HTC launches Viveport storefront to showcase VR experiences

[XAMI]

HTC has launched a new app store for its Vive virtual reality headset where it’ll highlight a variety of VR experiences beyond gaming including art, design, education, music, sports, travel, and more. Dubbed Viveport, the storefront is available now in more than 30 countries including the US following a closed beta for Chinese users.

“Viveport is the place where people can start their journey to virtual reality experiences,” Rikard Steiber, president of Viveport, said in a statement. “We launched in China earlier this year. We are happy to roll this out globally with some of the best creators in the industry. Our vision is to establish Viveport as the platform for virtual reality.”

Currently Viveport has a fairly limited catalog of about 60 titles. Some of them are games, such as Cloudlands: VR Minigolf, Everest VR, Fantastic Contraption, and World of Diving. But the store has plenty of non-gaming VR content including Stonehenge VR, Mars Odyssey, The Music Room and an all-new edition of the Blu, among others. A special section called Viveport Premieres will highlight new content that’s launching on the store first.

In contrast to Oculus’ approach, Viveport will not restrict itself to Vive-compatible software, it will accept titles from other stores and platforms. The company told Venture Beat that while there are no Oculus VR titles now, users should “stay tuned for news on that in the future.”

Referring to the arrival of the PlayStation VR headset from Sony in October, Steiber wished them the best of luck. “It is important that VR be successful on game consoles and mobile. We’ll have more consumers coming on to experience VR. That’s good for the ecosystem.”