Valve Partners With HTC To Create The Vive Virtual Reality Headset
Valve has formed a relationship with Taiwanese smartphone and tablet maker HTC to help create a virtual reality headset called The Vive, which is powered by Valve's SteamVR.
Consumers will have to wait until “Holiday 2015” for the product, but a version for developers will be available in the spring. There hasn't been a confirmed release date for rival VR headsets Oculus Rift and Morpheus yet, but it looks like Valve and HTC's one could hit the market first.
Vertigo Games, Bossa, Fireproof and Dovetail are all said to be working on games for The Vive, although HTC is hoping to take it further than gaming with plans to start working with Google, HBO, Lionsgate and the National Palace Museum in Taiwan to build virtual reality experiences.
So what sort of tech specifications does the The Vive feature? It has a 1200 x 1080 pixel screen in front of each eye, with a 90 frames per second refresh rate. It also features a gyrosensor, accelerometer, and laser position sensor, which will track the rotation of your head to an accuracy of 1/10th of a degree.
Valve will also be releasing a SteamVR base station with the kit, which allows you to track your physical location in spaces up to 15 x 15 feet. Could Valve have been holding back Half-Life 3 for use with this exciting kit? We certainly think so.
Check out the promotional video released by HTC below: