HTC and Valve are still on track to be first to market in the PC-based virtual reality (VR) head-mounted display (HMD) sector with the HTC Vive. The kit is set to launch in a limited fashion towards the end of the year before a full rollout in early 2016. It would seem that anticipation of that launch has had a positive effect on the company already, as the Taiwanese smartphone maker has today seen a shares boost that’s been attributed to the HTC Vive.
As reported by Focus Taiwan, HTC shares had been boosted by 2.58 percent to $83.60 NTD/$2.59 USD at 11:46 GMT+8 today. 18.54 million shares changed hands. According to KGI Securities analyst Phil Chu, this was thanks to anticipated of the HTC Vive which itself had been boosted by a recent tweet from Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates. The tweet showcased Gates playing a tennis experience in the HMD and reacting positively towards it.
“Since HTC shares breached the NT$80 mark yesterday, investors have been more willing to chase prices,” Chu said. “The tweet by Gates simply sparked the interest of investors who had been upbeat about the HTC Vive.
“The HTC Vive is leading the rise in HTC shares, but I have to say that the VR device market is relatively small the company has no real sales numbers yet,” Chu later added. “Investors should pay close attention to HTC’s smartphone shipments and its encouraging sales data for October.”
The HTC Vive is the first HMD to work with Valve’s SteamVR system. As such, the kit offers Room Scale user tracking in which players can move around an area of up to 15-feet by 15-feet in the real world and have those movements replicated within the given experience.
VRFocus will continue to follow the HTC Vive closely, reporting back with any further updates on its progress.
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