KatVR said Kat Walk Mini would be ‘affordable’ — it’s not

“Hugely disappointing” would be the only way to describe today’s news from KatVR, the company behind the upcoming omnidirectional VR treadmill Kat Walk Mini. One week after telling fans that its latest, smallest model would be “affordable” for “the average consumer,” the company revealed today that it will briefly offer the motion accessory for “only $1,499” ahead of a regular price of $2,999.

If the “average consumer” is a normal individual who paid between $200 and $500 for a VR headset — and probably less for accessories — KatVR’s promise was clearly misleading. But if the “average consumer” of VR is a multimillionaire or high-end arcade, perhaps this 4.9-foot-square black platform will have a shot with some special definition of mainstream users.