Vive vs Rift: Help me decide what to buy!

[Jonathan E]

Loads of good advice above, IMO it depends on what you want from the headset - if it's just Elite then the CV1 is best, ATW is amazing - I have had a DK2 for 2 years and it's now the best it has ever been. If you want room scale and the controllers then get the Vive.

Personally, I have gone for option 2 as the Mrs want to shoot zombies in Arizona Sunshine, so that made it easy to get past her

 

[dogbite]

Like when someone asks ''what kind of computer should I buy" and I respond with "what software do you want to run?" I made my choice to pre-order the Rift based on several factors
I am older and don't particularily want to run around my living room (vive apparently can be quite a work out).)I play a lot of flightsims, racing and FPS so seated is my game play pref (although as pointed out here and on Utube the Rift is quite capable of larger areas of play)
I want to run Vorpx and Vireo as I have many of the games these infusers support and look forward to playing them anew.
The fact that the Rift has been in development longer suggests that the games coming down the pipe will be stronger in the early days howerver Valve is a juggernaut and this may not be a deciding factor.

All this being said I continue to read and watch videos daily and despite some of the negatives I am not deterred from my choice. If you are still on the fence about which to buy if at all I wouldl suggest continuing research till you feel confident you have enough info to make a good choice for you. The amount of informations out there is growing expotentially every day now and there is plenty of time.

Good luck

 

[cygnusa]

I just went through this decision process myself.. I was going to wait another year for VR but ended up biting the bullet..

Between Vive and Oculus... I could have gone either way. Both will have the same/similar features and functions. While Oculus is currently missing the room-scale VR features of the vive and the controllers, it will have it soon enough. The price out the door for each basically covers what you are or are not getting. With the Oculus, you'll need to fork out more money later if you want vr controllers or extras to enable better a better room-scale VR experience. Lets hope that can be done for $200 or less. If so, Oculus will be comparable to the Vive in cost and capability. If Oculus charges more... the amount you paid to get into VR could potentially be higher.

So..

My decision was made purely based upon the following factors.

I chose Vive - I have one on preorder and will hopefully get it in early May.

A few things I preferred..

-I wanted room scale VR and VR controllers now.. it comes with it now.
-I liked the lighthouse design... just a preference.
-I liked the front facing camera feature. That way I l can maybe look at my wife while in VR and draw silly things around her face without her knowing ;P Ok maybe not.

The ACTUAL reasons that swayed me:

-Vive is backed by HTC and Steam. I don't like facebook in general. I may be biased as I work in business social collaboration systems at a very large firm...
-But my MAIN decision making point: HTC/Steam with the Vive are playing things smart. They are openly stating that they do not want to follow the path of 'exclusivity', as Oculus does. The philosophy of exclusive titles and forcing gamers into a corner with hardware hurts gamers and the industry. I respect this philosophy of openness. This is going to hurt Oculus if they corner themselves like this. The PC market historically isn't as receptive to restrictive high price proprietary formats as some other platforms (Mac or Gaming Consoles).

I also think it helps extremely small developers get their content into our hands by keeping things open. They need all the help they can get. A small developer can code to a standard and hop into the VR arena and have a far larger audience, rather than cornering themselves to a single VR system... losing potential customers who went with different hardware.

In any case.. this is longer than I had planned. All in all... I don't think you can go wrong with either choice. There will be cross compatible games. Both headsets have similar features, and in a short time both will be equally capable. A given system's success will be likely dictated by longer term quality issues, support, and whomever can drop the price point into the mainstream market faster. That is yet to be seen.

 

[Arubeto]

Again though, think this through long term from an ergonomics POV... as a long time DK1/DK2 user I know how irritating it is to put the HMD on, put headphones on, take headphones off, take HMD off - every single time. And this gets worse over time! The Rift's solution is pretty elegant - flip up, reportedly decent (but detachable) headphones. For some (like you by the sounds of it) putting up with the hassle will be worth it for their favoured headsets but as long as the included phones are as decent as reported, mine are going in the bin! But then mine aren't that fantastic to begin with, they were less than £50.

