That's because the new minimum specs rely on the ASW technique, which requires new drive hooks that are only available in newer WDDM versions. Think of it this way: if you're on Windows 7, you need to meet at least the recommended hardware specs. If you're on 8.1 or later, you can drop down to the minimum specs and still get viable performance, which you cannot do on Windows 7.
FWIW, Amazon has the headset+controllers bundle for the $399 price: http://amzn.to/2sYTNeU (url shortened)
Personally, I will wait for the next version... for basic stuff Daydream (Google VR) works fine for me and I am yet to find a killer app for full fledged dedicated Oculus/Vive usage.
PS does anybody have game/app recommendations for the dedicated headsets?
The big thing you're missing from Daydream is head position tracking. Once you've tried it, you'll never want to go back to orientation-only. Plus visually the experience is a lot worse with Daydream and GearVR (Cardboard is garbage across the board, but everyone knows a HMD made of literal cardboard is going to be awful).
Bethesda's upcoming VR games will likely never support Oculus due to their parent company's feud. You can probably filter Steam by games that support Vive only.
Most games can be played between the two (albeit a small hack may be required). I've seen many games on steam that natively support both, or will say they only support the Vive, but works find on my Oculus.
The later version of the dolphin emulator have VR support. It's actually a lot of fun to re-play old GameCube games in VR (acting like an omnipotent viewer behind the character).
i picked one up at $400. That's a hell of a deal. Even if you just use it for VR porn, or the occasional gaming session, its hard to find any fault at 399. Vive is twice the costs for a inferior headset (in terms of build quality, Screen Door, and finish). The free games in this bundle make it worth even more.
Actually, the Vive is superior in nearly all metrics. The only thing the Rift has that is better than Vive is the head strap - but Vive has the "Deluxe audio strap" that completely blows the Rift out of the water. Makes the Vive fit on your head like PSVR.
The big problem with the Vive's room feature is that, while software can theoretically use it as an option, in practice a lot of the software only works in room mode and not in sitdown. Even the minimum room size assumes you have a big apartment with a big empty space and high ceilings. In my tiny basement area with low ceilings, I've gotten trapped in certain games because I couldn't reach an object without hitting the ceiling.
I wish there was more Vive software that just used an Xbox One controller to move around. The Rift shipped with that as the default method, so my guess is that more of the software supports that.
I've had all 3 Psvr vive and now rift. Rift is the best one hands down. I've gone from being annoyed with Gen 1 VR to actively loving it.
Most of the BS you read about oculus is based on the past. Rift NOW works sublimely, looks better, feels better, and has better quality software. And also plays steam VR stuff too. Win/Win (for half the price!).
No offence but you do sound like a noob asking about 'needs room'. Neither Vive nor Rift absolutely NEED large rooms or roomscale, though many of the games will. But 2m x 1.5x can cover it (an average room playspace) and BOTH can do larger. Vive can go larger more easily but by that point most people can't use that space as too big.
I had Vive set up in my 15 x 10 (feet) room and now have rift doing similar. Rift works just as well basically but FEELS so much nicer to use, it's very slick, the controls are awesome compared to the terrible vive wands with limited buttons and clunky feel.
I've had PSVR too - avoid it - the tracking is terrible. I sold vive/psvr as wasn't happy with either. Rift cost me less than both and is twice as good as both combined.
Oh and graphically, the rift is so much better with SDE and Clarity that it makes the Vive look more like my old DK2 (lots of pixelation and screen door). Rift shocked me with how much sharper/higher res it looks even though it's technically the same res as Vive. It's just better thought out how they use the pixels (cram more in the middle where it counts). FOV is very VERY similar in practice and in fact I prefer the FOV shape on Rift. Vive was a weird full circle look when putting it on until tuning it out with the brain, used to annoy me everytime. But rift's FOV is easier to tune out, same with the rift's soft god rays vs the vives concentric ring (lens) highlighting which makes you feel like your eyes are watering and you are looking through a window when they kick in, on rift the god rays are THERE but they are just far less annoying/immersion breaking.
At half the price even at the SAME price I couldn't ever seriously say get a Vive (or PSVR) over rift. Rift is the ONLY gen 1 VR product I've tried that meets my 'bare minimum' of acceptability in all important areas: Screen clarity, sweet spot (focus area), weight, ergonomics, tracking, controllers, software, price... VIVE and PSVR mess up on those areas between them (so Vive has great tracking but horrible ergonomics - PSVR has good ergonomics but woeful tracking etc) RIFT has great 'all round' in all areas ability.
Gen 1 = Rift. Wait for gen 2 if you want something better cos Vive is worse... much much worse.
They (Touch) are better than the Vive wands for most things. Too bad they didn't originally ship with the Rift! On the other hand, Valve has controllers coming out that will leapfrog Touch. And the Vive's tracking design makes expanding tracking (both area wise and # of devices) much more feasible in general.
Actually no it isn't. I used to think (and talk) like you right up until I bought a rift (on offer) to replace my long sold, and not missed, vive.
The rift is better in EVERY way except for tracking, and the tracking is now fine for most uses (inc roomscale).
I detest the way those who've only had one, not both, talk about the Vive 'being superior', you sound like idiots, sorry.
There is an entire essay to be written about how the Rift is better than the vive but until you try it you'll continue under your delusion.
For everyone else reading, do not believe this guy, he is wrong.
The rift is better in all the following areas (over Vive which I sold as hated wearing it)
SDE Screen quality Lens Quality Black Levels Mura (lack of dirty blacks - vive was almost as bad as PSVR for dirty blacks) HMD build quality/finish Weight Size Comfort built in headphones (and nice ones at that! Hated putting phones on afterwards in Vive and PSVR) Ease of putting on/off Controllers Ease of use (home/software is a bit more fun and solid for VR use vs steam) Sweet spot God rays (it has god rays but to me they are easier to live with than the Vive's ring rays) Movement ease (due to less weight and better design I can move head up down and look at floor/ceiling much better without it moving out of sweet spot) Tracking setup - pop the cams down - done. No drilling no gremlins no constant recalibration as I had with vive. Packaging/storage - original rift case is LUSH and far higher quality than the foam/cardboard Vive thing (though this may change with new rift all in one bundle) Charging of controls - I LOVE just popping a single AA battery into touch, they last ages, far longer than the Vive wands did, and then I can just pop a recharged battery in (got 8 back ups) and continue, no waiting for wands to charge via usb! (also those battery covers are a beautiful slick design... magnetised to aid refitting they almost put themselves back on! :) ) General polish of all the main supported software (the oculus stuff and home, the new games, the freebies like Robo recall - better on rift with touch than hacked on vive with revive) The cable - lighter, thinner and less annoying than Vive's original cable The shape of the FOV - The Shape? Yes! on Vive It's like looking through a pure circle at first, I always found it offputting and little too diver's masky for my tastes (even if it's technically a bit larger than rift), on rift it has a typical oblong/soft rectangle shape which lets me forget about it more easily. I always assumed FOV 'shape' would be in Vive's favour having read about the rift but no, rift I just forget about the FOV just like I forget about the god rays far easier than I could in Vive. oh and... now... THE PRICE! HALF THE PRICE FGS! :)
the tl;dr of this is essentially: The vive is a pain to use, the ergonomics are a joke and even with the DAS the audio quality and comfort are STILL not as good as rift. Meanwhile rift at half price is a beautiful product. Super comfy, much better controls, much better software (properly mapped to touch not hacked through revive which never felt as good), much better price, much easier to use, much more fun to use, looks better (graphically) thanks to less SDE and higher pixel density in the area where you look most.
I really dreaded putting the vive on for VR and it felt unready (esp for the price) to be sold as a consumer product. Rift on the other hand has blown me away with how polished, refined and all round BETTER it is than Vive. And that's not just the looks or controllers or externals, but the actual VR is better because it's often smoother, looks sharper, has better/smoother uniformity of light/shade, better blacks etc.
The guy above is another vive only joker, I've had both + PSVR and the ONLY one that remains is Rift and it's clearly above the other two in all ways (except Vive's extremely robust tracking but even that has downsides/gremlins and is overkill for most rooms inc mine).
1. The add on strap for Vive is STILL less comfy than rift (i've tried it!) and the headphones on the Vive one are nowhere near as good sounding NOR as ergonomic as rift.
2. It doesn't fit like PSVR at all! I've had PSVR and neither rift nor vive (with new strap) fit like PSVR. Furthermore, while PSVR is very good ergonomically (the head mount is a very good system) it too has issues of comfort when wearing for an hour or more, namely the sides dig in and the plastic aroudn the head starts to make your head ache (no flex). It's great by having zero pressure on your face but in reality I now find RIFT the comfiest of all 3, I often forget i'm even wearing it as the head part (rubberised rigid strap) is extremely comfy, it just melts away. The vive even with new strap and esp without, was so uncomfy it's ridiculous. Furthermore you couldn't even look around properly as if you look at the ground it rides up (then the poor sweet spot and ring rays mean you lose focus + get glares). On rift you can look everywhere and it stays put, it's VERY light compared to Vive, esp the vive's super heavy front weight.
The add on strap is a band-aid for a very poor original, it looks monsterous (ugly) too and in no way is it as good as the svelte, comfy and designed from the start to be part of the system - Rift system.
The only place you could say Vive has more comfort is if you wear large glasses there's a little more room inside vive to get them in, I don't wear glasses so don't care. Rift is absolutely awesome next to Vive, from controllers, to screens, to comfort, to software and now to price.
Please try n spin yer way out of that, it will only show how biased you are.
Or maybe actually go buy/try the rift and wake up.
lastly - have fun buying vive for double the price THEN adding another 100 to even ATTEMPT to get close to what the rift feels like in use, out of the box, for just $399.
I agree 100%, I've had both Vive and Rift. I almost lost faith in gen 1 entirely after Vive, then PSVR (owned and sold both). I picked up rift (previously avoided cos facebook mainly) at this price as was too good to refuse and was simlar price to my old DK2 rift but with controls too ! :) I expected much of the same problems that annoyed me in vive but was willing to take it for half the price, man I was surprised to find MOST of those problems don't even exist on Rift! And now VR has gone from a clunky, ill thought chore to use to a slick, pleasurable, comfy experience in the Rift that I can wear for literally hours without any discomfort or desire to leave VR. I couldn't stand more than an hour in Vive due to bad design and bad SDE.
Rift looks loads better than Vive too (even at same res) because of how the screen and lenses are, it's more like a gen 1.5 next to the Vive which graphically (screens) felt more like a small upgrade from my dk2.
US list prices don't include tax. $399 + UK VAT 20% = $479. While £399 is $516. So it's definitely more expensive, but by $37, not $117 as it may seem at first.
It was cheap enough that I ordered the bundle for myself.
I ordered one when I saw this and many other articles announcing the price drop. I'll hold off on getting a third sensor. I don't think my office will need it. 3x3 meters. Add in office equipment, etc reducing floor space, the 2 should be fine. I went back and forth on the Vive or Rift. I've tried them all. Was pretty undecided until the price drop. While I do think the rift is more comfortable bc of the built in headphones means one less thing to add, the Vive does fit my glasses better. I wear contacts too so that's not much of an issue. Visually, I've tried games in both. Artifacts are a bit different in each. Neither are better or worse than the other, just different. The rift looks slightly smoother at the expense of slightly softer image. Depending on the game, pixel crawl in the Vive is either very noticeable or not. The screen door effect is apparent in both if looking at bright, still objects or anything without a lot of motion. It's not bad though and once you're immersed into the game, you don't notice it. I would have been happy with either and I've been hemming and hawing about which one to get. I was leaning towards the vive bc of room scale, ease of setup. Then I was leaning towards the Rift bc of the touch controllers, HMD adjustablility(GF got a tiny head), rumors of scorpio compatibility. Ultimately though the price made me get off the pot. At half the price, I can't see spending the extra $400 for the Vive features. If they had dropped their prices too, then I'd still be undecided. Vive announced they were not dropping prices so I pulled the trigger.
