Virtual reality gaming is slowly becoming a reality, now with two major companies battling it out with prototypes of how virtual reality headset can change the course of gaming alongside the next generation of games.

The forerunner of this kind of technology has been Oculus Rift, as it has been researching and churning out prototypes and news as to how far virtual reality setups in gaming is shaping up to be.

But another name is now becoming very prominent, mostly because it might come to one of the next-gen consoles, the PS4. As promised, Sony's VR headset has finally been announced at the CES 2014, making its first debut to the public.

Compared to the Oculus Rift, which looks like a bulky piece of device when you wear it, Sony's HMZ-T3Q VR headset is compact and futuristic-looking. Geek describes it to almost like a Robocop gadget, or at least one of those that you're likely to see in sci-fi movies.

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The only thing that's known now about the HMZ-T3Q is that it will have a screen that is around 65 feet far, stands at around 700 to 750 inches tall, and it covers almost the whole field of vision because of the 3D display.

ExtremeTech adds that Sony's HMZ-T3Q is offered at $1000 and thought it's meant for consumers; use for both media and videogames, it's still pretty much in the development phase for a more seamless experience.

Just like Oculus Rift, which still requires other mechanisms in order for it to work with videogames, Sony's HMZ-T3Q is still limited by mobility and will not necessarily work with all the games that you already have. It's still far from being the virtual reality experience in gaming for the next-generation, but you can say that it is a start.

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Oculus Rift: The latest prototype

As a virtual reality project, Oculus Rift is still very much in the development stage, but it has progressed quite a bit with its newest version, the Crystal Cove.

Engadget reports that the screen has been changed from LED to OLED and adds an external camera and positional markers so that you position will be tracked. But for those who have tried the previous model, the biggest problem then, which was motion blur has already been dealt with the Crystal Cove version.

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The OLED technology is also the biggest thing to boast about with Oculus Rift's newest prototype because the company has decided to smooth out the motion by intentionally reducing the information that you see when you use it, so that virtual reality can be processed more smoothly, according to The Verge.

"What we're doing is we're taking the image and flashing it on when it's correct, and only keeping that on for a fraction of a millisecond and then turning it off and then going black until the next pulse," said Palmer Lucky, Oculus founder, in an interview quoted by The Verge.

Plans beyond gaming and media

For Luckey, the Oculus Rift holds more potential than just being your own home VR headset. It seems that the Oculus Rift has good potential for adding a new dimension for education, which is to let people experience virtual learning of other places without having to worry about the resources of your institution.

"I think virtual reality is going to make a lot of thee experienced, like traveling to virtual locations or being able to see all of the planets to scale next to each other--it's going to take these things that are impossible to do today and make them part of everyday education," he said in an interview quoted by GameSpot.

Just like Sony, Oculus Rift is also ambitious enough to try and tap the film industry. This will be good especially for those who can't enjoy a big space in their living room for watching on a wide screen--Oculus Rift gives you your own space so you can see it on a big screen, albeit virtual.

These are all mind-blowing promises that have yet to reach fruition, both for Sony's HMZ-T3Q and the Oculus Rift, but both creators of the device believe that someday it will become a reality.

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