Which VR Headset for my son?

[james_TW]

My son has been to one of those arcade places and loves the VR sets they have and has since asked for one for Christmas. It's excessive, but it's about the only thing he's asked for - However, the dilemma I have is which one?

The Oculus Quest sets look good, but I know squat about them - What I have read, is that they require a Facebook account to work. Is this true? He's 10, so he can't officially have one and I don't really want him on social media just yet

He has an Xbox One and I've read that the Oculus can connect to that, can it? Is it any good? Is it worth it? He plays mostly Fortnite and Minecraft so they'd need to work with those games really.

What other options are there?

Thanks

JTW

[hersh]

I bought the oculus quest 2 recently, fantastic bit of kit for £299
Yes, you do need a "real" Facebook account to use it
Would definitely recommend it

[Chris Type R]

I'd also say Quest 2, but in theory only available age 13 or above https://www.roadtovr.com/oculus-quest-2-facebook-a...

Something I'd add as something to consider is that while these are consumer grade devices, they're not unbreakable. A 10 year old individually might be trusted to take care - but when you add in to the mix of more children & their younger siblings having goes, damage is a risk.

[130R]

I don't think there are a lot of options outside the Quest 2 at the moment in terms of "real" VR. There are other PC headsets like the HP Reverb G2 and HTC Vive Pro 2 but these are much more expensive, less accessible (not suitable for a 10 year old) and require a decent gaming PC to run. There's also PlayStation VR but obviously that requires a PlayStation.

Edit: On Xbox One connectivity with the Quest 2 - it looks like this may be technically possible through sideloading but it's not supported officially. Quest 2 has its own games that can be played standalone or hooked up to a gaming PC.

Edited by 130R on Tuesday 23 November 14:08

[offspring86]

I think I read (possibly on the VR thread here on PH) that Facebook were planning on doing away with the requirement for an account. Any truth in that?

[Fastchas]

I had a go on my son's Oculus Quest the weekend, cost £369 I think he said (dunno which model).
What a piece of kit! I have a go sometimes. This weekend I jumped into a jet fighter, took off after several failed attempts that I struggle to see how I walked away, and accelerated into the clouds. I could turn 360's, turn hard banked turns whilst looking at the ground etc.
Haven't found out how to land yet though

Gorilla tag is good. It is quite unnerving to fall of a 50ft cliff face onto the floor. My feet felt funny, that's for sure!

[mdavids]

I've just gotten a Quest 2. I only had a very limited experience of VR (quick go on a mates ps4vr) so was coming in to it pretty fresh and I was really blown away by it.
I'm 46 and have been playing games since the days of the Atari console, I'm a little jaded to be honest, but VR when experienced for the first time is a real wow moment.

I gave my mate and his kids a go and he immediately went out and bought one for their xmas present.

I've only got a couple of games so far, Resident Evil 4 is amazing and is the killer app that made me buy one, totally inappropriate for young kids though unless you want to traumatize then for life.

The only misgivings I have are a lot of the games seem potentially over priced and (ironically) lacking the depth of a typical top console title. I've got a reasonable spec gaming pc so it's also getting hooked up to that for more options. On that note, I've tried half-life alyx which is just briiliant, and google earth VR, which isn't a game, but makes me feel like god

[james_TW]

Thanks all - Sounds like the best, or least worst, option is the Oculus. I think I'll do some more digging and perhaps look to get one in any Black Friday type deals that may come up. It seems like VR has taken a back seat to most things - I wonder if it'll go the way of the 3D TV...

[Siko]

Also had a play on an Oculus a few weeks ago at a mates house and blown away....it was amazing, but the games all felt like tech demos to me - great fun and brilliant to roll out at parties but doubt I'd have sat down and played them for a good session. Could have been just the games my mate had, but much as I liked it I felt it was a bit of a gimmick. That said, as a flight sim fan (without a gaming pc ) I can really see the benefit of VR in flight sims as totally immersive....might have to roll out the credit card...

