HTC Corp (宏達電) yesterday said that it has teamed up with a number of companies in Japan to promote sales of its first virtual-reality (VR) headset, the Vive.
The company said it would work with distributors, as well as hardware and software developers in Akihabara, a well-known electronics shopping district in Tokyo, in its bid to enter the Japanese VR market.
They include VR developers Epic Games Japan and Unity Technologies Japan, game software supplier Namco Bandai, VR content investor Colopl Next, gaming Web site operator Gree, video game developer Square Enix, semiconductor developer AMD Japan and distributor Degica, HTC said.
Degica told reporters that it hopes its cooperation with HTC will provide consumers with opportunities to experience the Vive, particularly among families in Japan.
The Vive launched for sale in retail stores in Japan for ￥99,815 (US$987) and the headset has been bundled with certain PC models at ￥149,800, the company said.
The Vive is equipped with tracked controllers that allow wearers to inspect objects from every angle and interact with their surroundings.
HTC said the Vive has been well-received in Japan since online sales started in April.
Starting yesterday, Japanese consumers were able to make reservations at 36 authorized stores to test a VR headset, the company said.
So far, SteamVR, a content platform under Valve Corp, has provided more than 250 exclusive titles for the Vive.
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