We’ve updated our terms. By continuing to use the site and/or by logging into your account, you agree to the Site’s updated Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
32 Comments
Back to Article
shabby - Monday, July 10, 2017 - link
Minimum win 8.1 but win 7 recommended? Fascinating...bigboxes - Monday, July 10, 2017 - link
That is pretty funny.coolhardware - Tuesday, July 11, 2017 - link
Maybe XP would work even better? ;-) lolLord of the Bored - Tuesday, July 11, 2017 - link
98SE or bust!edzieba - Tuesday, July 11, 2017 - link
That's because the new minimum specs rely on the ASW technique, which requires new drive hooks that are only available in newer WDDM versions. Think of it this way: if you're on Windows 7, you need to meet at least the recommended hardware specs. If you're on 8.1 or later, you can drop down to the minimum specs and still get viable performance, which you cannot do on Windows 7.coolhardware - Tuesday, July 11, 2017 - link
FWIW, Amazon has the headset+controllers bundle for the $399 price:http://amzn.to/2sYTNeU (url shortened)
Personally, I will wait for the next version... for basic stuff Daydream (Google VR) works fine for me and I am yet to find a killer app for full fledged dedicated Oculus/Vive usage.
PS does anybody have game/app recommendations for the dedicated headsets?
mhampton - Tuesday, July 11, 2017 - link
Elite: Dangerous.coolhardware - Wednesday, July 12, 2017 - link
Thanks, will check out Elite: Dangerous!milkywayer - Tuesday, July 11, 2017 - link
I'll be waiting for the next model as well. The screen door effect is just too much. Best of luck to whoever wants their hands on this one though.edzieba - Tuesday, July 11, 2017 - link
The big thing you're missing from Daydream is head position tracking. Once you've tried it, you'll never want to go back to orientation-only. Plus visually the experience is a lot worse with Daydream and GearVR (Cardboard is garbage across the board, but everyone knows a HMD made of literal cardboard is going to be awful).rtho782 - Tuesday, July 11, 2017 - link
Hmmm I kind of wanted a Vive but at this price....Are there many games I can't play on this that I could play with a vive?
abrowne1993 - Tuesday, July 11, 2017 - link
Bethesda's upcoming VR games will likely never support Oculus due to their parent company's feud. You can probably filter Steam by games that support Vive only.Trackster - Tuesday, July 11, 2017 - link
Most games can be played between the two (albeit a small hack may be required). I've seen many games on steam that natively support both, or will say they only support the Vive, but works find on my Oculus.The later version of the dolphin emulator have VR support. It's actually a lot of fun to re-play old GameCube games in VR (acting like an omnipotent viewer behind the character).
Morawka - Tuesday, July 11, 2017 - link
i picked one up at $400. That's a hell of a deal. Even if you just use it for VR porn, or the occasional gaming session, its hard to find any fault at 399. Vive is twice the costs for a inferior headset (in terms of build quality, Screen Door, and finish). The free games in this bundle make it worth even more.JKflipflop98 - Tuesday, July 11, 2017 - link
Actually, the Vive is superior in nearly all metrics. The only thing the Rift has that is better than Vive is the head strap - but Vive has the "Deluxe audio strap" that completely blows the Rift out of the water. Makes the Vive fit on your head like PSVR.Wolfpup - Wednesday, July 12, 2017 - link
Vive requires room though, right? Making it a non-starter for me, and probably most people.Rift though you're stuck with these drivers and whatnot from a company of unknown quality. Feel better about doing it with Sony or Valve...
