HTC reported some significant financial losses since last year that might result in the tech company selling off its virtual reality headset, the HTC Vive.
During their fiscal year in 2016, HTC lost $513 million and has since brought in a strategic financial adviser to evaluate their options. These options range from selling off the virtual reality device to selling the entire company, the latter of which seems like it’d be the least likely option. However, sources speaking to Bloomberg have indeed confirmed that HTC has spoken to other companies recently, one of which was Google.
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The news that HTC might look to part ways with the VR headset and move away from the relatively new gaming industry follows a recent price cut to their Vive headset. A week ago, HTC cut the price of their Vive. The headset’s new price is set at $600, but that price range still makes it more expensive than buying a brand new console itself. More importantly, the headset is more expensive than its two competitors, the Oculus Rift and the PlayStation Virtual Reality headset. The Oculus Rift is the headset that the Vive comes closest to in terms of price, or at least it will when the Oculus Rift’s sale period ends and it rises back to its normal price.
Even though several options for HTC are being considered at the moment, there’s no guarantee that any of the business moves will be pursued in the future. According to the source that first spoke to Bloomberg, they said that no decisions have been made at the time. When Bloomberg asked HTC and Google about recent business discussions, both companies declined to comment.
While the company is a power player in the smartphone industry, their venture into VR with the Vive headset has been marked with price cuts and other issues in attempts to keep up with their VR competitors. HTC has fallen behind in its primary smartphone field as well as it lost much of its company value over the past few years.
More news of HTC’s decisions on what to do with the Vive VR headset is expected to come soon as they move forward with their business discussions.
