HTC is obviously hoping that the $200 price cut for its HTC Vive, announced on Monday, will provide a big boost to sales, but it’s also boosted something else: the company’s stock.
Share prices jumped from $62.50 NTD (just over $2 USD) in early Monday to $67.70 ($2.24) by the end of the day. That’s a 9.09% rise. There’s been a slight decline since (prices sit at $65.40 at the time of writing), but it’s still a big bump.
Vive originally cost $799, but this week’s news brought it to $599. That’s $200 more than the Oculus Rift at its current Summer Sale price of $399 and $100 more than its new permanent price of $499 which will come into effect in a few weeks’ time.
Seeing the Vive news effect HTC’s stock so dramatically is a good indicator of just how important VR has become to the Taiwanese outfit, which is first and foremost known for its smartphone business that has been struggling in recent years. HTC has poured a lot into VR, being the first to partner with Valve and release a headset on its SteamVR platform.
HTC confirmed to UploadVR that it will not be releasing a new PC-based Vive this year, but the company is launching a standalone headset in partnership with Google as well as its own all-in-one device in China.