MamiyaOtaru - Wednesday, July 12, 2017 - link
why would it *require* room? Don't have room? Don't get to use room features. It'll still work fine for sit downgerz1219 - Wednesday, July 12, 2017 - link
The big problem with the Vive's room feature is that, while software can theoretically use it as an option, in practice a lot of the software only works in room mode and not in sitdown. Even the minimum room size assumes you have a big apartment with a big empty space and high ceilings. In my tiny basement area with low ceilings, I've gotten trapped in certain games because I couldn't reach an object without hitting the ceiling.I wish there was more Vive software that just used an Xbox One controller to move around. The Rift shipped with that as the default method, so my guess is that more of the software supports that.
blackcrayon - Monday, July 17, 2017 - link
VR with a gamepad is just gross, man. Why even bother? Just play games on a nice large TV at that point.InfoFront - Thursday, July 13, 2017 - link
Most people don't have room?slapdash - Wednesday, July 19, 2017 - link
I've had all 3 Psvr vive and now rift. Rift is the best one hands down. I've gone from being annoyed with Gen 1 VR to actively loving it.Most of the BS you read about oculus is based on the past. Rift NOW works sublimely, looks better, feels better, and has better quality software. And also plays steam VR stuff too. Win/Win (for half the price!).
No offence but you do sound like a noob asking about 'needs room'. Neither Vive nor Rift absolutely NEED large rooms or roomscale, though many of the games will. But 2m x 1.5x can cover it (an average room playspace) and BOTH can do larger. Vive can go larger more easily but by that point most people can't use that space as too big.
I had Vive set up in my 15 x 10 (feet) room and now have rift doing similar. Rift works just as well basically but FEELS so much nicer to use, it's very slick, the controls are awesome compared to the terrible vive wands with limited buttons and clunky feel.
I've had PSVR too - avoid it - the tracking is terrible. I sold vive/psvr as wasn't happy with either. Rift cost me less than both and is twice as good as both combined.
slapdash - Wednesday, July 19, 2017 - link
Oh and graphically, the rift is so much better with SDE and Clarity that it makes the Vive look more like my old DK2 (lots of pixelation and screen door). Rift shocked me with how much sharper/higher res it looks even though it's technically the same res as Vive. It's just better thought out how they use the pixels (cram more in the middle where it counts). FOV is very VERY similar in practice and in fact I prefer the FOV shape on Rift. Vive was a weird full circle look when putting it on until tuning it out with the brain, used to annoy me everytime. But rift's FOV is easier to tune out, same with the rift's soft god rays vs the vives concentric ring (lens) highlighting which makes you feel like your eyes are watering and you are looking through a window when they kick in, on rift the god rays are THERE but they are just far less annoying/immersion breaking.At half the price even at the SAME price I couldn't ever seriously say get a Vive (or PSVR) over rift. Rift is the ONLY gen 1 VR product I've tried that meets my 'bare minimum' of acceptability in all important areas: Screen clarity, sweet spot (focus area), weight, ergonomics, tracking, controllers, software, price... VIVE and PSVR mess up on those areas between them (so Vive has great tracking but horrible ergonomics - PSVR has good ergonomics but woeful tracking etc) RIFT has great 'all round' in all areas ability.
Gen 1 = Rift. Wait for gen 2 if you want something better cos Vive is worse... much much worse.
rtho782 - Sunday, July 16, 2017 - link
Everything I've seen says the oculus touch controllers are better than the Vive ones.blackcrayon - Monday, July 17, 2017 - link
They (Touch) are better than the Vive wands for most things. Too bad they didn't originally ship with the Rift! On the other hand, Valve has controllers coming out that will leapfrog Touch. And the Vive's tracking design makes expanding tracking (both area wise and # of devices) much more feasible in general.slapdash - Wednesday, July 19, 2017 - link
Actually no it isn't. I used to think (and talk) like you right up until I bought a rift (on offer) to replace my long sold, and not missed, vive.The rift is better in EVERY way except for tracking, and the tracking is now fine for most uses (inc roomscale).
