As part of the company's strategy to market its virtual reality headset, HTC will roll out demo stations to selected GameStop and Microsoft store locations in mid-April. These demo stations will demonstrate to participants the sheer transformative power of virtual reality in order to make it more appealing to users.
HTC is planning to pair its newest Vive reality headset with the small form factor Alienware X51 computer system. The company will also set up booths which feature a customized 10-minute loop that will include contents from "theBlu," "Job Simulator," "Space Pirate Trainer," and "Tilt Brush."
HTC carefully selected these four virtual reality experiences out of more than 120 experiences currently available for the HTC Vive headset via SteamVR.
As of April 8, three Microsoft Store locations have already started the HTC Vive demo. These locations are in Fifth Avenue, New York, Bellevue Square Mall, and City Creek Center in Salt Lake City.
Later in April, 12 more Microsoft Stores will have their own HTC Vive virtual reality stations. These stores are in the following locations:
Microsoft said that only customers 18 years old and above shall be allowed to participate in the HTC Vive virtual reality experience. While none of the contents presented in the virtual reality experience are inappropriate for children, the main reason for the age requirement might be liability concerns, according to Forbes.
On GameStop stores, the HTC Vive be will be offered in 10 different locations. As of this writing, both HTC and GameStop have yet to provide the official list of locations what will participate in the demo.
While demos in Microsoft Stores will be tethered to the Alienware Area-51 desktop computers, HTC did not confirm whether demos in GameStop stores will use the same system, according to Digital Trends.