[Griffith4ever]

Quest 2 is simply outstanding for the money. I don't think VR is going anywhere - there is very active game development in the Oculus store, and loads and loads of simmers - car and plane (and space), have moved over.

[phil4]

Facebook is betting their entire future on VR... renamed themselves Meta and pinning their hope on the "Metaverse".

On the headset front, you've some sound suggestions. For grown ups that have the money for a gaming PC, and Valve Index, Vive or similar playing Half Life Alyx is both awesome and defo not a demo type game.

[devnull]

I have a valve index and a quest 2. The valve requires a setup costing thousands to get running at its best. The quest 2 is 299 and is about 90% of the experience, and is wireless. It is fantastic.

[Griffith4ever]

phil4 said:

Facebook is betting their entire future on VR... renamed themselves Meta and pinning their hope on the "Metaverse".

On the headset front, you've some sound suggestions. For grown ups that have the money for a gaming PC, and Valve Index, Vive or similar playing Half Life Alyx is both awesome and defo not a demo type game.

lol :-)

I'm a "grown up". I sold my Rift CV1, three sensors, etc, and bought the Quest 2 with the money.

Far far better resolution
Intuitive UI (unlike the rift experience).
100% cable free - including wifi streaming full PC VR games with no loss of quality and no lag
Inside out tracking so no base stations to dick around with. And the hand tracking is plenty good enough - I can't tell any difference - and - it'll track your hands without using controllers... (ignore the internet nay sayers who have read somewhere the tracking isn't good - it's excellent)
£299, all in.

It's a steal, for real, "grown up" VR.

[sbk1972]

I brought my son an Octulus Quest VR thing one christmas ago, My son loved it but doesnt seem to use it now. (He's 12). When I asked him why he mentioned he gets a little `sick` when using it. Turns out many have virtual sickness.

Game play, its quite impressive.

Simon

[MissChief]

sbk1972 said:

I brought my son an Octulus Quest VR thing one christmas ago, My son loved it but doesnt seem to use it now. (He's 12). When I asked him why he mentioned he gets a little `sick` when using it. Turns out many have virtual sickness.

Game play, its quite impressive.

Simon

Although I sold me Oculus Rift CV2 a few years ago some games are way worse for sickness than others and it is something you can ‘train’ out of your body. The important thing is to stop when you feel even slightly unwell. You should find that you can eventually play for longer.

There are some great ‘proper’ VR games out now. Half Life Alyx, Star Wars Squadrons in VR can be played with headset on from start to finish. Medal of Honor, Lone Echo 2 has just been released and Elite Dangerous is apparently great in VR too. I really liked Robo Recall as well. There are also VR mods for many games too. The VR for Alien Isolation is especially good if jump scares and feelings of complete and total dread are enjoyable for you.

[markhaines]

Another +1 for Oculus quest 2. I was properly impressed with it.

FWIW I created a 'fake' FB account just for that and it's worked fine.

[ooo000ooo]

quest 2 is amazing although if you have animals make sure they are kept away, first time trying my sons one, the dog wandered in to the danger zone and got punched (softly) when i tried to pick something up off the virtual ground. I also sat on her a wee bit too cos we're both stupid and don't learn from our mistakes.

[james_TW]

Looks like there's no deals on any, was hoping to find something somewhere. Ah well...

Does it take much setting up out of the box?

[mdavids]

james_TW said:

Looks like there's no deals on any, was hoping to find something somewhere. Ah well...

Does it take much setting up out of the box?

I found it very user friendly and was up and running within about 30 mins. The biggest annoyance was having to reactivate an old Facebook account I never use. After that, get the occulus app on your phone so you can buy games through the store, get the device linked up to your wifi and Facebook account, download an initial update then you're good to go. You need at least a couple of metres square free space else you'll be bumping into stuff.

Regarding deals, Curry's are doing a £50 gift voucher offer, as are Amazon, and Very are doing £50 cashback

[james_TW]

Will the 128gb one have enough storage? Can you add in a memory card at all?