HOLOLENS IS FACING OFF WITH SOME WELL-ESTABLISHED OPPONENTS IN THE VR REALM, BUT WITH ITS UNIQUE SELLING POINT, CAN IT BEAT ITS TWO BIGGEST RIVALS ?
Head-mounted gaming isn’t exactly a completely new trend. For a few years now, other developers have been working on their own hardware to take gaming out of the TV and put it right in front of your eyes. Both Oculus Rift and Sony’s Project Morpheus are hoping to beat Microsoft to the punch on wearable gaming, and they already have a head start.
But HoloLens isn’t really in the same category as these two headsets. With HoloLens, the game is projected onto the world around you using the transparent lens system. Oculus and Morpheus, on the other hand, place screens right in front of your eyes, closing you off from the outside world. Which will work better? It’s hard to say right now, but expect to see more of these headsets at E3 in June this year.
OCULUS RIFT
Development Kits are available right now for Oculus Rift, with a final consumer version release expected this year. A screen inside the device puts the game world right in front of your eyes, and developers are creating dedicated games and mods to make the most of the new tech. At the moment, you still need to be hooked up to a PC to use it, but there are some great hardware add-ons, such as treadmills, that give you a unique experience.
PROJECT MORPHEUS
Not much was seen of Project Morpheus after its announcement at GDC last year. But Sony gave Morpheus a major presence at this year’s GDC at the start of March, with hands-on experiences for those present. The full VR headset was originally designed to work with the PlayStation Move controller, and there have already been 15 games demoed to show what it could do. Can it beat HoloLens? Only time will tell.
Head-mounted gaming isn’t exactly a completely new trend. For a few years now, other developers have been working on their own hardware to take gaming out of the TV and put it right in front of your eyes. Both Oculus Rift and Sony’s Project Morpheus are hoping to beat Microsoft to the punch on wearable gaming, and they already have a head start.
But HoloLens isn’t really in the same category as these two headsets. With HoloLens, the game is projected onto the world around you using the transparent lens system. Oculus and Morpheus, on the other hand, place screens right in front of your eyes, closing you off from the outside world. Which will work better? It’s hard to say right now, but expect to see more of these headsets at E3 in June this year.
OCULUS RIFT
Development Kits are available right now for Oculus Rift, with a final consumer version release expected this year. A screen inside the device puts the game world right in front of your eyes, and developers are creating dedicated games and mods to make the most of the new tech. At the moment, you still need to be hooked up to a PC to use it, but there are some great hardware add-ons, such as treadmills, that give you a unique experience.
PROJECT MORPHEUS
Not much was seen of Project Morpheus after its announcement at GDC last year. But Sony gave Morpheus a major presence at this year’s GDC at the start of March, with hands-on experiences for those present. The full VR headset was originally designed to work with the PlayStation Move controller, and there have already been 15 games demoed to show what it could do. Can it beat HoloLens? Only time will tell.