Barcelona // HTC surprised tech observers with its entry into virtual reality content delivery, as part of a partnership with Valve, the developer of the popular online gaming portal Steam.
Under the agreement, the Taiwanese device manufacturer will develop a virtual reality headset, named the HTC Vive, which will be launched commercially before the end of the year.
“Vive creates an exciting opportunity for all developers and content creators to help us bring virtual reality into the mainstream with an end-to-end solution that completely redefines how we entertain ourselves, communicate with each other, learn and, eventually, how we become more productive,” said HTC’s chairwoman, Cher Wang.
A version of the headset, which comes equipped with two wireless hand-held controllers, will be launched for developers from this spring, with an early version available for testing at this week’s Game Developers Conference in San Francisco.
“Our collaboration with HTC is driven by the companies’ shared desire to produce the most compelling and complete VR experience,” said Ken Birdwell of Valve. “Delivering content creators the Vive Developer Edition is an incredibly important milestone in our efforts to achieve that goal.”
HTC and Valve have also begun working with content providers, including Google, HBO, Lionsgate and the National Palace Museum in Taiwan, to offer non-gaming virtual experiences.
After having been largely written off as a consumer technology some time ago, virtual reality has resurged in recent years, prompted largely by the development of the Oculus Rift headset by the American start-up Oculus VR.
Initially crowdfunded at US$2.4 million, the company was acquired for $2 billion by Facebook in March of last year and is expected to launch commercially later this year.
Samsung threw its hat into the ring in September with the launch of its Samsung Gear VR headset, with the South Korean manufacturer announcing an updated version on Sunday.
Microsoft in January unveiled its HoloLens virtual reality headset, which it plans to launch later this year.
The announcement of the Vive headset came after HTC unveiled the HTC One M9, the latest iteration of its flagship smartphone range.
The M9, which has a largely similar crafted metallic body to that of the M7 and M8, comes equipped with an enhanced 20-megapixel camera and is available in dual-tone silver and rose gold, single-tone gunmetal grey, single-tone gold and dual-tone gold and pink.
The HTC One M9 will start shipping internationally from mid-March.
The company also announced the launch of the HTC Grip, its first fitness tracking device, developed in conjunction with the American sportswear maker Under Armour. The device will go on sale in the United States this spring, priced at about $199, with no details as to when it will be launched internationally.
jeverington@thenational.ae
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