Pre-orders are now open for the HTC Vive, the major virtual reality competitor to the Oculus Rift. As well as being slugged with a price of around $1400 Australian dollars, we’re also disadvantaged by about a month over our international compatriots when it comes to shipping.
Over at Kotaku, Alex has the news — US$817.27 for the device itself and US$110 for shipping, which is a solid $1413.46. for anyone wanting to buy the Vive in Australia. And more than the price, is a significant extra wait for the actual headset and its accessories to ship internationally.
We’ll be waiting until May to get the Vive in Australia — only the very first pre-orders were guaranteed (or just told, at least) an April shipping date. That’s pretty disappointing considering we’re paying more than $150 Australian dollars for shipping; it’s certainly possible that the HTC Vive is wildly popular and is selling through in such massive quantities to lead to these delays, but I would have hoped HTC would have forecast demand somewhat.