And bear in mind the Rift has a really good microphone of it's own! There is a sample online somewhere - it sounds REALLY good!

Sorry if I seem more pro CV1, but I kind of am... coming off the back of lots of use of DK1/2 I've come to realise just how important ergonomics and ease of use factors are, in the longer term.

As was mentioned, this is coming in the not too distant for the Rift (with better controllers - again, anecdotally). It won't have the camera, but it'll have the ability to map your space.

It sounds like you're pretty much sold on the Vive anyway? Just go for it, neither of them are "bad".

Those are two very interesting bits of information I didn't know about - that the Rift has a (good) mic, too, and that the additional camera that will come with the Touch controllers will facilitate similar room scale VR as the Vive will provide. So my OP wasn't in vain

I am not convinced that the Touch controller will be better than the Vive VR controllers, though. Similar to the first gaming site reports on the headsets themselves, I read articles half a year ago where the first hands-on experiences with the Touch were described as "amazing" and the "most intuitive way to control VR", but then the same site wrote "The Vive controller completely blows the Touch out of the water" some time later when they tried it the first time. I don't remember which site that was - probably Destructoid again. Do they have a Vive bias? I think not, since they normally describe the Rift as awesome, too.
Anyway, I think both controllers will turn out to be great - similarly to both headsets surely offering a great experience. So the quality of the controllers will be high enough either way - perhaps similarly to the visual quality - so they probably won't be the critical condition on which I am going to base my decision.

And by the way: I am also not sold on the Vive, yet. Especially the point mentioned by you and several other people that the second camera of the Touch will make similar full room VR settings possible as the Vive may convince me to go for the Rift instead of the Vive.

One point that still remains, even if the Touch brings the Rift up to the same level of room scale VR as the Vive, is if the additional price of the Touch controllers and camera will bring the total price of the Rift up the Vive, too. In which case the availability of the Vive with VR controllers and room scale VR might be what convinces me to go for the Vive.

Again, I don't want anyone to make this decision for me. I am just looking for information like those two points above that I might have missed and that could possibly influence my decision if I value them highly enough. And don't worry, moonsword, I will decide for one of both headsets, I just want to base that decision on as much information as possible!

 

[Hell Razor5543]

Something else that might have a bearing is if you are a programmer, looking at maybe writing code to use VR. Facebook have a T&C that basically means that (in order to use the Oculus equipment) you give them any code you produce, with no rights to yourself. There are other things to look into;

https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=241417

 

[Arubeto]

Like when someone asks ''what kind of computer should I buy" and I respond with "what software do you want to run?" I made my choice to pre-order the Rift based on several factors
I am older and don't particularily want to run around my living room (vive apparently can be quite a work out).)I play a lot of flightsims, racing and FPS so seated is my game play pref (although as pointed out here and on Utube the Rift is quite capable of larger areas of play)
I want to run Vorpx and Vireo as I have many of the games these infusers support and look forward to playing them anew.
The fact that the Rift has been in development longer suggests that the games coming down the pipe will be stronger in the early days howerver Valve is a juggernaut and this may not be a deciding factor.

All this being said I continue to read and watch videos daily and despite some of the negatives I am not deterred from my choice. If you are still on the fence about which to buy if at all I wouldl suggest continuing research till you feel confident you have enough info to make a good choice for you. The amount of informations out there is growing expotentially every day now and there is plenty of time.

Good luck

Thanks a lot for your opinion.
As you can see in my OP, I already have some things that are important for me concerning VR experiences lined out there, so I know what I want from a corresponding headset: I want to play ED with it, but I also want to feel the sensation of walking around a VR world. If both headsets will provide this option eventually, I will look for other factors that distinguish both headsets from each other. Which lead me to starting this thread, which I consider part of my additional research (which you suggested I should do )

 

[Arubeto]

I just went through this decision process myself.. I was going to wait another year for VR but ended up biting the bullet..

