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HTC Vive costs £689 in the UK

UPDATE: Sells more than 15,000 units in 10 minutes.

UPDATE 1ST MARCH: Pre-orders went live yesterday and went very well. HTC announced that Vive sold more than 15,000 units in 10 minutes. And given that the full $799/£689/€899 amount is charged when pre-ordering, that means 'a lot of money' changed hands - somewhere north of £10 million, according to my crude maths.

That went well - HTC announced that Vive sold more than 15,000 units in 10 minutes. Given that pre-orderers are charged the full amount, that amounts

ORIGINAL STORY 29TH FEBRUARY: Here's how much money you'll need to buy an HTC Vive virtual reality headset: £689.

If you live in the US, it's $799. In the rest of Europe, it'll cost you €899.

It seems a lot, and it is. Oculus Rifts costs £499 by comparison, although that is just a headset.

An HTC Vive kit contains the headset, two wireless controllers, plus two movement tracking and room scale sensors.

Buy a Vive and you'll also get Fantastic Contraption, Job Simulator and Google's arty Tilt Brush to play on it.

Cover image for YouTube video

HTC Vive pre-orders open today at 3pm UK time, or 10am EST.

Unlike the Rift, you will get charged for your Vive as soon as you place your pre-order. You can hand over your money via PayPal (money will be taken immediately) or credit card (a hold will be placed on your card).

Over the weekend, ex-Mojang boss Markus "Notch" Persson had his say on which system he preferred via Twitter, sparking a reply from Oculus boss Palmer Luckey:

Notch admitted he hadn't. "I'm partially just butthurt," he concluded. "But my god the complete lack of nausea in Vive..."