cancel
Showing results for 
Search instead for 
Did you mean: 

Please explain the 2 stores to me

timmk70
Explorer

I have a rift touch and about a dozen games from the rift store.  I'm purchasing the quest2 upon restock. I want to know if the same game is on both stores what is the difference. Is the rift store going to only download to pc and the quest store only going to upload to headset.  Ive watched side by side comparisons of the same game population one. One was on the quest2..(im assuming downloaded from the quest  store) and the other one was tons better graphically. What about steam also.

Will knockout league look the same no matter what store its purchased..etc 

I guess why 2 stores anyway. Just 1 store combined with an option to upload to headset if that game allows would be less confusing, Maybe its just me but I like simple. 

When I add my new headset will the store on my pc give me an option to buy from the quest store or is that only on my mobile device. Will my rift store still work the same for quest purchases?

Its kina confusing if the games are offered on both sites which one do you get.

Sorry for the long explanation but i haven't been following the new systems since I bought my rift touch

 

I found this online but somehow im still confused as to quality or differences in graphics from one sit to another

 

stated:  If you want to use the game for PC VR (powered by your PC, then linked to Quest), then buy it from the Oculus Rift store. If you want to use the game on your Quest standalone, then buy it from the Oculus Quest app store.Apr 25, 2021

1 REPLY 1

kojack
MVP
MVP

Technically there are 3 stores: Rift, Quest and Go. But we can ignore the Go.

 

First up, there are 2 platforms for Oculus software:

Rift - PC based built for desktop CPUs (Intel/AMD) and gaming graphics cards (Nvidia/AMD) running Windows.

Quest - Stand alone built for mobile CPUs and GPUs(Qualcomm Snapdragon, same as mobile phones have) running Android.

 

The hardware and OS are incompatible between them. Quest games can't run on a Rift and Rift games can't run on a Quest. It's like trying to run a PC game on a mobile phone or vice versa. Developers have to physically make two versions (which may require changes to the game due to the Quest's hardware being far weaker than a PC).

 

This isn't the entire story though, the Quest has two ways of working: native (what I described above) and Link. Well, there's Link (USB cable) and AirLink (Wifi), but I'll just say Link to refer to both since they work the same way.

When you run a Quest in Link mode, it is no longer running native Quest games. It effectively turns into a PC based Rift and runs the Rift library. Imagine having an Android based smart TV that you can play games on directly, but then you plug it into a PC to use as a monitor for PC games instead.

So a Quest can play native Quest games directly (can take that anywhere, play it in your backyard, etc), or you can link it to a PC to play Rift games (not portable now, need the PC nearby).

 

Back to the stores. The Rift store only sells Rift games. The Quest store only sells Quest games. Some games just don't exist on both. For example there is no Rift version of Bogo, it's Quest only. There is no Quest version of Boneworks, it's Rift only.

But what about games that are on both? Some games are "cross buy". This means when you buy the Rift version you get the Quest version for free, or buying the Quest version gives the Rift version for free. They aren't added to your library automatically, if you buy the Rift version then the Quest version is listed as "Free", you buy it again for no cost.

Other games (such as Beat Saber, the most commonly asked about one) aren't cross buy. If you want both Rift and Quest versions, you need to buy it twice.

Being cross buy is a developer choice.

 

Now for quality.

The Quest is a lot weaker than a PC. So Quest versions of games may be lower quality than the Rift version. For example, Roborecall. The Quest version is the same game and plays the same, but the graphics are lower detail, there's less special effects and explosions are missing, it doesn't look as good.

Have a look at this, in particular jump to after 5:30 to see gameplay.

 

If you run the Quest in Link mode, then you'd be playing the Rift version with better graphics, but now you are stuck with a USB cable or near your wifi router, whereas the Quest native version could be played on a bus or in a park, etc.

 

Some games may be better optimised so they look good on Quest, or they just don't try to make the Rift version look better. Last year the game Onward reduced Rift quality so it looked the same as the Quest version (I don't know if they fixed that, I don't play it).

 

One final issue is that Link mode isn't perfect. It's compressed video streaming, like watching a game on Twitch or Youtube. There can be graphical artifacts due to the compression. But it's still running the game itself as a PC game with potentially higher quality assets. Generally it looks really good though.

 

Hopefully that makes some sense, it's a rather confusing situation.

 

Edit: Reading back, this may have been more than you were asking, so I guess it's to help others reading this too. I forgot what the original post said by the time I finished. 🙂

Also you mentioned buying from the PC store. The way the different store interfaces work: PC Desktop app can only buy Rift games. In-VR store on a Rift can only buy Rift games. In-VR store on a Quest can only buy Quest games when running natively and Rift games when using Link. The mobile app and website stores can buy Rift and Quest games, you have to choose which store they show from the menu.

Author: Oculus Monitor,  Auto Oculus Touch,  Forum Dark Mode, Phantom Touch Remover,  X-Plane Fixer
Hardware: Threadripper 1950x, MSI Gaming Trio 2080TI, Asrock X399 Taich
Headsets: Wrap 1200VR, DK1, DK2, CV1, Rift-S, GearVR, Go, Quest, Quest 2, Reverb G2