While news of the Oculus Rift's shipping delays hit early adopters of virtual reality due to "component issues," things are no different on the other side as the HTC Vive has been facing similar problems in shipping pre-ordered units. The Oculus Rift was launched on March 30, and the HTC Vive is just about to release on April 5. On HTC's end, the dilemma is mostly due to mass auto-cancellations of pre-orders due to online payment process issues.
HTC has been working on the problem, having already reinstated some of the cancelled pre-orders and opened up their support channels to deal with other issues as well. As for those whose pre-orders remain cancelled, HTC has recommended those affected to contact their financial institutions to inform them of the charges. Having this problem so close to its official launch date may be costing HTC Vive some of its built-up pre-release hype.
The system requirements being pushed by SteamVR, and thus the HTC Vive, are quite lofty for most consumers. It calls for at least a Nvidia GeForce GTX 970 or an AMD Radeon R9 290, a fourth-generation Intel Core i5 or equivalent, more than 4GB RAM, and at least Windows 7 SP1. The HTC Vive itself uses connectors for HDMI 1.4, DisplayPort 1.2, and USB 2.0 or better that must be plugged all at once in order to work. However, compared to the Oculus Rift's need for one USB 2.0 and three USB 3.0 ports, it may seem more reasonable.
The reviews on the Oculus Rift had been mixed thus far, which may pave the way for the HTC Vive to give a much better impression with its better hardware and features. While it does seem that virtual reality is poised to hit the mainstream, there are still concerns regarding lack of content. For now, early adopters will have to make do with a limited library of titles while the wait for people to better adjust to the medium and come up with even more compelling ways for experiencing virtual reality continues.
[Image via HTC]
