HTC Announces Vive Headset Payment Plan

By Rob Gordon 27 February 2017

• valve
• htc
• vive
• htc vive

Those gamers hesitating over the $799 price tag of the HTC Vive will now have some other options rather than a one-off payment for the virtual reality headset. HTC has revealed a new payment plan for North America, with users now able to pay a monthly cost instead of the $799 retail price. The news was released by the company during the Game Developers Conference, as reported by PC World.

Although the cost of the Vive will not be seeing a price reduction right now, this does mean that those with concerns over the expense of virtual reality have an easier route into the hardware. “For the first time, Vive is launching a financing program in North America,” stated HTC. “For $66 a month and no-interest financing for 12 months, users can purchase a Vive on Vive.com with zero down. Additional new financing options are available at varying finance terms.”

For those interested in learning more about the payment plans, HTC has released further information on the Vive website. Here are the current options available for would-be Vive owners:

• 0% Financing for 6 months for a total monthly cost of $138.00 (plus tax and shipping)
• 0% Financing for 12 months for a total monthly cost of $66.58 (plus tax and shipping)
• 7.99% Financing for 24 months for a total monthly cost of $40.13 (plus tax and shipping)

That’s not the only announcement that HTC has made so far in the conference, either. The Vive Tracker, which was revealed earlier this year alongside a wireless upgrade, has now had its price revealed. The Tracker will come in at $99.99, and will allow the creation and use of custom peripherals, while the upcoming Vive Deluxe Audio Strap will also come in at that price.

This still means that owning a Vive may come in a little on the high side, particularly if owners feel the need to upgrade the hardware with peripherals as they go, but it certainly softens the financial blow. It’s a smart move from HTC, as it will allow greater access to the technology for potential users, and that can only be a good thing for virtual reality as a whole.

Indeed, the Vive could become a very handy headset to have for those happy to pay monthly costs. The Viveport app store will be receiving its own Netflix-like subscription service soon, which will allow users access to a proportion of the headset’s library through the payment of a monthly fee. Hopefully, this will help improve the HTC Vive overall.