I detest the way those who've only had one, not both, talk about the Vive 'being superior', you sound like idiots, sorry.
There is an entire essay to be written about how the Rift is better than the vive but until you try it you'll continue under your delusion.
For everyone else reading, do not believe this guy, he is wrong.
The rift is better in all the following areas (over Vive which I sold as hated wearing it)
SDE
Screen quality
Lens Quality
Black Levels
Mura (lack of dirty blacks - vive was almost as bad as PSVR for dirty blacks)
HMD build quality/finish
Weight
Size
Comfort
built in headphones (and nice ones at that! Hated putting phones on afterwards in Vive and PSVR)
Ease of putting on/off
Controllers
Ease of use (home/software is a bit more fun and solid for VR use vs steam)
Sweet spot
God rays (it has god rays but to me they are easier to live with than the Vive's ring rays)
Movement ease (due to less weight and better design I can move head up down and look at floor/ceiling much better without it moving out of sweet spot)
Tracking setup - pop the cams down - done. No drilling no gremlins no constant recalibration as I had with vive.
Packaging/storage - original rift case is LUSH and far higher quality than the foam/cardboard Vive thing (though this may change with new rift all in one bundle)
Charging of controls - I LOVE just popping a single AA battery into touch, they last ages, far longer than the Vive wands did, and then I can just pop a recharged battery in (got 8 back ups) and continue, no waiting for wands to charge via usb! (also those battery covers are a beautiful slick design... magnetised to aid refitting they almost put themselves back on! :) )
General polish of all the main supported software (the oculus stuff and home, the new games, the freebies like Robo recall - better on rift with touch than hacked on vive with revive)
The cable - lighter, thinner and less annoying than Vive's original cable
The shape of the FOV - The Shape? Yes! on Vive It's like looking through a pure circle at first, I always found it offputting and little too diver's masky for my tastes (even if it's technically a bit larger than rift), on rift it has a typical oblong/soft rectangle shape which lets me forget about it more easily. I always assumed FOV 'shape' would be in Vive's favour having read about the rift but no, rift I just forget about the FOV just like I forget about the god rays far easier than I could in Vive.
oh and... now... THE PRICE! HALF THE PRICE FGS! :)
the tl;dr of this is essentially: The vive is a pain to use, the ergonomics are a joke and even with the DAS the audio quality and comfort are STILL not as good as rift. Meanwhile rift at half price is a beautiful product. Super comfy, much better controls, much better software (properly mapped to touch not hacked through revive which never felt as good), much better price, much easier to use, much more fun to use, looks better (graphically) thanks to less SDE and higher pixel density in the area where you look most.
I really dreaded putting the vive on for VR and it felt unready (esp for the price) to be sold as a consumer product. Rift on the other hand has blown me away with how polished, refined and all round BETTER it is than Vive. And that's not just the looks or controllers or externals, but the actual VR is better because it's often smoother, looks sharper, has better/smoother uniformity of light/shade, better blacks etc.
The guy above is another vive only joker, I've had both + PSVR and the ONLY one that remains is Rift and it's clearly above the other two in all ways (except Vive's extremely robust tracking but even that has downsides/gremlins and is overkill for most rooms inc mine).
slapdash - Wednesday, July 19, 2017 - link
BTW you really are uninformed.1. The add on strap for Vive is STILL less comfy than rift (i've tried it!) and the headphones on the Vive one are nowhere near as good sounding NOR as ergonomic as rift.
2. It doesn't fit like PSVR at all! I've had PSVR and neither rift nor vive (with new strap) fit like PSVR. Furthermore, while PSVR is very good ergonomically (the head mount is a very good system) it too has issues of comfort when wearing for an hour or more, namely the sides dig in and the plastic aroudn the head starts to make your head ache (no flex). It's great by having zero pressure on your face but in reality I now find RIFT the comfiest of all 3, I often forget i'm even wearing it as the head part (rubberised rigid strap) is extremely comfy, it just melts away. The vive even with new strap and esp without, was so uncomfy it's ridiculous. Furthermore you couldn't even look around properly as if you look at the ground it rides up (then the poor sweet spot and ring rays mean you lose focus + get glares). On rift you can look everywhere and it stays put, it's VERY light compared to Vive, esp the vive's super heavy front weight.
