Before I Purchase

[Karatekidlet]

I've traveled to two locations in order to get a preview of the Vive experience. The only location that showed on Vive tracker within 50 miles was a nearby Gamestop, and I knew of a Trampoline park that let you try it out for $3. Both Vives were in disrepair. Apparently, the Sky Zone had gone through two already, and they both broke. (A third was on the way!) Should I be worried? Luckily the gamestop let me try out the Playstation VR, which was surprisingly awesome (but from what I've seen and heard about online is that the Vive experience is far superior, forcing me to stare at the disfunctional headset and controllers in awe.) In conclusion, I really want to get into the hype over the most immersive experience on the block, but I don't want to put $800 (much less 1,300) into something that might soon become totally disfunctional if I use it frequently.

 

Thoughts?

-Karatekidlet

[Wasted Potential]

My experience with mine has been that it isn't delicate at all and you just have to be careful with the lenses and not scratching them.

 

A local VR cafe near me though did have a headset that needed repair when I was there. I'm thinking people treat them like rental cars and thus, they get banged up quickly. A simple drop from waist level to a concrete floor will do in most hardware, not just a VR headset. 

[Se7en]

Like most things that get hired out to the general public they wont take care of it. 
If you buy a car. You look after it you service it you clean it. 
If you hire a car to thrash the engine, take little care and return it after the hired time. 

7 months in and i have had not issues. But then i look after my investments i make sure if people are playing it they understand how sensitive the equipment is. you don't need to press the buttons hard to make it work. i make sure the wire is safely secured so no one trips on it or accidentally pulls it when plays. 

[Karatekidlet]

Thank you so much for the quick reply! Looking into buying soon!

 

-Karatekidlet

[Wasted Potential]

I'll never forget, one guy I was demoing it to. He could just not figure out that the grip buttons are buttons and instead would squeeze the whole controller. I told him not to squeeze, use the buttons. But even after that, I could still hear the plastic straining from his squeezing. So I quickly jumped in and pretended to have software issues and saved my controllers.

 

The sounds of the plastic as it crunched together over and over is something I'll never forget. Luckily the controllers were fine.

 

So I can verify the controllers can handle being squeezed like a grape.

 

[Rockjaw]

Shuddering at these 'tales from retail'. Yeah, it does unfortunately make a lot of sense that demo units get banged up. We don't manufacture 'people hardened' versions of the Vive just yet. (Maybe we should??)

 

While the Vive is new, cutting-edge tech, , I wouldn't take these retail experiences as evidence of anything (except maybe a lot of interest in the Vive!). Take care of it like you'd take care of any other piece of valuable electronics!

[GameCookerUSRocksVR]

Who designed this website? Why do we have to reload into a whole new page just to post a reply? Anyhow, back on topic. I have had my VIVE since the first of May and also have not had any issues except for my earbuds going bad. They could have made the wire more durable but being so thin it did the same thing every small wire does....wears out and breaks inside. That kind of sucks since I am not going out to buy expensive earbuds when I have two wireless headsets on hand. It has always been my practice to take care of all my stuff with tender loving care. I still have clothes that are 10 years old and look "like" new. My family unfortunately are the ones who end up breaking my stuff now. Oh well. Can't have a perfect life until we actually get to the next one. Ciao. ;-)