At £759 in the UK, there aren’t many consumers that will be willing to walk into a mainstream high street retailer like Game and pick up an HTC Vive, but the company thinks it has a way around that issue.
As revealed at the Insomnia58 event in Birmingham, UK this weekend, Game is now offering the roomscale VR headset through monthly payments. Dotted about the gaming festival are various banners for the VR kit, one of which advertises the intriguing new deal. The images below (kindly taken by Virtual Umbrella’s Albert Millis) lay everything out; you can pay a 10% deposit on the overall cost of the device (£75.90), and then fill in the rest over the course of the next two years.
That comes out to 24 payments of £32.79 and you’ll be able to trade in old games and consoles to help further reduce the cost should you so desire. We’ve also included a picture of the Terms and Conditions a bit further down just so anyone considering the offer can look through them.
Note that the banner calls this an ‘example’ and also uses the term “Get VR” generally, meaning you may be able to work out other deals and also perhaps pick up an Oculus Rift under a similar sort of plan. The Rift is due to arrive at Game next month for £549. PlayStation VR is also due to hit in October for £349, though the headset is likely to be sold out for a good while and we doubt Game will be offering the same deal for a significantly cheaper product.
Not everyone thinks this installment plan is such a good idea though. make[REAL]’s Sam Watts advised against signing up over on Twitter, for example. And it’s important not to fool yourself into thinking this is an easy way to get your hands on a Vive; you’ll still be paying every penny (plus interest apparently) just over an extended period of time.
The bigger question is if this type of scheme will actually help Game to move Vive and Rift units in the long run, especially considering both of those headsets have actually become more expensive in the UK. It doesn’t solve the issue of needing a powerful PC though, which the retailer itself doesn’t offer.
But what it does give you is, as the consumer, another option to consider, which is never inherently a bad thing.
