HTC Vive vs Oculus Rift preorders: Which will you choose? - CNET

Oculus will eventually be releasing the Oculus Touch, a pair of handheld, wireless motion controllers that will be tracked by the Oculus' sensor, and can also pick up particular hand gestures. I spent a bit of time playing with these controllers at the Oculus Connect 2 conference and while they take a bit of getting used to, they're a phenomenal way to interact with games in virtual reality. But there's no word on when these controllers will actually arrive, or how much they're going to cost.

The HTC Vive is roughly $200 more expensive than the Oculus Rift, which necessarily raises some flags. Pre-ordering Valve's hardware gets you the headset, a pair of wireless wands that serve as controllers, and a pair of base stations (Valve calls them Lighthouses) that provide full motion tracking inside a room. You'll also get three games: Tilt Brush, Fantastic Contraption, and Job Simulator 2050.

I've had a few opportunities to play those three and more on the HTC Vive, and they're quite a bit of fun -- especially when you're playing a game expressly designed with the Vive's wands in mind. The dedicated controllers are a nod in HTC Vive's favor, as developers can create VR experiences with an exact idea of what their players will be working with. Using an Xbox One controller on the Oculus Rift isn't nearly as immersive as a proper motion tracked controller, but there's no guarantee that every Oculus Rift owner will also be picking up a Touch controller once they're available.

What will I play?

Oculus has promised that there'll be over 100 games available for the Oculus Rift this year, including Minecraft, Rock Band, Edge of Nowhere (by Insomniac, creators of Ratchet and Clank), and The Climb (by Crytek, creators of Crysis). Oculus is also producing and financing 20 games that'll be exclusive to the platform.

Valve hasn't promised a huge slate of titles for the HTC Vive just yet, but you can find some of the games that're in store for the HTC Vive right here, on Valve's Steam store. A number of games will also be available on multiplatforms. I've played Job Simulator on both the Oculus Rift and the HTC Vive, and it'll be headed to PlayStation VR, too. It's likely a bit premature to pick a VR platform based on the games that might be available, but Oculus arguably has something of a lead here.

What will I need to get started?

Fortunately, we have a pretty clear idea of what's required to get started with both the HTC Vive and the Oculus Rift. Here are the recommended system requirements for both platforms.

As you've probably noticed they nigh identical, which makes things decidedly easier if you're looking to build or buy a new, VR-ready PC sometime in the next few months. You can also use Valve's SteamVR Performance Test or the Oculus Rift compatiblity tool to see if your current hardware is up to snuff.

Which should I choose?

That's up to you. I'm completely smitten by the HTC Vive's wands, as the games I've played (including plenty of mini golf) have shown off what's possible when a developer is developing an experience specifically for a controller. The Oculus Rift will be reliant on the Xbox One controller until the Oculus Touch arrives, which necessarily changes how we'll interact with the games there. That being said, these are both primarily gaming platforms, and the Oculus Rift will have 100 different games to try by the end of the year. It'll also be able to stream games from your Xbox One, if you're keen on sitting in a virtual living room.