Valve today finally announced the price of their new VR kit the Steam Frame with SteamOS Linux, and it's actually not as bad as I expected.
  • Steam Frame 256GB: 1,059 USD / 1,529 CAD / 1,049 EUR / 889 GBP / 1,609 AUD / 4,539 PLN
  • Steam Frame 1TB: 1,299 USD / 1,859 CAD / 1,279 EUR / 1,089 GBP / 1,969 AUD / 5,549 PLN
  • tiramichu@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
    2·
    2 days ago

    Let’s say they removed the onboard capability, and doing so halved the price.

    You’re then left with a device which costs basically the same as a Quest 3 but also requires a PC to do anything. I’m pretty sure that would be reviewed a heck of a lot worse than even the current situation is.

    A self-contained unit that matched the Quest and wins on not price but privacy was the only reasonable direction for Valve here.

    • FauxLiving@lemmy.worldEnglish
      2·
      1 day ago

      A self-contained unit that matched the Quest and wins on not price but privacy was the only reasonable direction for Valve here.

      I do agree that the niche they’ve chosen to fill is valuable, having a good self-contained unit free of Meta’s spyware was the entire selling point for me.

      I know a lot of people who were looking into PCVR but didn’t buy an Index because they didn’t want to spend $1000 on a VR headset. PCVR is a niche of a niche audience, so I’m not surprised that they didn’t release a product that was just Index v2.

      Maybe, in the future they could offer a low-end SKU that was PC-only, without onboard gaming hardware.

    • BradleyUffner@lemmy.worldEnglish
      2·
      1 day ago

      You’re then left with a device which costs basically the same as a Quest 3 but also requires a PC to do anything.

      That’s basically a wireless Index without the lighthouse, which is all a LOT of us were asking for. I don’t see the problem and would love that.