HTC Announces VR Subscription Service For Vive

Published: January 5, 2017 10:20 PM /

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HTC Viveport Subscription

Today at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2017 HTC announced that Viveport, the Vive exclusive storefront, will be launching a monthly subscription service early in 2017. The purpose of their subscription service is to "help customers navigate the burgeoning market for VR apps as well as introduce a new channel through which VR developers can monetize their content." HTC has also stated that they plan to offer games as part of this subscription service while maintaining a low monthly fee.

For developers who have developed titles that are currently available on Viveport, and those who are planning on releasing games, they will now have the option of opting in their product to the subscription service as well as by releasing it as a stand-alone title. This release model gives creators another way that their game can generate revenue, especially by bringing the game to the eyes of some people who might not have normally taken a look. Rikard Steiber, the president of Viveport, explained the thought process behind the creation of their subscription service by saying the following:

We're happy to let VR fans know that the same way they discover and consume content through popular subscription services for music, films, TV and games is coming to virtual reality, for developers, this is yet another opportunity for them to reach broader audiences – we want to give VR developers as many ways as possible to monetize and feature their content, and this is yet another channel for them to reach new customers on Viveport.
Viveport also expanded on their promise from last November to expand upon the Viveport Arcade platform allowing businesses to bring VR to the masses as an enterprise level. Having expanded into China Viveport reported that they are now in more than 1,000 locations with over 300 VR titles available through the Arcade platform. This app is aimed to share high-end VR to visitors of arcades, cinemas, amusement parks as well as other entertainment centers.

Viveport's Enterprise app has also been set up delivering VR experiences to different industries such as healthcare, engineering, real estate, and retail. There is an aim to both deliver relevant VR content as well as attempt to support developers who might be interested in building these experiences.

If you wish to learn more about the subscription service then you can sign up to hear more about it when it launches and gain access to a free trial of it by launching the Vive app or going to the Viveport website.

What do you think of the HTC Vive getting a subscription service? Are you more likely to get that than purchasing VR games? Are you looking forward to seeing Vive's available to try in public?

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