The Top 5 Virtual Reality Headsets

Even if only a few years ago virtual reality was a nebulous concept for most people, the market has begun to take off in 2016, with headsets like the much-hyped Oculus Rift hitting the market in the first half of the year, and Sony’s PlayStation VR being scheduled to launch this fall.

And while virtual reality gaming holds much promise, it is clear that VR headsets are for early adopters and those who enjoy being on the cutting edge of tech, even if virtual reality could become a mainstream entertainment a few years down the road. Here follows a list of the top 5 virtual reality headsets that could rule the VR market in the coming years.

1. Oculus Rift

Back in 2014, when Facebook acquired Oculus for the staggering sum of 2 billion US dollars, most gamers did not have a clear idea of how virtual reality would improve the gaming landscape. But now that the Oculus Rift headset has been released, early reviews such as Ars Technica’s clearly indicate that virtual reality will completely transform the gaming landscape, changing the way people experience video games.

And not only are the Oculus Rift’s virtual worlds realistic and immersive, but players won’t need to move the camera using the provided Xbox controller, moving their head instead in VR games like Eve Valkyrie in order to see enemy pilots, for instance. It’s the difference between merely playing the game and being in it (as demonstrated by Adr1ft, one of the Rift’s launch titles which has players floating around a space station and may induce motion sickness in some…). And even if the Rift’s price of $600 (£499 in the UK) and the fact that it requires a beefy PC to run put it outside the reach of most gamers, the truth is that the virtual reality gaming future has now arrived…

Launch date: March 28, 2016.

Virtual reality game Adr1ft is set on a space station.