On one hand, the Valve Index launched for $1000 in 2019. Adjusted for inflation, that is $1306.25. And you needed a powerful PC to be able to use it, where this can be used standalone. Only effectively costing an extra $194 for standalone processing is pretty impressive.
On the other hand, it is difficult to justify this price considering cheaper headsets on the market, like a $600 Meta Quest 3. Unless you dislike Facebook that strongly (justified).
I'd happily pay more to not use a Meta product.
I’ve been desperate to get into VR (both as a player and a developer) but being tethered wasn’t for me - it was the biggest gripe I had visiting VR experiences etc. And I dislike Meta on a philosophical and moral level.
So yeah, $1500 for “not Meta” is fine by me.
Yeah, I use a Quest 3 for 14 hours every day. I will definitely be getting Steam Frame even if this is the price. Or at least I will sign up to get one, up to the lottery if I do, lol. Speaking of... I should stop trying to convince people how awesome it is... no... yeah... Definitely too expensive, you wouldn't even like it..... please don't sign up for the lottery.
Ah who am I kidding... it is very much worth that price for anyone that knows they are gonna put it to good use.
How do you use vr for fourteen hours everyday?
It's my computer monitor, my TV, and where I also happen to occasionally play VR games. When not in full VR games, my computer or TV are just floating windows wherever I want them to be. And I'm in full color and 3D passthrough. So basically using them like as if they were already glasses... just super big heavy ones, lol.
Oh, and the practicality of how I physically keep it running 14 hours a day, bobovr infinite hotswap battery system.
And why it isn't 16 hours, I often take it off to eat still. Not all the time though.
How does your neck muscles look? I can imagine you get some workout and some tear.
Using as computer monitor, is that nice? Like coding or writing documents etc? Do they act like a monitor or do you use several workspaces so it feels like multiple monitors?
I wasn't aware this was an option.
If there was a way to hack Meta Quest I might buy one. Finding a hack probably would have been a better use of Valve's resources.
But I wouldn't pay more not to use it, I would just not pay at all. At $1500 I'll just keep not enjoying VR.
I remember being so excited for oculous back in the day, but then it got bought by Facebook and I knew I'd never buy one.
I won't use a Meta product under any circumstance, but I'm not going to pay an unlimited amount of money, either. If the alternative can't get reasonably close to Meta's reasonable prices, that just means I will continue to never get VR at all.
And the Steam Frame has alot more value added features, not to mention all the components they do have in common are at least a little step up from Quest 3. Other than color passthrough, which will be an add on accessory for those of us that want it. But, nice for the people that don't, they don't have to pay for it. And kind of nice for those of us that do, cuz we'll get to pick which one we want, and I want an expensive one, cuz it's important to me.
Unpopular take here, but I think it's a realistic expectation. I bought the valve index several years ago, and that cost me a grand. I would expect next Gen stuff to be even more expensive, even in the best of times. Add all the tech hardware fuckery of the last couple years to the mix and, well, I wouldn't have expected any lower price.
Does it suck? Yeah. Was the price expected? Also yeah.
It's not really next gen tho. The hardware is comparable to Quest 3.
It's using snapdragon 8 gen 3 which is more powerful than the xr gen 2 by 25%
And it's not owned by meta and many games that you already own will play on it without a PC, and it can be linked to your PC, unlike the $3500 Apple Vision Quest or whatever the hell it was called.
What if I told you there's more to a VR headset than the hardware?
Why would you tell me that when I was only objecting to the next gen label? That wouldn't make much sense.
As a non stand alone piece of hardware I didn’t see the value. With this new system i am not shocked it’s more expensive than the Steam machine. It’s basically its own game system. I’d argue more so than a machine or deck ..
This is a complete nothingburger article that's just repeating Tyler McVicker's speculation. I like McVicker, but to act like his guess is insight from a "Valve insider" is dogshit-tier journalism.
I still can't say it wouldn't be worth it at $1.5k for people that really wanted to get into VR... but unfortunately my price limit is $750 US for me to consider a launch day order, and obviously that ain't happening. With component prices being what they are, it's not realistic for me to expect any lower anymore.
