As you may remember, in 2016 Oculus Rift and HTC Vive launched days apart. Last week saw the former celebrate its first anniversary with a sale and now the latter has announced its plans. For HTC Vive that special day is this Wednesday, 5th April, and to mark the occasion the company will be holding ‘Vive Day’.
As part of Vive Day, HTC will be launching new features as well as lots of new offers. The first is the Viveport subscription service which was first announced during CES 2017 in January. The service aims to provide users a new way to navigate the hundreds of apps currently available on Viveport. Customers will pay $6.99 a month choosing five titles from an ever-growing library of curated content. They’ll receive unlimited access to the apps they choose which can also be rotated out every month. The subscription service apps are also available for sale, enabling customers to try before they buy.
Viveport Subscription will be launching with more than 50 titles available including virtual reality (VR) apps such as TheBlu, Richie’s Plank Experience, Everest VR, Fantastic Contraption, Mars Odyssey and more. All new customers can take advantage of a free one month trial by registering at www.viveport.com.
“The marketplace for Vive apps has grown at a tremendous pace with more than 1,600 titles now available across different app stores and over 30 new apps launching daily,” said Rikard Steiber, President of Viveport at HTC Vive. “The rapid growth of the app market is a win for VR overall yet it can present discoverability challenges that affect both customers and content creators. Introducing a subscription model to VR is a natural evolution of where this market is going, and as film, music and TV have proven it’s becoming the preferred way customers want to explore and experience entertainment content.”
On top of the Viveport subscription, HTC Vive users will be able to redeem a free copy of Vive Studio’s action game Arcade Saga, normally $19.99 USD. Arcade Saga has three game types – Smash, Bowshot and Fracture Each mode has head-to-head online multiplayer and a campaign with 84 levels to master. Additionally, new customers wanting to purchase a headset will receive $100 USD off through the online store. Both these offers are available for one day only on 5th April.
“We’re surprised every day by what our fans and developers have brought to VIVE in its first year,” said Daniel O’ Brien, GM US, HTC Vive. “We’re astounded by the impact that VR is making in the home and in the enterprise, and we want to celebrate Vive’s first birthday by giving a bit back to our fans and by introducing Vive to more people.”
HTC Vive will also be marking Vive Day with developer interviews, additional free downloads and more, so keep reading VRFocus for the latest announcements.
