The big problem with Vive and Rift is the absolute lack of AAA games. It doesn't matter if you are the best VR in the world if you have to rely on Job Simulator and other jokes. For Vive, Project Cars is the highest profile game and that's pretty weak alone. Right now, Vive is a glorified tech demo and rift is a bit better. So having the "best experience" is arguable when you simply don't have anything better than a bunch of indies to show off. So I don't really see what's better o Vive and Rift. You can expend 1000 dollar to play Lucky's Tale, that's it? Not that much worth it.

Even if PSVR isn't better (which is debatable since it isn't out yet), it will pack the real games. The launch line-up already obliterates Vive and Rift: Gran Turismo, Driveclub, Battlefront, Call of Duty, Rigs, Robinson, Ace Combat. Software sell hardware and PSVR is pretty packed up with heavy support. All of them are new platforms, so the install base is minimal. You have to convince developers to expend tens of millions creating games for a platform that has a few million users at best instead of targeting 100+M players with normal games. Hell, a game like Robinson probably would struggle to break even if if 1/4 of all VR owners on all platforms bought it. You have to create content yourself for your platform, convince developers and probably help them with costs. Rift and Vive can't do that, so they will lag behing in content.

So, it really doesn't matter that Vive and Rift have more power to push a better VR experience. They are expensive, don't have games, have small install bases that will keep dev support low and also expent too much time splitting the small user base with exclusive games.

I'm not that much sold in this VR thing, since it basically gets all of the bad stuff 3D TVs had and makes it 1000X worse. It's also an experience that's hard to market, you have to actually use it, so TV ads and trailers have limited impact. Again, this is an advantage for PSVR, that will use the retail chains to demo the tech more extensively. Anyway, I still think that it can fail, but it has a decent shot at success.

Rift and Vive are already faded to fail. HTC lacks the money and know-how about pushing the Vive and the Valve partnership is pretty much useless when Valve is such an inconsistent developer when it comes to releasing actual games. Rift has cash to push it, but Facebook already flopped hard with previous hardware attempts, such as their smartphone. Both lack any content significant enough to justify such a hefty price tag.

We know you're more of a PC gamer and probably won't agree with that, but in the end it's the games that matter. Anyway, we will see soon enough when either the 3 fail or only PSVR succeeds.

Oh lord...

Look, I get that you have a hard on for Sony and the PS4, but ultimate platform for VR? That's like saying it'll be king of an ant hill... Trust me, all these industry people trying to convince themselves that VR is 'there' are deluding themselves. It's very niche at the moment and will continue to be until there's something truly groundbreaking, like the nerve gear from Sword Art Online or holodecks.

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-Super_Boom

sounds to me like someone skipping videogames all together in the 80's, 90's just because the graphics 'were just not there yet'.

technology progresses gradually, if you really want to have anything akin to SAO one day, then maybe try supporting the technology when it's taking it's first steps.

but hey, to each their own

Really? A console GPU that was built mostly with VR in mind has a feature that helps software run in VR mode? Now that is a shocker

That's like saying "Buy Virtual Boy: it'll eventually give rise to something you can actually enjoy!"

:'D

except the flaw in that argument is that the virtual boy was admitedly a piece of shit. Show me the Eve Valkyrie or Dirt Rally type of games you could have played in the virtual boy back in the day? Batman VR? Ace Combat? Resident Evil 7?

yes, if the tech will mature, you should expect to see amazingly immersive games in VR (like full on MMOs). at the moment, at the very least you'll see competent games that millions of people will enjoy.

SwordArt Online.... where are you when your needed?

Yeah a really full world and gigantic MMO made around VR (with few vendors and everything needed being player crafted) would be cool as hell.

I agree and that's one of the reasons I will support VR as a platform, not only because of what it is, but because of what I think it can be :)

Way more games? Yes, a bunch of indies and AAs. That won't sell 1000 bucks in hardware. The general public isn't quite found of niche games (just look at the massive complains about PS+ line-ups made of indies). They can't be the driving force of a tech that's focused on providing a bleeding edge experience. A lot of them simply look like up-res versions of PS2 games. If VR really depends on this stuff, it's basically DOA.

Actually, Vive and Rift are alredya pretty much flops. Vive is in the ballpark of 100K units, Rift is probably around 200K. This basically limits both to games that can break even with some tens of thousand units. That's far from ideal. That's a platform thag has an install base smaller than the Jaguar and VirtualBoy did, so it's pretty much heading the same way. They can't wait years to take off, until 2017 it's basically make it or break it for all VR platforms (PSVR included). Even HTC is already signaling an exit since they already made Vive a subsidiary, so they are either isolating it from the main company or trying to sell it.

You can think what you want really. As a lot of these more dedicated PC gamers, you think that PC is a better platform in everything, when each one has its own advantages and disavantages. It's a bit sad, but being an open platform doesn't always help, specially when you need someone in control to step up and make content. Is basically the 3DO problem: everybody owned the platform so no one would just get and invest in making games to push hardware because they wouldn't be the only ones to benefit. That's what Rift and Vive have to deal. Nobody that indeed matters will support it. They are probably hoping that PSVR succeeds so, maybe, they can get some ports and try to survive.

It's actually laughable to imagine that having an install base of a few hundred k can lead to success. These things are out for a decent bunch of time already and didn't made a minimum impact. Absolutely DOA. Honestly, I actually belive PSVR will also be DOA and all this VR stuff will be a fad just like 3D, but I can be wrong. Anyway, if VR isn't DOA, PSVR will quickly be the dominant platform and I can't see Vive and Rift going on for much time.

It really doesn't matter who is better. What matter is who is viable.

Edit: bolded - games you already own? Oh, using mods to add support, it will really work pretty well everybody will love poorly done VR support. As for the games I mentioned, better check it. Most of them are listed with only PSVR support, including RE7, Battlefront, Arkham Knight VR. 

We have some good estimates about Rift and Vive here, with some good sources. We are talking about 150K at best for Vive and 300K for Rift , again, at best. So, VirtualBoy still has them beat regarding VR.

Also, I wouldn't be surprised if PSVR passed both during the holidays. Well, if it doesn't it will probably get canned next year with the other two and we will talk forever about how VR managed to do even worse than 3D TVs.

Mind that Oculus owner Zuckerberg is actually expecting numbers around 50 to 100 MIlLLION units, so his pacience is probably limited. They shipped almost 100K dev kits, so he is probably a bit worried that there's almost as many developers as consumers for his product.

HTC won't talk about number frequently, so that's already a pretty bad sign. Unlike Facebook, they can't afford to fuss around for long with stuff that isn't performing because.