A couple of weeks ago HTC Vive launched the first kit in the lineup of Vive Cosmos mods being release in 2020, the Vive Cosmos Elite. That full kit including SteamVR trackers and controllers retails for £899 GBP ($899 USD). Now the company has announced when it plans to begin rolling out the headset only version for those with SteamVR setups.
If you already own one of the original HTC Vive’s and haven’t dropped cash on the HTC Vive Pro (£599/$599 headset-only), and still want to use those wall-mounted base stations then you might be interested in the Vive Cosmos Elite. Set to retail for $549, that saves you a little bit of cash whilst gaining a slight uptick in resolution with the Vive Cosmos offering a 2880 x 1700 combined pixel resolution while the Vive Pro comes in at 2880 x 1600 pixels combined.
For your $549 you’ll get a pre-installed External Tracking Faceplate and the Vive Cosmos headset, six months of Viveport Infinity for free and just like the main kit a free copy of Half-Life: Alyx. That’s quite a tempting offer considering rivals Oculus Rift S and Valve Index are still listed as out of stock or on 8-week back orders respectively.
Cosmos Elite Headset Sale Dates |
||
Country |
Pre-order |
On sale |
| CN | N/A | 16-Apr |
| TW | 1-Apr | 16-Apr |
| EU | 14-Apr | 27-Apr |
| UK | 14-Apr | 27-Apr |
| CA | 1-Apr | 1-May |
| US | 1-Apr | 1-May |
| AU | N/A | May |
| KR | N/A | May |
| NZ | N/A | May |
| JP | 1-May | Mid-May |
| ME | 20-May | 10-Jun |
As for the External Tracking Faceplate itself, that’s still slated for a global launch later in Q2, retailing for $199. The upgrade accessory for current Vive Cosmos owners, the External Tracking Faceplate works with SteamVR base station v1.0 and v2.0, as well as the original Vive or Vive Pro controllers. Plus, the External Tracking Faceplate will also include a redemption code for Half-Life: Alyx and six months of Viveport Infinity for free.
Cosmos External Tracking Faceplate Availability |
|
Country |
On Sale |
| KR | Late April |
| CA | 1-May |
| US | 1-May |
| EU | 15-May |
| UK | 15-May |
| ME | 10-Jun |
| TW | To be announced |
| AU | May |
Additionally, HTC Vive will begin releasing its planned Game Developers Conference (GDC) sessions from today via weekly live webinars/Q&A. Head to the HTC Vive blog for all the session links. For further updates on Vive Cosmos, keep reading VRFocus.
via Mint VR