When it comes to Virtual Reality devices, everything that we’re seeing is very new and hasn’t yet completed the so-called test of time. Nevertheless, this technology is so enticing to everyone that the market has seen a steady flow of competitors bringing high-quality devices to the public.

But the question remains – which is better? It’s not like you can ask someone who’s had the device for a long time. Hell, they’ve only become a commonplace thing in the last 4, 3 years. What we’re trying to say is that there isn’t enough empirical evidence out there for us to know precisely which is better.

So we’re going to go by raw, technical specs -and a few other small things- to try and compare which is better; The Oculus Quest, or the PSVR?

The Screen

Logically, the screen is the first thing we have to check out when comparing virtual reality devices. This is because the whole experience with VR headsets is almost 100% taken in through sight.

That means that the whole experience is 99% relying on the device’s screen. But what do we have to be on the lookout when comparing screens?

Let’s see, no pun intended, the Oculus Quest’s screen specs:

OLED screen: OLED screens are only second to AMOLED screens, which are scarce anyway.
Resolution: The Quest has a resolution of 2800×1600, a number that is only bested (barely) by the HTC Cosmos. Higher resolution is super important – the higher, the better.
72 Hz refresh rate: This is pretty standard, and could be better.

And the PSVR:

OLED screen: It’s a tie here.
Resolution: Has a significantly lower resolution compared to the Oculus Quest at 1920×1080 pixels. This means that the visual experience is less impressive compared to the Quest.
120 Hz refresh rate: This is quite reasonable considering that we’re talking about Playstation’s very own VR headset. Most people are going to use this for hardcore gaming, and that does indeed require a higher refresh rate. In this aspect, the PSVR is better.

Now that we know what the screen looks like, we’ve got to think about what we’re gonna be seeing on the screen.

The User Experience

If you look at it in very simple terms, you might arrive at the conclusion that all virtual reality headsets are for gaming – and they can all be measured on how well they perform at this particular thing.

But the truth is that it’s much more complicated than that – if you’re a hardcore PS4 gamer, chances are that you’re not gonna be very interested in the Oculus Quest; The PSVR is gonna seem like the only actual choice for you.

Let’s look at different instances of user experience:

Casual gaming experience

Do not let the term “casual” fool you into thinking that casual games aren’t as complex or detailed as other games; the amount of developing is usually the same -if not more in some cases- but the term has appeared as a need to differentiate between games that are competitive (Call of Duty and the like) and games that focus on a different kind of experience – subtler, gentler games.

With Oculus Quest you’ll definitely find some adrenaline-releasing games, but as of now their best games offer a much different kind of experience – they are fun, relaxing and satisfying in a more immediate manner; With other kinds of games, you’d usually need to play for a while before you can really fully enjoy the game (because of level climbing, level-restricted features and whatnot) yet with most of Oculus Quest’s games, you can enjoy 100% of the games right away.

Think Beat Saber – this is a game that is incredibly fun, satisfying, and doesn’t require you to play for hours before you can actually start enjoying all of its features.

It’s not hard to see that Oculus Quest is a device that really focuses on delivering a well-rounded, family-friendly virtual reality experience. Its sole purpose is to entertain people with visual reality; it’s not just a gaming device.

With PSVR, however, we’re looking at a different breed. It isn’t really a Virtual Reality device as much as it is an accessory for your Playstation, and it even has to be connected to the console for it to work – it doesn’t have a unique operative system like Oculus does, but relies completely on the Playstation 4.

Because of that, we can’t really judge the PSV on the same terms that we would judge the Oculus Quest – as a standalone system, the Quest is more comparable to having both a PS4 and the PSVR… So most of the actual user experience is rooted on the PS4 (and, in a year, the PS5).

But still, casual gaming with a PSVR doesn’t really amount to much. Games are geared toward another audience, and audience that does not care for casual game. And no casual gamer is going to drop money on a PS4 just to then get the PSVR; it just doesn’t happen.

Gaming Experience

When it comes to a more “serious” kind of gaming, the scales do tip in favor of the PSVR.

The Oculus Quest, while definitely a very powerful device, still doesn’t have a big enough library for serious gamers to even consider the Quest as an alternative for PC or other consoles. However, Oculus seems to be putting out games at a higher rate than ever; Even recently partnering with Steam, the famous PC-gaming platform, to play Steam-based games on your device.

Compared to the PSVR, though, that amounts to little. With huge titles like Skyrim and Resident Evil available to play on exclusive VR versions, the PSVR is an ideal purchase for those who are Playstation fans.

Gaming experience: Wireless and standalone, or not

Another big difference in the user experience comes down to where, when, and what is it connected to.

The Oculus Quest can be used practically anywhere – from a park to a plane, provided you have wifi. It involves no cables at all, and it doesn’t rely on anything other than itself.

The PSVR does involve some annoying cables plus it needs to be near a Playstation 4 for you to be able to run games on it – making it a very limited experience, since the Playstation is not a portable device at all.

In the end, when considering portability, convenience, and how these two things enhance your gaming and user experience in general, we have to say that the Oculus Quest wins this one.

Budget

Eventually, you have to think about money, as annoying as that is. No real comparison between two devices like these is ever really complete before you take a look at how much it’s gonna cost you.

When it comes to the Oculus Quest, there’s only one purchase to worry about, and that’s the device itself. The 64 GB version costs about 400$ by itself, and there’s no further purchases needed for you to start playing and enjoying your device.

With PSVR, the VR headset itself is around 300$, depending which bundle you purchase – and then the Playstation 4 is around 250$; together, it would be in a range of 500 to 600 dollars.

So, approximately:

Oculus Quest – 399 to 499 dollars
PSVR – 500 to 600 dollars

Storage

More than ever, the amount of storage your device has is a pretty strong factor on whether you buy it or not.

Oculus Quest comes in two versions; a 64 GB one and a 128GB version. Each differs in price by 100$.

Playstation offers an impressive 1TB of storage – which is more than you’ll ever need, to be honest.

But if you’re the kind of person that likes to enjoy a wide range of games -and therefore need a lot of space- you can always bypass the little storage part of the Oculus Quest with a portable hard drive that you can take with you anywhere.

A Final Consideration

Another thing you have to consider when thinking about price is just how long your money’s going to be good for.

As we all know, Playstation likes to be constantly updating themselves. By the last quarter of 2020, a new Playstation console will be coming out: It’s already been announced. This leaves PSV owners at a certain unease; Although they’ve said that the PSVR will be fully compatible with the PS5 – that doesn’t mean that a new, updated PSV won’t be coming out, rendering the first one obsolete.

Oculus, however, has put a lot of their best engineering and design into their three major products; it is unlikely that they’ll be replaced soon, as they are still revolutionary pieces of technology – so there’s little reason to, and little to improve on.

Conclusion

In the end, it all comes down to each individual’s preferences and needs.

If we want to take about a full-fledged, serious Virtual Reality device, the Oculus Quest is by far the better device.

But if you’re a gamer, own a PS4 already, and are not so interested in other aspects of VR beyond enhanced gaming – then it is clear that the PSVR will do just fine for you.