HTC Vive users can now experience Star Wars game on headset
2016/07/18 18:31:58
From HTC's Twitter
Taipei, July 18 (CNA) Users of Taiwan-based HTC Corp.'s (宏達電) first virtual reality (VR) headset -- the HTC Vive -- can now experience the device's first Star Wars game, wielding a virtual lightsaber.
On its Twitter page, the Taiwanese smartphone brand, which has been gearing up to diversify its business by entering the VR field, announced the "Star Wars: Trials On Tatooine" has been released on the Steam gaming platform.
Steam serves as a content platform under U.S. video game supplier Valve, which has jointly worked with HTC to develop the VR headset.
The game is based on one of the Star War movies -- Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi -- which was released in May 1983. According to HTC, Vive users can play the part of a young Jedi to receive training from Luke Skywalker on the planet Tatooine.
Through the HTC Vive, players can wield a lightsaber to take on their enemies, an experience that is expected to allow them to realize the Star Wars' universe fully, according to tech website Gizmag.
HTC unveiled the HTC Vive at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) show in March 2015, and global sales began in early April. The headset is equipped with tracked controllers that allow wearers to inspect objects from every angle and interact with their surroundings.
From Monday, HTC owners can download the game from the Steam platform, a move that market analysts said is expected to attract buying interest in the VR headset at a time when content plays a critical role in the VR business.
HTC has said it will try hard to develop more content to broaden the HTC Vive's content portfolio.
While HTC remained tight-lipped about HTC Vive sales, Steam has released data that shows sales of 100,000 HTC Vive units, at a cost of US$799 each, as of the end of June. The sales figure is twice a market estimate made in May, indicating warm consumer response to the device.
Meanwhile, HTC said that it bought back only 17 percent of the shares it had planned to purchase during the May 16-July 15 period, but the stock gained almost 90 percent during the same period.
HTC had previously planned to buy back up to 40 million shares from the open market during the two-month period to lend support to its share price, but by the deadline, it had only bought back 7.05 million shares.
Market analysts said that the strong gains in HTC's share price largely resulted from high hopes about the HTC Vive. During the two-month period, HTC spent NT$436 million (US$13.61 million) to buy back shares at an average NT$61.97 per share.
On Monday, shares of HTC fell 2.71 percent to close at NT$96.90 as investors locked in gains built up in recent sessions.
(By Esme Jiang and Frances Huang)
