HTC’s Vive VR headset now open for pre-orders, shipping starts April 5

Pre-orders for the HTC Vive virtual reality headset opened worldwide on February 29 with shipping to begin on April 5.

Pre-orders for the HTC Vive virtual reality headset opened worldwide on February 29 with shipping to begin on April 5. (HTC)

Created in partnership with Valve, HTC's Vive Virtual Reality headset is now open for pre-orders with shipping to start on April 5. HTC has also announced the headset's international prices in a blog post on February 29.

The Vive five-piece virtual reality kit, comprising a high-spec HD visor, two location-sensing cubes, and a pair of controllers, costs $799, and orders will be limited to one unit per customer. In addition to "Fantastic Contraption" and "Job Simulator," Google's "Tilt" will now also be included in the pre-order package.

Designed and manufactured in partnership with PC gaming giant Valve Corporation ("Dota 2," "Portal," "Half-Life" and the Steam store), the HTC Vive virtual reality kit also includes a phone service that allows users to make and take calls, compose text messages, and check up on calendar appointments all while within the Vive's virtual world.

PCs' powering a Vive will need an Nvidia GTX970 or AMD R9 290 graphics card, and an Intel i5 or AMD FX 8350 CPU chip.

With inputs from AFP