Between Vive and Oculus... I could have gone either way. Both will have the same/similar features and functions. While Oculus is currently missing the room-scale VR features of the vive and the controllers, it will have it soon enough. The price out the door for each basically covers what you are or are not getting. With the Oculus, you'll need to fork out more money later if you want vr controllers or extras to enable better a better room-scale VR experience. Lets hope that can be done for $200 or less. If so, Oculus will be comparable to the Vive in cost and capability. If Oculus charges more... the amount you paid to get into VR could potentially be higher.

So..

My decision was made purely based upon the following factors.

I chose Vive - I have one on preorder and will hopefully get it in early May.

A few things I preferred..

-I wanted room scale VR and VR controllers now.. it comes with it now.
-I liked the lighthouse design... just a preference.
-I liked the front facing camera feature. That way I l can maybe look at my wife while in VR and draw silly things around her face without her knowing ;P Ok maybe not.

The ACTUAL reasons that swayed me:

-Vive is backed by HTC and Steam. I don't like facebook in general. I may be biased as I work in business social collaboration systems at a very large firm...
-But my MAIN decision making point: HTC/Steam with the Vive are playing things smart. They are openly stating that they do not want to follow the path of 'exclusivity', as Oculus does. The philosophy of exclusive titles and forcing gamers into a corner with hardware hurts gamers and the industry. I respect this philosophy of openness. This is going to hurt Oculus if they corner themselves like this. The PC market historically isn't as receptive to restrictive high price proprietary formats as some other platforms (Mac or Gaming Consoles).

I also think it helps extremely small developers get their content into our hands by keeping things open. They need all the help they can get. A small developer can code to a standard and hop into the VR arena and have a far larger audience, rather than cornering themselves to a single VR system... losing potential customers who went with different hardware.

In any case.. this is longer than I had planned. All in all... I don't think you can go wrong with either choice. There will be cross compatible games. Both headsets have similar features, and in a short time both will be equally capable. A given system's success will be likely dictated by longer term quality issues, support, and whomever can drop the price point into the mainstream market faster. That is yet to be seen.

Thanks a lot for your answer, Commander! The points for the Vive that you listed - VR controllers being available now, the front facing camera and a preference for Valve over Facebook - are very important points for me, too. When did you order your Vive? Is it realistic to expect orders placed now to arrive as soon as May, as this Eurogamer article implies?

Also, I'd like to repost the questions of my original post, since my hope is still that someone can answer one or two of them. Perhaps they were out of view, so here they are again:

Questions:

• Are the hardware requirements for playing ED Horizons the same for the Rift and the Vive?
• If I decide to cancel my Oculus Rift pre-order in order to go for the Vive instead: how do I cancel it? I pre-ordered it as a guest, e.g. without creating an Oculus account, and my "pre-order" information page doesn't seem to provide a "cancel order" button? Do I need to contact customer support "manually" to cancel the pre-order?
• Does the front-facing camera on the Vive work like intended, e.g. is it easy to use your keyboard via the camera feed?
• Is it realistic to expect the Vive to ship in May if I place my order now?

 

[cygnusa]

Thanks a lot for your answer, Commander! The points for the Vive that you listed - VR controllers being available now, the front facing camera and a preference for Valve over Facebook - are very important points for me, too. When did you order your Vive? Is it realistic to expect orders placed now to arrive as soon as May, as this Eurogamer article implies?

Also, I'd like to repost the questions of my original post, since my hope is still that someone can answer one or two of them. Perhaps they were out of view, so here they are again:

Questions:

• Are the hardware requirements for playing ED Horizons the same for the Rift and the Vive?
• If I decide to cancel my Oculus Rift pre-order in order to go for the Vive instead: how do I cancel it? I pre-ordered it as a guest, e.g. without creating an Oculus account, and my "pre-order" information page doesn't seem to provide a "cancel order" button? Do I need to contact customer support "manually" to cancel the pre-order?
• Does the front-facing camera on the Vive work like intended, e.g. is it easy to use your keyboard via the camera feed?
• Is it realistic to expect the Vive to ship in May if I place my order now?

