How HTC designed its latest high-end consumer VR headset | Shen Ye

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HTC Vive launched its Vive XR Elite virtual reality and mixed reality headset at CES 2023. I was able to get a very brief demo of a working headset at the show. and it showed me that HTC is ready to compete with rivals Meta, Pico and Sony in taking on consumers in the next generation of virtual reality.

It's not a cheap $1,100 device. But like the more expensive $1,500 Meta Quest Pro, the Vive XR Elite (pre-order link here) includes both VR and MR capabilities, with a color RGB camera for passthrough viewing. I think this is a sign that VR is going to have a very competitive and good year in 2023.

I caught up with Shen Ye, Product Manager and Senior Director at HTC, to talk about the VR headset and the market potential. HTC said the headset is perfect for gaming, fitness, productivity and more. But companies can also opt for this type of device.

Vive XR Elite will see HTC Vive's biggest lineup of launch titles yet, with 100 new MR and VR content arriving in the launch window - from new games to classics - with more to follow. HTC also continues to move forward with the Metaverse, as the Vive XR Elite makes it easy to dive into the Viverse, which is HTC on the Metaverse. The company wants to see an open, interoperable, and imaginative metaverse.

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Here is an edited transcript of our interview.

GamesBeat: Can you give us some background? How long have you been working on this one?

Shen Ye: This is something we've been working on for a while. It has a lot of technology from Focus 3 and a lot of design from Vive Flow. We have been working iteratively for a long time. It is difficult to identify just one thing. But we've been working on it for a while.

GamesBeat: Where do you think it fits?

Ye: This is our premium consumer XR headset. We don't want to get into the race to the bottom game. We want to offer something that is not compromised by price. It offers a really solid and good experience. This is something we did with XR Elite.

GamesBeat: The price is right in the middle between where Meta has priced its headsets. Is there a corporate attraction...