现在是购买Oculus Rift或HTC Vive的好时机吗？

The Oculus Rift and HTC Vive, the only retail-available VR headsets to use conventional gaming PCs as a platform, have been on the market for over a year. That’s long enough for fans to wonder when new models will be coming out…and long enough for sellers to want to move some of the existing stock. So, is it a good time to dive head-first into virtual reality?

Oculus Rift和HTC Vive是市场上唯一使用传统游戏PC作为平台的零售VR头戴设备。 足够长的时间让粉丝想知道何时会推出新型号……而足够长的时间让卖家想转移一些现有库存。 那么，是时候抢先进入虚拟现实的好时机吗？

Short answer: Yes. Both the Rift and the Vive now have promotional pricing with significant discounts, while upgraded models still seem to be months or possibly even years away from hitting retail. You’re unlikely to find a better deal on first-gen hardware than right now, and you won’t get buyer’s remorse from a new model any time soon.

简短的回答：是的。 现在，Rift和Vive的促销价格都有很大的折扣，而升级后的型号似乎距离零售还差几个月甚至几十年。 您不太可能在第一代硬件上找到比现在更好的交易，并且您不会很快受到新模型的买家的指责。

双倍折扣 (Double-Dipping Discounts)

The Vive and Rift came to market with price tags at $800 and $600, respectively. Oculus might have had the initial price advantage, but it didn’t yet have motion controllers, and both headsets were far more expensive than fans had hoped for. Since both systems were far outside the realm of impulse buys, even for big-spending PC gamers, there wasn’t a clear winner.

Vive和Rift分别以800美元和600美元的价格上市。 Oculus可能具有最初的价格优势，但它还没有运动控制器，而且两个耳机的价格都远高于粉丝的期望。 由于这两个系统都远远超出了冲动购买的领域，即使对于大笔支出的PC游戏玩家来说，也没有明显的赢家。

Facebook started something of a price war earlier this year, dropping the Oculus Rift down to just $400, which includes the newer touch-enabled VR controllers (and removes the somewhat redundant Xbox controller and wireless remote). That promotional price is only good for the summer, but when it goes up it will only be $500, still a good discount off the original headset package. Earlier this week HTC countered this move, dropping the price of the Vive headset and controller bundle down to $600. This appears to be a permanent price drop.

Facebook在今年年初开始了一场价格战，将Oculus Rift的价格降至400美元，其中包括更新的支持触摸功能的VR控制器(并删除了一些多余的Xbox控制器和无线遥控器)。 促销价仅对夏季有效，但是涨价时只有500美元，与原始耳机包装相比仍然是一个不错的折扣。 本周早些时候，HTC反对这一举动，将Vive头戴式耳机和控制器的价格降至600美元。 这似乎是永久性的价格下降。

Update, October 2017: As of the latest Oculus press event, the price drop to $400 is now permanent as well.

2017年10月更新：截至最近的Oculus新闻发布会，价格降至400美元现在也是永久的。

So at the moment, you can choose an Oculus Rift for $400 ($500 at the end of August), or a Vive for $600. Both of those are still significant investments, and they still require a rather beefy gaming PC in order to actually play anything, but it’s a much more palatable entry point for VR gaming. If you’re ready to go, all you need to do is decide which of them to buy.

因此，目前您可以选择以400美元(8月底为500美元)购买Oculus Rift，或以600美元选择Vive。 两者仍然是一笔可观的投资，并且它们仍然需要一台功能强大的游戏PC才能实际播放任何内容，但这是VR游戏的一个更可口的切入点。 如果您准备出发，则只需决定购买哪一个。

看不到升级 (No Upgrades In Sight)

VR is still a rather young technology, at least compared to the well-established console and PC gaming market. So Valve, HTC, Facebook, and a smattering of other companies are constantly researching in multiple directions, searching for ways to expand and improve the experience.

