The HTC Vive will cost a cool $799

A price somewhere between ‘ouch’ and ‘BOING’

Following a leak earlier today, HTC has officially confirmed the price of its VR device, the Vive, and its launch date. Early adopters will pay $799 to bask in the glory of VR with the first shipments of the device heading out in April. Pre-orders begin on Febuary 29. 

That $799 may sound mighty steep, but hey, you’re getting more than just a doofy-looking visor. The Vive comes with the headset, two controllers, two sensors to turn your living room into a budget-holodeck, and two games. One of those is Job Simulator, one of those goofy physics-based games, like Surgeon Simulator, where future humans try to reenact the absurd day-to-day grind of 21st century workers. The other, Fantastic Contraption, is more inscrutable, described as “walking around a grassy island floating in the sky, building a machine the size of a horse with your own hands, and then watching it roll out into the world.” Your guess is as good as mine.

In other news, today I stole the flyers my neighbor left in his mailbox all weekend to double up on coupons. Ever get the feeling you’re being priced out of existence?

HTC Vive is $799, ships ‘early April’ and you can answer phone calls in VR [UploadVR]