Oculus Rift creator Palmer Luckey has spoken out to say PlayStation VR "isn't quite as high-end" as the Oculus Rift, though he still described the competing device as a "good headset."

His comments came as part of an interview with IB Times, in which the interviewer suggested that PlayStation VR is the one headset best poised to compete with Rift. Luckey partially agreed, but also pointed out that Rift and PlayStation VR are catering to different markets.

"That might be true," he said when asked if PlayStation VR was Rift's biggest competitor. "I think that there's not many people who already own a PS4 who don't own a gaming PC who are going to go out and make that roughly $1,500 all-in investment in the Rift. It really is a separate market. They're bringing virtual reality to a different group of people who I don't think were ever really a part of our market anyway."

Luckey added: "It's also worth noting that their headset isn't quite as high-end as ours--it's still, I think, a good headset--and the PlayStation 4 is not nearly as powerful as our recommended spec for a PC."

Rift requires a capable gaming PC. PlayStation VR is powered by the PS4, which is already in the homes of many millions of people around the world.

Also in the interview, Luckey reveals that he invited some Sony VR engineers to come see Rift before the device's Kickstarter campaign started in 2012. Giving Sony a peek at what Oculus was making at such an early stage was part of Luckey's drive to help VR, as a medium, finally take off in a meaningful way.

"I knew some people at Sony working on VR before I even started my Kickstarter campaign, actually, and we brought them in early on to show them what we were working on, to talk about what the minimum standards were for a good VR experience," he said. "What does it take to make something that won't make people uncomfortable and won't turn people off of virtual reality?

"That's really the most important thing, is to not poison this well for all of us in the future, and I think they understand that. They also understand the importance of content, and they've been doing a lot of work making sure there's a lot of VR games."

Just this week, Sony boss Kaz Hirai said that more than 200 developers have signed up for the PlayStation VR development program, with more than 100 games projects said to be underway.

Earlier this week, Oculus announced that the first Rift consumer model will cost $600. Sony has not announced the price point for PlayStation VR, though that information should come relatively soon, as the headset is scheduled to ship in the first half of 2016. With regards to the price, PlayStation executive Shuhei Yoshida previously said Sony's aim was to go "as low as possibly can be done."

I have a couple of thoughts on this, the first being that somebody needs to tell Palmer to sit down and shut up, he's doing more harm than good by constantley defending the price. Just announce how much it costs, and let people buy it. Secondly, from what I've been hearing the gap between the Rift and PSVR isn't really that big, and I think he's worried their going to get kicked in the teeth when Sony announces the price of their VR headset.

So, what about you guys? Thoughts?

He's not wrong - the Rift is for the people willing to drop a ton of cash on power, and PSVR are for people who don't but still want nice things.

Edit: of course, that's assuming the PSVR is relatively "cheap." Sony could still screw this pooch.

Eh -- this is only partially true. The OR has a screen per eye and at a resolution that's about 12% higher.

However, the OR also is a peripheral device for the PC rather than an actual platform. They make ALL their money on hardware sales and therefore OR will run with higher margins (same problem with Steam Box).

The PSVR will be probably be $299-399 vs OR @ $599. It will be $100 cheaper off the git go, just because of the platform royalties Sony expects to recoup on software. An additional $100-200 will be based on actual components (Sony can buy components cheaper too.... don't forget they are a longtime hardware manufacturer).

He is most likely right.Rift is targeting the enthusiasts, the early adopters who wants to dive head in in Vr, while Sony is going more for the casual audience.At least thats what i feel that they are doing.Still, I cant see a 400 - 450 dollar acessory(thats what i think the price is) resonate with a more casual audience.Its too damn expensive!!!But again, I think Sony knows PSVR wont take off.Not now at least.This is just part of a long term plan to get people used to the tech, to popularise it more to, in the future when is far more acessible, to be a easier sale when it comes with possibly in the PS5 or PS6, much like when the kinect came with the XOne in the beggining.Thats my theory at least.

Resolution isn't everything...

In terms of VR - it kind of is.  Have you tried google cardboard yet? Even on my Galaxy S6 (2560x1440 pixel and 577 ppi) I could see pixels.

The screen is literally less than 6" from your face.

Only 200 developers? Meh, the Ouya had 10,000 signed up developers in 2013. ;)

http://www.polygon.com/2013/4/19/4242102/ouya-android-console-signs-up-10000-development-partners

Quality of screen, unless it's chnaged everyone i've heard had the psvr as the better screen.

People that have tried both say they are about equal.
Theres more to this than just resolution.

He probably isn't wrong, but the Rift will probably have a much higher price tag and will also be assisted by current/future PC hardware which outperforms the PS4's. They are not in direct competition.