But the best I can hope for is a memory crash and DRAM makers come scrambling back to fill the sinkhole void from the collapsing circular financing cycle. Today that's just a pipe dream.
No one other than meta seems interested in making an affordable midrange headset. I get that they want to push the tech but it's out of the budget for so many gamers that might otherwise be interested in vr.
I'm sure the frame is going to be amazing but I would be happier if I could get something for $500-700, even if it was equivalent to the the decade old HTC vive or similar headset.
I wouldn't say the Quest is cheaper, you just pay a recurring non-cash cost. It's a price I'm not willing to pay. I'm also not able to pay the expected cost for the Frame right away, but I hope there are enough early adopters to keep the manufacturing line going long enough for me to be able to afford one.
Again, 500-700 yeah sure. 1.5k? Absolutely not.
I would never have put money on it being less than $1k.
Even the index was expensive and that was in a more affordable time period.
I thought it would even out to about 800 dollars before the component crisis.
At one point, Valve had stated that they were shooting for a price under the Index, so that would have been below $1k.
Sucks Valve got back into the hardware right when Chat and Claude ate it all
I said this before when they first announced it, but my boss bought the Apple Vision Plus or whatever the hell it was called, and I got to use it, and it was actually a really great experience. Only it's tied to an Apple ecosystem.
I said then that if Valve could bring in their version and it's 60% as good as the Apple headset for under $1,800 then it would be worth it.
My only real concern is dealing with scalpers, and I'm probably not going to be an early adopter, but who knows if I get a Christmas bonus this year or accidentally stumble into a couple extra grand, I might just go ahead and pull the trigger on it.
It will sell out
I’ll still buy it.
Tyler McVicker doesn’t know shit about fuck. He’s “leaked” the release date of the Frame several times now and been completely wrong. I really don’t think it’s fair to call him a “Valve insider” at this point, or to write articles weighting his speculations over anyone else’s.
Well... there goes all my expectations to leave META VR ecosystem, so long steam frame
Looks like I'm never getting into VR for the same reason I didn't years back. Price continues to be expensive, and only cheap options are meta which is a big no.
I get why they did it, but its a shame they made it a standalone device. That itself drives the cost up, now even more so with memory shortages.
This is pretty much the only option for potentially seamless wireless VR on Linux so it's still going to sell
So probably 1200 or 1300 on launch - people will think they are getting a deal.
Just checked my CS2 Steam Inventory for the first time in many years. What the hell happened to the value of skins?! Most of them have increased twentyfold in value.
I will definitely be selling those to pay for the frame if the frame is this expensive. Rather have nice hardware than some skins.
I read lots of comments comparing the price tag to the Quest 2/3, but you all seem to forget that the Quest was heavily subsidised by Meta.
Fuck man. I really want to get into VR gaming, but that’s a ridiculous barrier to entry. The Quest 3 is reasonable, but I’m afraid I’ll buy it, love it, and want more.
The Quest would be fine if it weren't for Meta. I have a Quest 2, but I stopped using it over privacy concerns.
It worked great wired to my PC for PCVR. The wireless was pretty spotty.
Now that I think about it, would I have to make a Facebook account to use it? Cause that’s a hard fuckin no from me.
Nope just a meta account. If that's better or worse idk.
Seens like the same thing to me since whatever meta calls themselves its meta as a corporation that creeps me out.
Yeah. They have you attached a camera to your head that actively maps everything around you in color 3d and sends it to Facebook servers. Anytime I used it I'd take pretty much everything else out of the room. I think if I use it again I may use a deceased relative's account to really fuck with their data.
I got a Quest 3 and it completely satiated my VR needs. And in some respects it has advantages over the Frame, such as color passthrough
I wish they would make a pc headset. It would be so much cheaper without all the extra standalone hardware.
I did expect the price to match the index after the ram shortages, but going past it by $500 is a big ol yikes.
Price aside, do we think it's better than other options?
Based on past history of various VR HMD makers, for at least Linux users, I'd bet yes.
But...that's assuming that the user is going to get an HMD in the first place. Like, one "option" is to just not use an HMD, just use a traditional monitor and forego VR-only titles.
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