Virtual reality was a remnant of the cyber and cyberpunk culture of the past century. With the emerging advances in technology, we have never been closer to living that dream. Controllers are essential in today’s gaming, but many are counting that one day, the only controller we will need is our body. With tech giants such as Google, Samsung, Facebook, and HTC, VR dreams are just on our doorstep.
Still, with all these companies competing, you may ask yourself which VR set should you go for and what would be the best for you? This article will do a quick overview of the two biggest companies that are doing VR currently and why you should consider them.
Oculus Rift Virtual Reality Headset
The start was definite with the Oculus Rift and their revolutionary headset had motion tracking, high-resolution displays, and inexpensive. Development kit that managed to pull many developers. Oculus will be so successful that Facebook will buy out the company in 2016 for a sum of 2 billion dollars. With the Oculus Quest 2, they are promising next level hardware and incredible freedom of play.
HTC Virtual Reality Headset
The HTC Vive is a cyberpunk dream come true. With their new VR headsets that are specially tailored for gaming, learning, or creating art. You can find the right device for yourself. Their Pro Eye device is designed for enterprise uses, companies that need to show off their products or that require a truly immersive experience all around. And the wireless adapter option is a true wonder of tech in 2020. Exciting times we live in. Many wonder which headset they should buy, and the Oculus Rift vs. HTC Vive discussion is going on for quite some time.
Things You Need to Know Before Buying a VR Set
System Requirements
First of all, you need a beefy computer to run any VR software or connect the sets. For most machines like the Oculus Rift or The HTC Vive, they are almost identical and if you can run one you can run the other. Our suggestions in at least an Intel Core i5 processor with an Nvidia GTX 960 and up or a similar ranking AMD Radeon card. 8 GB of RAM is a must-have if you want to generally multitask and not run into trouble. One of the most important aspects is the connectivity question. The HTC Vive, for example, needs just one 2.0 USB port next to an HDMI port, while the Oculus Rift needs 3.0 USB ports which are not so easy to get on any machine.
How Much Space Do You Need
The HTC Vive comes with its fancy sensor beacons and a tricky setup, but only this comes to the full VR like dream that was so popular in the ’90s. You can set up a game space by putting up beacons on the walls. You can use SteamVR’s Chaperone software to help you control the playing space and not kick anything over in your room.
The Oculus Rift also has a full room-scale experience with their additions of sensor tracking cameras that create a 3D image in which you can play around. For both sets a playspace of least 6.5-feet-by-6.5-feet will be required to really use the potential. Smaller spaces are okay if you plan on sitting and just using the device while sitting.
But in any case, the Vive with their recently announced wireless option is the superior version to go with.
What Games Can I Play
Both companies have their software stores. Oculus has it’s own store that hosts their applications and games while the HTC device uses the biggest PC gaming platform in the form of Steam VR. Most games are still mostly made by smaller studios and indie developers, as no major AAA gaming.
The developer has tried its luck to build a blockbuster title for VR. Still, we do think that this will change with the upcoming times as VR is only gaining traction? And major developers will seize the opportunity when the market gets bigger. It is important to note that the Rift here comes in as a winner as it can access the SteamVR library as well as its own library. The Vive, on the other hand, can’t access the Oculus Store, and they are limited to the SteamVR games. Still, there are softwares as Revive that will let you play both libraries.
In any case, choosing one of these two devices will provide you with the VR experience of the future. And we are sure that things can only get better from this point. Some skeptics do say that VR does have a limited reach or that we won’t play our games standing up. But we can already see that there are many uses, from creating art, exploring spaces or even rehabilitation uses where VR is the way to go.