至少与成熟的游戏机和PC游戏市场相比，VR仍是一项相当年轻的技术。 因此，Valve，HTC，Facebook和其他一些公司正在不断地朝多个方向进行研究，以寻找扩大和改善体验的方法。

That being said, there’s no indication that either of the major players will release an updated model by the end of the year, or possibly even later. Oculus is working on its “Santa Cruz” prototype, which will cut the cord with a wireless video connection, head-mounted cameras for tracking, and an integrated battery, but there’s no retail release in sight. A Facebook executive was quoted as saying that fans “should not hold their breath” about new technologies for the Rift.

话虽如此，但没有迹象表明主要参与者中的任何一个都会在今年年底或更晚的时候发布更新的模型。 Oculus正在开发其“ Santa Cruz”原型，该原型将通过无线视频连接，用于跟踪的头戴式摄像头和集成电池来切断电源线，但目前尚无零售版本。 援引一位Facebook高管的话说，球迷们“不应该屏住呼吸”关于Rift的新技术。

On the Vive side of things, the situation is a little more murky. The company is working on a standalone headset with mobile phone tech, but that won’t really compare with a full PC + headset experience. HTC does plan to release first-party enhanced tracking and wireless add-ons for the first generation Vive, which indicates that they intend to sell the current hardware for quite some time before asking users to upgrade.

在Vive方面，情况有些模糊。 该公司正在开发具有手机技术的独立耳机，但是这与完整的PC +耳机体验无法真正相比。 HTC确实计划为第一代Vive发布第一方增强型跟踪和无线附件，这表明他们打算在要求用户升级之前出售当前硬件一段时间。

But there will be more conventional alternatives to the Vive soon. HTC developed its hardware in partnership with Valve, which supplied the software platform and integrated it with the ubiquitous PC game store Steam (which can also be used with the Oculus Rift). Valve is eager to attract more partners, and LG seems to be the furthest along, with a Vive-like headset with upgraded internal screens and a comfy flip-down design making the rounds a few months ago. Even so, the LG headset will compete with the current generation of VR tech, not the upgraded versions coming some time in the nebulous future.

但是很快将有更多的传统替代品替代Vive。 HTC与Valve合作开发了其硬件，Valve提供了软件平台，并将其与无处不在的PC游戏商店Steam(也可以与Oculus Rift一起使用)进行集成。 Valve渴望吸引更多的合作伙伴，而LG似乎是最遥远的，几个月前， Vive式耳机具有升级的内部屏幕和舒适的上下翻盖设计。 即便如此，LG头戴设备仍将与当前的VR技术竞争，而不是在模糊的未来一段时间内推出的升级版本。

Microsoft is also dipping a toe into VR, with recent updates to Windows and some allegedly low-cost mixed reality headsets coming from budget vendors like Acer. But there’s still no solid timeframe for this push, and game developers might embrace the low-cost hardware…or not. Waiting on hypotheticals when current tech has a good discount might be a bit too optimistic.

微软还开始涉足虚拟现实，最近对Windows进行了更新，并从Acer等预算供应商那里购买了一些据称的低成本混合现实头显。 但是这种推动力还没有确定的时间表，游戏开发人员可能会接受低成本的硬件……或者不愿意。 当当前的技术有很好的折扣时，等待假设可能有点太乐观了。

好去 (Good to Go)

Even with more and more companies crowding into the small VR market, and alternatives like mobile headsets or the PlayStation VR, now’s a great time to check out the first generation of VR PC gaming hardware. You can buy confident in the knowledge that your setup won’t be overshadowed in the near future, and prices are low—at least compared to where they were last year.

即使有越来越多的公司进入小型VR市场，以及诸如移动头戴式耳机或PlayStation VR之类的替代产品，现在仍然是检验第一代VR PC游戏硬件的好时机。 您可以确信自己的设置在不久的将来不会被遮盖，而且价格低廉(至少与去年相比)，您可以放心。

Image credit: The Verge, Amazon

图片来源： The Verge ， Amazon

翻译自: https://www.howtogeek.com/323092/is-now-a-good-time-to-buy-an-oculus-rift-or-htc-vive/