I ordered the Vive about a week ago, the email I received said May timeframe for delivery, but they didn't give any exact dates unfortunately. Crossing my fingers it isn't too delayed. I'm staring at my monitor underwhelmed at the moment and I haven't even tried VR ;P

For your q's... I can give a few opinions...

-I suspect the hardware requirements are very similar. Though the system reqs for the Vive are published as being slightly lower than Oculus. I'm not entirely sure this means the Vive can run as effectively with lower spec hardware. Its probably up for interpretation on what 'min-spec' or 'rec-spec' really means.
-Unsure on how to cancel Oculus, I'm sure they have a way to do it.. legally they have to allow you to cancel your order if they have not yet shipped and if the product isn't in your hands yet.
-The vive camera isn't all that high res as I hear. I don't know the actual res it runs at offhand.. it was intended for that purpose.. pop up a cam view, see your keyboard, do your thing, and jump back in without taking the headset off. Supposedly you can do some overlay stuff.. see your surroundings with the cam and project VR into the room. But honestly I don't know what its current capabilities or future intended uses are. I want it so if the wife walks in I can stop what I'm doing and at least pretend she has my attention LOL (just kidding)
-If you order now, I'd think May delivery may be possible. As mentioned I ordered a week ago and got told a May delivery. The question I have.. early or late May (?)

 

[[VR] Deggial]

Hm, ok, that seems to be an important factor. According to Wikipedia, the Vive weighs 550g while the Oculus Rift is slightly lighter with 470g. Sadly it doesn't say which version of the OR they are referring to here. Can anyone shed some light on the weight situation of the individual Rift versions? A quick Google query seems to yield conflicting information with anything between 440g and 480g for the DK2 and CV1)

470g is correct (follow the German link in my post; in there is another link to all technical data)
Remember, though, that the distribution/balance of this weight is as important as the net value.

--

In addition to all I mentioned above, some additional information to consider regarding the Vive. These are, however, highly dependent on your personal situation at home and your sense of aesthetics.

- Vive's lighthouse sensors seem to be highly sensible to environmental movement. If you have to mount them at a place prone to movement, this could be an issue. (In order to achive full room covering, I would have to mount one sensor on a cupboard, which swings a little bit when somebody passes by.)

- The lighthouse sensors have to be powerd by an external power source. Do you have socket-outlets near the place where you want to mount them?

- The power cords will be very visible, if you are not willing to lay them buried. This is, of course, just an aesthetic issue. For me, it is one!

- The lighthouse sensors can not be switched off, as far as I know. In order to do so, you will have to pull the cord. Are you willing to do so every time you don't use them? (You might want to; see the next point.)

- The lighthouse sensors use movable parts (in contrast to the Rift sensors). Movable parts are prone to wearout and you might want to limit their active time.

- One test showed, that the screw nut of the lighthouse sensor's fixing loosend due to the sensors vibration (again: moving parts!). However, I don't know whether or not this is a general issue.

 

[[VR] Mad Mike]

i replied as op specifically asked my opinion.. truth is I have not got a clue which is best but i wrote the pm to him and seeing as i wasted the e pixels i may as well paste here too.
---------------
i am getting a CV1 i think, but i keep hovering over the vive order button (which would then mean cancelling rift).

I do not think we can know for sure which is best until touch launches, until then it is guess work.

right now, vive is the ONLY hmd to offer a full VR solution but rift is a more erganomic HMD and touch again potentially is the better designed hardware IF it works and tracks properly.

I am convinced full room VR is the future if you have the space for it, and oculus downplaying it is a worry... is it because they know constellation is not up to it with only 2 cameras? its not the HMD tracking which worries me (1 camera has a good go at full room, or at least full room for most peoples room so 2 cameras will not have a problem), it is the touch tracking with your back to the cameras.

I am gambling that oculus come good with touch, but i would never reccomend anyone else do that because it is a shot in the dark, and i could easily be kicking myself in 6 months.

even devs themselvs are unsure. Owlchemy labs making job simulator have said they will support 360 degree room VR in the rift IF it works properly but they are not sure it will.

