HTC has been widely out of stock of the 2016-era Vive basically since the entrance of Vive Cosmos last month, the $700 successor to its consumer-focused PC VR product segment. If you still have your heart set on getting a whole Vive system though, replete with SteamVR 1.0 basestations and Vive wand controllers, HTC is now ready to sell you a reconditioned system for $400.
The company says its certified pre-owned Vive systems have been “carefully tested by HTC to ensure all features and functions work properly. They have been inspected to ensure they have little to no cosmetic damage and may contain used components and refurbished parts.”
The company is also selling some of the certified pre-owned accessories on their own now too, including single wand controllers for $112 ($130 new) and single SteamVR 1.0 basestations for $115 ($135 new).
With prices like that, you’d be better off buying the whole $400 package, which includes the Vive headset, two SteamVR 1.0 wand controllers, two SteamVR 1.0 basestations, and all of the necessary cabling to get you up and running to play games and experiences sourced from Steam or Viveport, HTC’s own digital distribution platform.
The original Vive was last selling for $500 new, now bringing the used option to the same price-point as a new $400 Rift S, which admittedly comes with a higher resolution display, inside-out tracking, better controllers, built-in audio, and more advanced headset ergonomics. And that’s without the Black Friday deal Lenovo is advertising, bringing Rift S to an even cheaper $350. Although if you’re looking for the lowest barrier of entry into the SteamVR tracking ecosystem, $400 is thus far the lowest we’ve ever seen it go.
On the whole, it’s a wonder HTC isn’t practically giving away the now dated controllers and tracking basestations, however considering Vive Cosmos is soon to include its own modular SteamVR-compatible tracking faceplate which swaps its inside-out tracking for the more precise (albeit more finicky to setup) SteamVR tracking standard, they may be saving their stock-flushing package deals for a later date.