It will soon be up for $699 for Black Friday and I'm wondering if I should get one. Will there be a new iteration of the hardware next year or will it be cheaper? I don't wanna feel screwed in 6 months

You won't feel screwed in 6 months. 16 though? Who knows. There's no real precedent for commercial VR headset release schedules.

If $699 is an amount of money that you'd notice missing in any way, it's probably not worth it.

VR is neat, but it's still in a neat tech demo phase.

Only get it if you have the money to burn. I bought one full price and although I don't regret it, it's simply not something that you are going to be using all day. The experiences are fun when it comes to feeling immersed but don't expect to be in the virtual world for hours on end.

As for new iterations I don't see the headset itself changing any time soon. New controllers are on the way for the Vive in 1-2 years that can track finger motion and HTC is looking into selling an adapter for the headset to make it wireless but it's availability looks to be extremely limited. I'd be surprised to see an all new headset in less than 3 years.

EDIT: Oh and new lighthouses coming soon too for better tracking

If you're asking 'Should I?' for a $699 first generation piece of tech, the answer is already no!

Remember the DS to DS Lite jump? XBOX One to XBOX One S? I think it's probably worth waiting for the VR version of whatever that transition is.

So worth it to me. Love my Vive.

Seeing as they showed off a new prototype controller, I'd say wait it out. There will be more Black Fridays.

Only if you have the money to burn, a system already good enough(or better) to hook it up too, and feel like the software available is worth the price tag.

I would recommend against getting any VR headset right now.

I was thinking of getting one but after trying it I decided against it. Although I think it's neat to experience VR as a technology the fiddly nature of the Vive together with the space requirements and the lackluster games steered me away from it. Try before you buy would be my advice.

Don't listen to naysayers that don't own a headset themselves, ask Vive owners. For me it's absolutely worth it, the Vive library is pretty good and only getting better. Some really exciting looking games coming out early next year to Oculus (which will work on the Vive).

I wouldn't recommend it if you are strapped for cash but if you have some to spend, it's a fun investment.

I'm playing my VIve under the minimum space requirement and it's fine. A little annoying but fine, very happy I am moving house in a few weeks with a much bigger room though.

The Vive is the best of the VR headsets at the moment so if you're going to pick one up it's the one to go for.

If you're into racing games at all VR is a no brainer since it's cheaper & more immersive than a three monitor setup.

I almost pulled the trigger on one today, but I realised I'd only really be using it for Elite Dangerous which at the moment seems to have a ton of issues with the Vive. I'm going to hold off to see what Microsoft show off at their VR event in December and if anything new crops up at CES in January.

I think most of the naysayers don't own one and therefore think they are stupid. I own one and think it's incredible. And showing it off to people is just as fun as messing around with it yourself.

I think a lot of people (talking about the bombcrew specifically) forget that not everybody lives in a cramped apartment in a city.

And I wouldn't worry about obsolescence just yet. The headset works flawlessly with moving around and tracking your controllers. Form-factor will get better eventually, but if they up the resolution on the screens, you're gonna need to throw another $500-600 at your computer to keep up with it.

tldr; If you've got the money, the pc, and the space, a Vive is the "neatest" thing around right now.

Ive been thinking about getting one or upgrading my monitor (either ultrawide or 144hz). The biggest thing Im feeling towards getting a Vive is that the room my pc lives in is largely empty so I could actually take good advantage of room scale. Since I would be able to use room scale does that make it cool enough, people who own one?

@squidc00kie:I've got one. Mine is also in a big empty room, so room scale works great for me.

Listen, it's really expensive. Even after the initial $800, the software is shockingly expensive for how simple it is. It is super cool though, and if you have are in a situation where you have a lot of disposable income, you should definitely grab one, because it feels like you're in the future.

But if $800+$150 in software is a ton of money to you, I would wait until they become a little more affordable, and get yourself a nice monitor instead.

Just one man's opinion though.

Man, I'm so close to pulling the trigger on this thing. After the most recent interview with Gabe, knowing they have 3 full VR games in development is super exciting. I also just want $400 from an NFL Playoff Bracket so that $800 price tag isn't nearly as daunting as it was just a few weeks ago.

I feel foolish to make the jump right now since they mentioned better and cheaper rotary lighthouse bases coming out soon. But god damn, some of the more recent VR games look really f'ing cool. Quivr, Sairento VR, Racket, and Onward all look like a lot of fun.

Owned a vive since black Friday. As others have said, if you aren't going to miss the ~$800 investment, and you have the room to at least try roomscale, it really does feel like the future. Onward is one of the most immersive shooty-gun-military-experiences I've ever felt. It's truly terrifying being suppressed by enemy fire. With valve announcing new controllers, better base stations, and 3 new games developed in house, I'm as excited as I was the day I picked it up. The only downsides I can see right now are lack of true, deep AAA games and the sometimes finicky setup and troubleshooting process. Neither VR headset is a one room fits all solution, so you have to expect the possibility of troubleshooting a problem here and there. Nothing PC gamers aren't used to though.

Check out the rec room vrodeo to see what kind of depth the free experiences can offer. There's a lot of crap out there, but there's also a ton of great free stuff in the virtual world.

I get jealous watching others post the $800 price tag. At $1150 in Canada, it is still way too much to consider.