 

[jabokai]

Something else that might have a bearing is if you are a programmer, looking at maybe writing code to use VR. Facebook have a T&C that basically means that (in order to use the Oculus equipment) you give them any code you produce, with no rights to yourself. There are other things to look into;

https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=241417

Total poppycock! So I write a game for the Rift and suddenly Oculus own it and can sell it, etc. This is total garbage and wouldn't even be legal. The T&Cs say some pretty silly stuff (that have been responded to by Oculus, go find it) but what you're saying is just complete and utter FUD.

Those are two very interesting bits of information I didn't know about - that the Rift has a (good) mic, too

To my tinnitus riddled ears it's very good -

https://soundcloud.com/kirkhamilton/rift-mic-test

 

[Arubeto]

To my tinnitus riddled ears it's very good -

https://soundcloud.com/kirkhamilton/rift-mic-test

That sounds pretty good indeed! (btw. that isn't the Kirk Hamilton who also writes for Kotaku, is it?)

Your point about having to search for the headsets after putting on the Vive potentially being a hassle that becomes worse over time seems valid. Still, I'd rank it rather low on my list of criteria upon which I am going to base my decision, especially since I bought my current wireless headset specifically with the future prospect of using it together with a VR headset in mind (and because it cost me more than 100€ )

i replied as op specifically asked my opinion.. truth is I have not got a clue which is best but i wrote the pm to him and seeing as i wasted the e pixels i may as well paste here too.
---------------
i am getting a CV1 i think, but i keep hovering over the vive order button (which would then mean cancelling rift).

I do not think we can know for sure which is best until touch launches, until then it is guess work.

right now, vive is the ONLY hmd to offer a full VR solution but rift is a more erganomic HMD and touch again potentially is the better designed hardware IF it works and tracks properly.

I am convinced full room VR is the future if you have the space for it, and oculus downplaying it is a worry... is it because they know constellation is not up to it with only 2 cameras? its not the HMD tracking which worries me (1 camera has a good go at full room, or at least full room for most peoples room so 2 cameras will not have a problem), it is the touch tracking with your back to the cameras.

I am gambling that oculus come good with touch, but i would never reccomend anyone else do that because it is a shot in the dark, and i could easily be kicking myself in 6 months.

even devs themselvs are unsure. Owlchemy labs making job simulator have said they will support 360 degree room VR in the rift IF it works properly but they are not sure it will.

Thanks for commenting, Mike. I know you have spend quite some time using the DK2 and researching the VR situation and are kind of obsessed - in a good way - with VR, so I highly value your opinion.

I guess I won't be using the full room VR of the Vive regularly, but rather when I have someone who I want to show the wonders of VR. May main use will still be a seated experience - ED - so one could argue I don't need the Vive, since I don't need it's one special feature it has above the Rift right now - the full room VR. And IF the Rift really is going to have comparable full room VR once the Touch controllers land, that might just sway me to stay with Oculus.

 

[Dr.Evanzan]

Total poppycock! So I write a game for the Rift and suddenly Oculus own it and can sell it, etc. This is total garbage and wouldn't even be legal. The T&Cs say some pretty silly stuff (that have been responded to by Oculus, go find it) but what you're saying is just complete and utter FUD.

To clarify this point (having read the article linked in the forum post by Hell Razor5543), the Oculus terms of service refer to User Content submitted to the Oculus Services.
Not sure what the Oculus Services currently provide (or will provide), but this could be something like streaming or recording a video of you playing a game on the Rift and uploading this via some part of the Oculus software (i.e. within Oculus Home).
As clarified at the end of the article, Oculus aren't asserting ownership rights, just maintaining a perpetual right to share such content which is effectively a legal safeguard against user's trying to limit what Oculus do with User Content they submit.

This is absolutely nothing to do with Oculus asserting IP rights over software produced for the Rift.

 

[Arubeto]

Just read another hands-on experience by Nathan Grayson, a Kotaku staff member, that sounds rather mixed about the Vive and comes to the conclusion:

I’m excited about what the future holds for the Vive, but the future’s not here yet.

