 You can't see it, but right now, I am totally immersed in a virtual world. It's in the best virtual reality system your money can buy. That's right, the Oculus Rift. Wait, you mean the HTC Vive? Okay, let's back up. This is the Rift, a VR headset made by Oculus, which is owned by Facebook. And this is the Vive from Valve and HTC. The Rift is a pair of screens and magnifying lenses that pretty convincingly trick your brain into thinking it's seeing another world. So is the Vive. And they were both released within a week of each other. So first of all, why would you want one? Well, unlike your standard Google Cardboard or Gear VR, the Rift runs off a powerful gaming PC. So does the Vive, which means you get better image quality, less motion sickness, added features, and more interactive experiences. You're going to be paying quite a bit more though. Yeah, the Rift costs $600 plus a gaming PC. The Vive costs even more. Fine, yeah, the Vive costs $800 in a PC, but that's because you're getting a totally different experience. But the headsets are pretty much the same. Well, yeah, if you're just talking about how things look in them, but there's a lot more to a VR system than that. Such as? Well, the Vive lets you get up and walk around an entire room with laser trackers. The Rift has a tracking camera. No, it's not the same thing. And besides, Oculus really just wants you to sit down in a chair with a gamepad. Well, yeah, you are going to be sitting down with an Xbox controller for most Rift games. And you can do so much more with these cool motion controllers like paint in three dimensions. The Rift has motion controllers too though. They're just not coming out for a few months. You can still walk farther in the Vive. Oculus is adding a second tracking camera to fix that. Look, almost anything you can do in the Vive now, you're going to be able to do in the Rift. Even if they end up getting the same experiences. But they won't. Wait, what? Oculus is lending them a bunch of exclusives for the Rift and Valve and HTC have said they're not doing any exclusives for the Vive. People are already finding ways to play those games on the Vive though. Let's face it, the Vive is just way better for experimenting. Which is what makes it way harder to do absolutely anything else. You can get the Rift working perfectly in a few minutes and it takes 20 minutes just to set up the Vive. We don't know how well the motion controllers are going to work with the Rift though. We don't even know when they're coming out or how much they're going to cost. Well, it's coming out sometime this year and probably still cheaper than the Vive. That's assuming they actually ship on time. Remember the part where Oculus delayed your Rift pre-order by a month because of a part shortage? Well yes, that just happened. But it's not like you can buy a Vive right now either. If you ordered one right this second you could get it in June. The Rift wouldn't get there till August. It's still a long time. Why wouldn't you wait just a little longer and get something that's not ugly? Ugly? Yes, the Vive is heavy and ugly. Because everyone thinks you look so cool in the Rift. Well okay, no, I still look like a weirdo, but at least I'm not a weirdo with a sore neck. Well, part of that weight is this cool camera that turns on the real world. Oh, so you can see your furniture and not bump into it? That's kind of cool, I'll admit. Look, you cannot buy a perfect VR headset right now. The Rift's more ergonomic and user-friendly. And the Vive's better for power users. But they're both for early adopters with money to burn. And if you're one of those, chances are you already ordered a VR headset. So none of this matters. Enjoy whatever you bought. Which is obviously the Vive. You mean the Rift. Nope, I really don't. Hey, thanks for watching. If you like this, we've got a lot more comparison videos. And you should also check out a review of the best VR headset, the Oculus Rift. And before that, you can watch a review of the real best VR headset, the HTC Vive. Well, either way, subscribe to us at youtube.com slash the verge.
 You can't see it, but right now, I am totally immersed in a virtual world.
 It's in the best virtual reality system your money can buy.
 That's right, the Oculus Rift.
 Wait, you mean the HTC Vive?
 Okay, let's back up.
 This is the Rift, a VR headset made by Oculus, which is owned by Facebook.
 And this is the Vive from Valve and HTC.
 The Rift is a pair of screens and magnifying lenses that pretty convincingly trick your brain
 into thinking it's seeing another world.
 So is the Vive.
 And they were both released within a week of each other.
 So first of all, why would you want one?
 Well, unlike your standard Google Cardboard or Gear VR, the Rift runs off a powerful gaming PC.
 So does the Vive, which means you get better image quality, less motion sickness,
 added features, and more interactive experiences.
 You're going to be paying quite a bit more though.
 Yeah, the Rift costs $600 plus a gaming PC.
 The Vive costs even more.
 Fine, yeah, the Vive costs $800 in a PC,
 but that's because you're getting a totally different experience.
 But the headsets are pretty much the same.
 Well, yeah, if you're just talking about how things look in them,
 but there's a lot more to a VR system than that.
 Such as?
 Well, the Vive lets you get up and walk around an entire room with laser trackers.
 The Rift has a tracking camera.
 No, it's not the same thing.
 And besides, Oculus really just wants you to sit down in a chair with a gamepad.
 Well, yeah, you are going to be sitting down with an Xbox controller for most Rift games.
 And you can do so much more with these cool motion controllers
 like paint in three dimensions.
 The Rift has motion controllers too though.
 They're just not coming out for a few months.
 You can still walk farther in the Vive.
 Oculus is adding a second tracking camera to fix that.
 Look, almost anything you can do in the Vive now,
 you're going to be able to do in the Rift.
 Even if they end up getting the same experiences.
 But they won't.
 Wait, what?
 Oculus is lending them a bunch of exclusives for the Rift
 and Valve and HTC have said they're not doing any exclusives for the Vive.
 People are already finding ways to play those games on the Vive though.
 Let's face it, the Vive is just way better for experimenting.
 Which is what makes it way harder to do absolutely anything else.
 You can get the Rift working perfectly in a few minutes
 and it takes 20 minutes just to set up the Vive.
 We don't know how well the motion controllers are going to work with the Rift though.
 We don't even know when they're coming out or how much they're going to cost.
 Well, it's coming out sometime this year and probably still cheaper than the Vive.
 That's assuming they actually ship on time.
 Remember the part where Oculus delayed your Rift pre-order by a month because of a part shortage?
 Well yes, that just happened.
 But it's not like you can buy a Vive right now either.
 If you ordered one right this second you could get it in June.
 The Rift wouldn't get there till August.
 It's still a long time.
 Why wouldn't you wait just a little longer and get something that's not ugly?
 Ugly?
 Yes, the Vive is heavy and ugly.
 Because everyone thinks you look so cool in the Rift.
 Well okay, no, I still look like a weirdo, but at least I'm not a weirdo with a sore neck.
 Well, part of that weight is this cool camera that turns on the real world.
 Oh, so you can see your furniture and not bump into it?
 That's kind of cool, I'll admit.
 Look, you cannot buy a perfect VR headset right now.
 The Rift's more ergonomic and user-friendly.
 And the Vive's better for power users.
 But they're both for early adopters with money to burn.
 And if you're one of those, chances are you already ordered a VR headset.
 So none of this matters.
 Enjoy whatever you bought.
 Which is obviously the Vive.
 You mean the Rift.
 Nope, I really don't.
 Hey, thanks for watching.
 If you like this, we've got a lot more comparison videos.
 And you should also check out a review of the best VR headset, the Oculus Rift.
 And before that, you can watch a review of the real best VR headset, the HTC Vive.
 Well, either way, subscribe to us at youtube.com slash the verge.