HTC Exec On Combatting Facebook And Sony: Exclusives Are 'A Bad Idea For VR'

TechCrunch’s Brian Heater reported on HTC’s virtual reality headset in a competitive VR market with Facebook Inc FB Oculus Rift and Sony SNE leading the charge. The report focused around HTC’s comments during the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) that took place last week.

Oculus and Sony are positioned well to score exclusive content deals with their headsets, having the potential to box out competitors like HTC from allowing their headset to be used on specific gaming titles. Without compatibility with the top video games, virtual reality hardware companies will have a difficult time gaining traction.

Joel Breton, HTC’s Vice President of VR content, however, doesn't think signing exclusives with video games is the answer to the headset’s success.

“We’re not actively seeking exclusives at all,” said Breton. “We think that’s a bad idea for VR. It’s not good for consumers, because consumers are being blocked out of content. It’s not good for developers, because what happens is, if they’re locked out of 75- or 80-percent of commercial viability, that’s a horrible thing for their long term business goals. It’s trading short-term cash for long term viability."

Sony and Oculus may be planning otherwise, however.

Breton also noted 12 additional categories other than gaming to expand in, the most notable including:

• Education
• Live video
• Social apps
• Healthcare
• Design