HTC's Vive VR Delayed Again Till April

Technology companies can always create hype for their upcoming products. The problem becomes when they don't follow through on their release promises like with HTC's announcement of the delay of the Vive VR headset.

Originally projecting that the headsets would be in the hands of consumers by the end of 2015, the Taiwanese company now has extended the deadline to April 2016. The Verge reported that this delay was not the first one for the Vive. HTC had originally announced in August, "a limited number of commercial systems would be offered by the end of the year, with 'larger quantities' shipping in the first quarter of 2016."

The reason for the delay is unclear. There is speculation that HTC and Valve may still be working on the hardware, or possibly they haven't gotten enough games and content to fully launch. Or it may have something to do with, as VentureBeat reported, HTC cutting 2,900 jobs, about 15% of its workforce, in August.

This delay denies HTC the chance to be the first to enter the virtual reality market. VentureBeat reported that with this shift in the production schedule, the VR headset would now be released after the Oculus Rift, a close competitor. Even Sony's PlayStation VR controller could come out before April.

Despite the production setbacks, HTC has announced more opportunities for consumers and developers to try out their headset in the meantime. People attending Sundance, SXSW, Games Developers Conference and Mobile World Conference will be able to demo the headset then. HTC also has announced that a second version of its development kit will be launched at 2016's Consumer Electronics Show.

HTC's press release announced their new plan for releasing the highly anticipated headset.

"We remain committed to delivering the HTC Vive to a broader group of content creators and partners, and remain focused on delivering the very best experience possible for a consumer release...We will be starting the new year by making an additional 7,000 units available to developers, followed by commercial availability in April 2016. We are incredibly excited about the future and look forward to sharing more information as we move forward towards launch."

The Vive was announced earlier this spring in partnership with Valve's SteamVR program. It is a high-end VR headset that uses cameras and sensors on the unit to track the user. Different than some of the other VR headsets on the market, the wearer is allowed to physically explore by moving around instead of only turning their heads to look around.