HTC cuts Vive price to $600 as an answer to Facebook’s Oculus Rift discounts

In preparation for the upcoming holiday season, HTC announced a permanent price reduction for its Vive virtual reality headset. Starting today, it will drop from $800 to $600.

The announcement comes a month or so after Facebook slashed the prices for the Oculus Rift headset and Oculus Touch controllers, bundling them for $400. HTC says its move isn’t in response to Facebook, but rather to try to get more consumers interested in what’s still fairly new tech. Though VR hardware could generate $3.6 billion this year, consumer adoption has been slower than initially projected. Early trailblazers like AltspaceVR have shuttered and VR startups are treading water. HTC Vive executive Dan O’Brien says that lowering the price point is just one component to bringing VR to a broader audience.