While tech seems to come and go in trends, one trend which has been a long time in arriving, looks set to land in a very big way over the next year, Virtual Reality (VR). Of course, in real terms, the tech is already here and there are a number of products already live on the market. The most well-known of these is probably Samsung’s Gear VR, although it is also currently one of the most expensive. At the side of the spectrum, is Google’s own Cardboard, which is a much more budget friendly DIY type of virtual reality hardware.
However what seems clear going forward, is the VR Platform is going to become considerably denser with more manufacturers coming to market and more uses of the tech becoming available. You only have to look at Sony and HTC, who are both planning to enter the VR frame soon. Not to mention, Nokia only very recently announced their own take on VR. That said, HTC seem to be looking more towards the long-game when it comes to their Vive VR headset. The company has already announced the hardware, released a developer’s edition and even been showcasing what it can do across the U.S. in the past few weeks. What’s becoming even clearer with HTC, is that they plan on making their option a more developed and all-round experience, compared to some of the others. They do not only hope to sell you their headset but more so, the VR experience.
Well, it now seems that HTC have recently confirmed a $10 million investment in the open virtual reality platform, WEVR. This investment equates to a 15-percent share and further offers the company a greater experience base to use for their upcoming consumer Vive headset. It seems likely, that this investment will help HTC in adding to their Vive software side of things and increase their content portfolio going forward. In fact, part of WEVR’s makeup is to offer grants to third party developers for original VR content, which again is probably something HTC are keen to get involved with. It is understood (albeit not confirmed) that Vive is going to land on the market at a higher price point and as such, it would make sense that HTC are keen to make sure the content (and therefore, experience) is one which justifies the price tag.