vive is among multiple VR and augmented-reality headsets coming to market this year.
