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03/29/2024 06:36:35 am

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Acer Teams up With Starbreeze to Create Virtual Reality Headset StarVR

Acer's new line of products is in celebration of the company's 40th anniversary.

(Photo : Reuters) Acer is collaborating with Starbreeze to develop the StarVR.

Taiwanese electronics company Acer and Swedish video game developer Starbreeze have announced that they are collaborating to develop a virtual reality headset. The two companies are planning to create a joint venture to design, create, and sell the virtual reality headset dubbed StarVR.

StarVR was initially unveiled by Starbreeze about a year ago. It is one of the many ambitious projects to enter the fledgling yet promising virtual reality market. Although it is not as big as other players in the market, Starbreeze is aiming to create a virtual reality headset that can rival the Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, and the PlayStation VR.

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The StarVR offers a wider field of vision compared to other virtual reality headsets. The StarVR has an impressive 210-degree field of vision.

However, Starbreeze is in a bit of a bind when it comes to finance. The company had only $10 in cash by the end of 2015 and, unlike huge companies like Sony or Facebook, it does not have the deep pockets to fund the development of its hardware and market the device.

This is where Acer comes in. The Taiwanese company has been experiencing a bit of a downfall in terms of sales since 2010. However, the company has $1.2 billion in cash, and has the engineering capacity to help a growing company like Starbreeze bring its ambitious project to an equal playing field with some of its bigger competitors.

Aside from finance, Acer also has a rich background of experience when it comes to computers. And powerful computers are needed to cater to the high-end demands of rendering a fully immersive virtual reality environment, which requires intense graphic processing.

Market analysts are predicting that by 2020, 40 percent of all virtual reality and augmented reality sales will come from hardware. The HTC Vive currently has a price tag of around $829. On top of that, the headset requires a powerful computer system which could easily cost more than $2,000.

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