Seems to somehow be in contrast not only to the Destructoid article I linked, but also compared to many reviews gathered by Metacritc. Anyway, the issues Nathan mentions seem to be genuinely annoying and not made up Rift-fanboy talk...

 

[dogbite]

I am using a haptic feedback chair I built with Aura transducers as well as Logitech Momo wheel, Saitek hotas and rudder, Voice Attack with Ivona Amy and Logitec K70 keyboard. This should prove an excellent addon to VR experience as it is already quite fun. The K70 has special beveled and knurled WASD keys so I really don't need to see the keyboard play FPS games. I will likely sell the Xbox controller.

 

[jabokai]

That sounds pretty good indeed! (btw. that isn't the Kirk Hamilton who also writes for Kotaku, is it?)

Your point about having to search for the headsets after putting on the Vive potentially being a hassle that becomes worse over time seems valid. Still, I'd rank it rather low on my list of criteria upon which I am going to base my decision, especially since I bought my current wireless headset specifically with the future prospect of using it together with a VR headset in mind (and because it cost me more than 100€ )

It is indeed, he has a write up of the Rift here.

Interestingly, on the headphones, he says - "I love a good pair of gaming headphones, so I was skeptical when I heard that the Rift was going to include built-in, removable earphones. Surprise! Turns out they’re good. They offer a fuller and more immersive sound field than their small size suggests, but their real appeal is the fact they make the Rift into a single, self-contained piece of equipment.

When I used the DK2, I had to first put on the headset, then put on some big old headphones, then check both cables and make sure they weren’t tangled, and so on. With the commercial Rift, I just put it on and I’m good."

I feel a bit like an Oculus salesman, but even if you want to use your own cans, there may come a point where you're just fed up of the rigmarole and, with the CV1, at least you have both options.

That reviewer does mention the Rift feels incomplete without the Touch controllers, compared to the all-in-one Vive though.

 

[vic]

It is indeed, he has a write up of the Rift here.

Interestingly, on the headphones, he says - "I love a good pair of gaming headphones, so I was skeptical when I heard that the Rift was going to include built-in, removable earphones. Surprise! Turns out they’re good. They offer a fuller and more immersive sound field than their small size suggests, but their real appeal is the fact they make the Rift into a single, self-contained piece of equipment.

When I used the DK2, I had to first put on the headset, then put on some big old headphones, then check both cables and make sure they weren’t tangled, and so on. With the commercial Rift, I just put it on and I’m good."

I feel a bit like an Oculus salesman, but even if you want to use your own cans, there may come a point where you're just fed up of the rigmarole and, with the CV1, at least you have both options.

That reviewer does mention the Rift feels incomplete without the Touch controllers, compared to the all-in-one Vive though.

Not to mention the oculus CV1 also has a mic integrated. So one cable for video,sound, and Microhphone! Perfect!
Cuz I agree with you putting on a headphones , then mic, then the hdmi (along with all the cables) is a chore with the DK2 after a while.

 

[Dr Wookie]

I've been flip flopping for months now, but won't be getting either for a couple of months at least. So I feel the OP's pain!

I am currently leaning towards the Rift right no, although I was set on Vive for months. The Vive reviews have really brought home how the Vive is much more hassle to set up and use than the Rift, demands a lot of power outlets, and space (around 5 feet by 8 feet minimum for room scale).

I've also seen articles that say that Rift will be able to use the Concierge system for SteamVR games, and seen decent room scale rift performance from one well placed camera.

My use case for VR is primarily ED, and my current machine exceeds recommended specs for all Oculus games. The Rift is supposedly very easy to use and has surprisingly good headphones and microphone.

I could easily change my mind again though !