The add on strap is a band-aid for a very poor original, it looks monsterous (ugly) too and in no way is it as good as the svelte, comfy and designed from the start to be part of the system - Rift system.
The only place you could say Vive has more comfort is if you wear large glasses there's a little more room inside vive to get them in, I don't wear glasses so don't care. Rift is absolutely awesome next to Vive, from controllers, to screens, to comfort, to software and now to price.
Please try n spin yer way out of that, it will only show how biased you are.
Or maybe actually go buy/try the rift and wake up.
slapdash - Wednesday, July 19, 2017 - link
lastly - have fun buying vive for double the price THEN adding another 100 to even ATTEMPT to get close to what the rift feels like in use, out of the box, for just $399.A fool and his money...
slapdash - Wednesday, July 19, 2017 - link
I agree 100%, I've had both Vive and Rift. I almost lost faith in gen 1 entirely after Vive, then PSVR (owned and sold both). I picked up rift (previously avoided cos facebook mainly) at this price as was too good to refuse and was simlar price to my old DK2 rift but with controls too ! :) I expected much of the same problems that annoyed me in vive but was willing to take it for half the price, man I was surprised to find MOST of those problems don't even exist on Rift! And now VR has gone from a clunky, ill thought chore to use to a slick, pleasurable, comfy experience in the Rift that I can wear for literally hours without any discomfort or desire to leave VR. I couldn't stand more than an hour in Vive due to bad design and bad SDE.Rift looks loads better than Vive too (even at same res) because of how the screen and lenses are, it's more like a gen 1.5 next to the Vive which graphically (screens) felt more like a small upgrade from my dk2.
Mugur - Wednesday, July 12, 2017 - link
Good price, if you can find it. On Amazon UK the offer is 399 GBP. A bit more than the 399 USD...valinor89 - Wednesday, July 12, 2017 - link
399GBP is 450€ wich is what the bundle costs in the official web store, wich is 514$ for you north americans.Not cheap by any means.
Strom- - Thursday, July 13, 2017 - link
US list prices don't include tax. $399 + UK VAT 20% = $479. While £399 is $516. So it's definitely more expensive, but by $37, not $117 as it may seem at first.It was cheap enough that I ordered the bundle for myself.
Manch - Tuesday, July 18, 2017 - link
I ordered one when I saw this and many other articles announcing the price drop. I'll hold off on getting a third sensor. I don't think my office will need it. 3x3 meters. Add in office equipment, etc reducing floor space, the 2 should be fine. I went back and forth on the Vive or Rift. I've tried them all. Was pretty undecided until the price drop. While I do think the rift is more comfortable bc of the built in headphones means one less thing to add, the Vive does fit my glasses better. I wear contacts too so that's not much of an issue. Visually, I've tried games in both. Artifacts are a bit different in each. Neither are better or worse than the other, just different. The rift looks slightly smoother at the expense of slightly softer image. Depending on the game, pixel crawl in the Vive is either very noticeable or not. The screen door effect is apparent in both if looking at bright, still objects or anything without a lot of motion. It's not bad though and once you're immersed into the game, you don't notice it. I would have been happy with either and I've been hemming and hawing about which one to get. I was leaning towards the vive bc of room scale, ease of setup. Then I was leaning towards the Rift bc of the touch controllers, HMD adjustablility(GF got a tiny head), rumors of scorpio compatibility. Ultimately though the price made me get off the pot. At half the price, I can't see spending the extra $400 for the Vive features. If they had dropped their prices too, then I'd still be undecided. Vive announced they were not dropping prices so I pulled the trigger.