HTC and Micro-Star to demonstrate VR efforts

Staff writer, with CNA





Taiwan-based smartphone vendor HTC Corp (宏達電) and Taiwanese PC brand Micro-Star International Co (微星科技) are to jointly demonstrate their efforts in virtual reality (VR) technologies at the Tokyo Game Show, Micro-Star said yesterday.

At the show, which runs from Thursday through Sunday, Micro-Star is to introduce the VR One, touted as the world’s lightest VR backpack PC, which will support the HTC Vive, HTC’s first VR headset.

Micro-Star said that the VR One, with a weight of only 3.6kg, is expected to render greater mobility and freedom for VR gaming, adding that the new VR PC, which sports two battery packs for 1.5 hours of non-stop use, will give HTC Vive users a better VR gaming experience.

The HTC Vive is one of HTC’s gambits to diversify from its core smartphone market, which is saturated and intensely competitive.

Jointly developed by HTC and US video game supplier Valve, the HTC Vive was unveiled at the Mobile World Congress in March last year. The headset is equipped with tracked controllers that allow wearers to inspect objects from any angle and interact with their surroundings.

The VR headset is available worldwide and Japan has been targeted by HTC as one of its most important markets.

HTC said that with Micro-Star, it would launch a special sales package bundling Vive with VR One in the Japanese market and sales of the package would be available from Micro-Star’s Japanese distributors early next month.

The VR One is to be available in stores in Taiwan by the end of next month with a price tag of NT$69,900 (US$2,204), Micro-Star said.

In addition to the VR One, Micro-Star said it is also to launch several high-efficiency gaming notebook models at the Tokyo Game Show.

Micro-Star is one of HTC’s strategic partners in global VR development.