Valve has released the Steam Frame, a virtual reality headset that costs over £1,000 and is, by all accounts, extremely good at what it does. This is the part where tech journalists are supposed to wring their hands about accessibility and market penetration. Instead, Valve has simply decided that the market for premium VR is people with disposable income, and everyone else can wait.
The headset delivers the kind of immersive experience that justifies its price tag if you have a price tag to justify. Crystal-clear visuals, responsive tracking, the works. It’s the sort of thing that makes you understand why someone would spend a thousand pounds on a device to strap to their face. It also makes you understand why someone working two jobs would not.
So here’s the real question: is VR still too expensive? No. VR is exactly as expensive as Valve wants it to be. The company has simply decided that “affordable VR” and “premium VR” are different products for different people, and those different people happen to live in different tax brackets.
Tech has always been this way. The first smartphones cost more than laptops. The first flat-screen TVs cost more than cars. Eventually, competition and manufacturing scale bring prices down, and everyone gets a turn. Until then, early adopters subsidize the technology, and the rest of us watch YouTube unboxing videos and feel a vague sense of longing.
Valve’s Steam Frame is excellent. It’s also a perfectly calibrated reminder that innovation in consumer tech remains a luxury sport. The headset works beautifully for people who can afford it. For everyone else, the wait continues.