 

[CATPAIN KIRK]

I haven't tested either yet, but having used a DK2 for over 2000 hours in ED, I'd say I can safely say what's of importance to me in a HMD. This of course doesn't mean it's of equal importance for anyone else. so here's a few points:

- Display quality: Both seem to have their pros and cons, but I can't see any of them having a vast advantage over the other. As long as they're both better than the DK2s I'll be fine. (R≈V)
- Design: The Rift looks better imho. I don't see it when I wear it and I put it on a shelf that can't be seen from the rest of the room. Still a slight pro for the rift. (R>V)
- Weight: The rift is slightly lighter. However having used the DK2 for up to ten hours a day, I've never felt the HMDs weight to be discomforting, so it's not of importance to me. (R≈V)
- Price: The Rift costs less but that might change in case you want to buy the touch controllers. I like spending money on tech gimmicks and a few hundred quid more or less don't really impact my decision. (R≈V)
- Motion controllers: Not crucial to me as I'm mostly looking forward to seated sim experiences and I can't imagine waving a pair of controllers around for hours after a hard days work. However in for a penny, in for a pound - I'll certainly want them, even if I probably just use them to little extent after some initial fooling around. (R<V)
- Roomscale VR: Not really important to me (see above) but certainly nice to have. Besides I found the DK2's capture space to be too small with the recommended setup even for ED. That can easily be circumvent by placing the camera 1.5m behind and above the recommended position with the DK2. However it doesn't seem to work with lots of oculus home games/demos and I end up with my head at ground level. This might be due to the lack of a proper calibration tool when using the DK2 and might be a non-issue with the CV1. Overall slightly pro Vive though. (R<V).
- Front camera/chaperone: After so much time in the DK2 I can safely say I don't need it to use a M/KB/HOTAS, eat, drink or smoke without taking it off and I have absolutely never knocked anything over. Even with roomscale VR, I'm confident I wont need it. (R≈V)
- Headphones/Mic: Despite looking like single use 80's economy class headphones, I hear the Rifts are pretty good. I vastly prefer using a 5.1 speaker setup in VR though due to less sensory deprivation and the additional sensation of feeling the subwoofer hit my bowels. As for a Mic: I mostly play alone, so I don't use it a lot. If I need one I use a capacitor microphone mounted to a swivel arm on my desk. (R≈V)
- Controller agnosia: Oculus home doesn't even support anything but its RC or an Xbox controller which is something I categorically refuse to use. (R<V)
- Open platform: The CV1 is supported in SteamVR but the Vive isn't supported by Oculus Home. Whilst this is an advantage for the Rift due to having access to a wider variety of games, I don't want to support that kind of behaviour. (R<V)
- Spyware: Judging from the netlogs I don't really care about the current data exchange oculus does. Steam will most likely track my usage statistics and check for updates just as well and OH can try to link to my FB activities all day long as I've never had a FB account and never will.
What I don't like however is the fact their EULA wants me to agree to selling my data to third parties, which is something Steam doesn't afaik (correct me if I'm wrong). Paying 700 dollars and then being asked to agree with being treated like dairy cattle doesn't sit well with me. (R<V)

Those are mostly minor issues, but they sum up to a clear decision for the Vive. As stated in the beginning, you might answer all those questions quite differently and I'd say you'll have fun with either of them.

 

[stripealipe]

Just read another hands-on experience by Nathan Grayson, a Kotaku staff member, that sounds rather mixed about the Vive and comes to the conclusion:

Seems to somehow be in contrast not only to the Destructoid article I linked, but also compared to many reviews gathered by Metacritc. Anyway, the issues Nathan mentions seem to be genuinely annoying and not made up Rift-fanboy talk...

Hmmmf, #firstworldproblems setting up the Vive in 2 hours after having problems with his PC drivers and such like... I've spent as long setting up a Saitek X52 joystick and i'd hardly call it bleeding edge. Fact is the Vive is doing something nobody else has done, but as far as i've read and seen, most are not having nearly as many problems as this dude.

Anyways, for me, i've finally pulled the trigger on the Vive. I'm the owner of a DK2 since release and with the 1.3.0 Oculus runtime it really has been a joy to use, finally..
But what swayed me was the fact that HTC are being bold here and putting it out there. I like that and i'm gonna support that, at least for now. Vive will offer me something now that the DK2 and the CV1 cannot, and i'll still be able to sit down and play that kind of content should i so wish.

Both cool cool bits of bleeding edge design, but after much deliberation i feel that the Vive will give me the most fun for the next few months.