PlayStation VR
Gadgets, Virtual Reality

Can Sony’s PlayStation VR Stand Competition From Vive and Rift? – Here’s What We Think

Sony’s PlayStation VR is the cheapest virtual reality headset released and brings VR to gaming consoles. This means there are possibilities that you can enjoy virtual reality gaming even with your PlayStation 2 or PS4. If you are currently using the Wii generation’s motion control, VR can totally replace it. With headsets like the HTC Vive, Oculus Rift and Playstation VR making good progress with upvotes from lot of gamers, you can surely bet on these first generation of virtual reality gaming headsets.

Also Read: 140,000 HTC Vive Units Have Been Sold To Date


HTC Vive, Oculus Rift and PlayStation VR – The Beginning

All three of these headsets started in completely different ways. Oculus Rift was a successful Kickstarter project later acquired by Facebook for a whopping $2 billion. This raised the fame of the Oculus team and more importantly the VR Headset they were developing.

The HTC Vive has a rather unusual story. HTC, Phone Designing and Manufacturing Company tied up with Valve, a Game Development and Distribution Company to bring to market the Vive.


The PlayStation VR is developed and manufactured as an internal project (codename: Project Morpheus) by the all time leading console seller, Sony.

These three VR Headsets are currently the benchmarks in a fast growing industry. They have excellent design and support and offer the best possible immersive experience. And as you may guess there are technical differences (and a few similarities).

PlayStation VR is easy to set up and start running

If you already have a PlayStation, the PlayStation VR blends in directly and is a low cost option. It being a plug-and-play is the easiest to set up and start running. The design of the headset too is particularly exquisite and edges out both the Vive and Rift.

The Vive is currently the most expensive of all. But you can pay that extra for the largest completion of VR games in the Steam library you get. The Oculus was the pioneer and is mostly responsible for this VR trend. After being acquired by Facebook the competition grew along with fame and the team is hard at work to bring out the best applications.

The PlayStation VR undoubtedly come with out with massive hit games such as the Rez Infinite and the Harmonix Music VR. The PlayStation VR is also comes with other horror, shooter and puzzle games. This games library is no match to the vast number of compatible games with Vive and Oculus. But it has a decent game library which can give serious competition to the others very soon.

The experiences still have room for improvement

The graphic quality offered by PSVR is decent and is expected to be between Gear VR and Oculus Rift. Some features seem closer to the Oculus and others closer to Gear. This however also depends on the game.

Also because the resolution is lower than its competitors Vive and Rift, we might feel that little decrease in the overall experience. The refresh rate is higher, yes (120 Hz in PSVR whereas 90 in the Oculus Rift, for example), which ensures good and fluid experiences at all times.

Here is a short comparison of the PlayStation VR with Vive and Rift

PlayStationVR Oculus Rift HTC Vive
Developer Sony Oculus HTC & Valve
Platform PS4 Windows Windows
Resolution(per eye) 1080×960 1080×1200 1080×1200
Field of View 100 degrees 110 degrees 110 degrees
Refresh Rate 120Hz 90Hz 90Hz
Weight 1.3lbs 1lbs 1.2lbs
Price $399.99 $599.99 $799.99

Sony PSVR’s price and hassle free plug and play capabilities surely helps in dominating the VR market. But we have to wait and see if the massive libraries of Vive and Rift shadow PSVR sales.

Also Read: HTC Vive Pre is the second generation of VR Headsets

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