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Comment by cbhl | Hacker News Reader

That's a pretty reasonable price point for early-adopter hardware (think "new Macbook with USB-C port"). Some people in the space I've talked to say that the Oculus isn't expensive enough -- the components don't "wow" enough to make the early adopters want to build stuff with it.

If you want something cheaper, there's always Google Cardboard...

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I think you're missing my point. I want it. I'm the early adopter. I don't want Google Cardboard, I want HTC Vive. But the price of the full setup right now is going through the roof. I'd be interested to see how much people are spending on average.

An early adopter is someone who wants something enough to actually acquire it. The middle market is full of people who want things earlier but spend their time and money elsewhere. To be cutting-edge it's not enough to just know about something and like the idea.

This does mean that early adopters tend to have more discretionary income. It is unfortunate, but unavoidable.

The earliest cell phones were horribly expensive while also being huge, heavy (think briefcase with a cord; succeeded by holding a large, thick book against your ear) and laughably unreliable. But, those early purchases paid for the R&D to put tiny, cheap, reliable cell phones in the pockets of half the population of earth today. That's the way tech works, but people still feel the need to complain every time someone new comes around.

I don't really agree with that. If HTC Vive or Oculus want to make this happen they have to sell enough units, this mean their "early adopters" circle has to be wide enough. That's what I say when I call myself an early adopter, I think a lot of people are like me, Oculus/HTC Vive need us to put money into this for it to work, but a lot of us won't because of the price.

Or let put it this way: if I'm not an early adopter, then their early adopters are too few to make VR a success.

Definitely possible. The cheaper an advancement in technology (all else equal), the better that technology is and the larger the number of willing buyers at all stages of market adoption.

Doesn't sound like cbhl is missing anything. You think it should be cheaper, others think tech this new should be even better and cost more. You just don't fit the early adopter group; wanting it doesn't make you an early adopter. You need to be willing to pay a lot more to be in that group.

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