Oculus Rift Bought Out

[I Don't Need A Name]

It's happened. The apocalypse is here..

Oculus Rift has been bought by, of all people, Facebook..

Zuckerberg has made a statement (read it all here (http://kotaku.com/facebook-buys-oculus-rift-for-2-billion-1551487939) courtesy of Kotaku) saying how they will try to accelerate it's development of VR gaming. However he went on to say how they want to use it for other missions, such as 'enjoying a court side seat at a game, studying in a classroom of students and teachers all over the world or consulting with a doctor face-to-face'

Anyone else just felt their hopes of Oculus Rift VR come crashing down to rock bottom?

Markus 'Notch' Persson has:

'We were in talks about maybe bringing a version of Minecraft to Oculus. I just cancelled that deal. Facebook creeps me out.' (https://twitter.com/notch/status/448586381565390848)

Thank god for Sony's Project Morpheus announcement..

[Dat Matt]

On one hand, Oculus is doomed because it's been bought by a corporation with a large reason to be mistrusted, so much so that there is an entire facebook page related to criticisms (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criticism_of_Facebook).

On the other hand. Having such a large company offering backing could be good for expansion of Oculus.

I'm curious to see why Facebook wanted Oculus in the first place. My main idea is that they picked it up to sell it on for a profit later.

[Bolivar]

This certainly came out of left field but after reading the press release I can *sorta* see why Facebook would want it.

It's good Sony stepped up to compete with them but Oculus was going to fill that open source niche, where eventually, anyone can accessibly showcase and consume content for it via Steam. As long as this deal doesn't hinder that trajectory I don't think it'll be anything to worry about. But personally I'm not too emotionally invested in VR right now. I'm fine with my screens.

[Aulayna]

I actually think this is a very big move and I'm excited to see where the project goes with the sheer financial power of Facebook behind it. The opportunities it raises for VR outside of gaming are frankly quite intriguing.

These two articles:

Facebook Buys Oculus, Virtual Reality Gaming Startup, For $2 Billion - Forbes (http://www.forbes.com/sites/briansolomon/2014/03/25/facebook-buys-oculus-virtual-reality-gaming-startup-for-2-billion/)

Oculus Buy Is A Huge Win For Facebook - Forbes (http://www.forbes.com/sites/davidthier/2014/03/25/oculus-buy-is-a-huge-win-for-facebook/)

Pretty much sum up my view on it.

[Slothy]

The opportunities it raises for VR outside of gaming are frankly quite intriguing.

I honestly don't see the Facebook purchase raising new opportunities outside of gaming that didn't already exist by virtue of development being open to everyone. If it gets them more money to develop then maybe that will help them, but honestly, I don't see how they were being held back by a lack of investment, particularly with a guy like John Carmack on board full time now.

I actually see this as something that's neutral at best for the Oculus Rift. A lot of excitement has now been replaced by trepidation. Not just for developers but for potential consumers as well. There is good reason to be wary of Facebook getting involved these days.

So now if they release a great product people will be relieved. If it's anything less than perfect then people will lash out. I see more ways this can go badly than work out well.

[Dr Unne]

Facebook is buying Oculus VR for $2 billion, plans to 'unlock new worlds for all of us' (http://www.engadget.com/2014/03/25/facebook-oculus-vr-2-billion/)


Zuckerberg called out virtual reality as one of the computing platforms of the future -- following desktops and mobile -- and yes, talked about building Facebook's advertising into it. Specifically, he talked about the potential of a virtual communication network, buying virtual goods, and down the line, advertising.

Exactly what I was hoping for. :| Facebook exists to suck personal information out of humans and turn it into money. Definitely not who I'd want to own something that could've been used to make cool games.

[Aulayna]

By opportunities I mean opportunities in the sense that the wider applications of VR will now be something that will be actively explored with sizeable financial backing behind it, and will hopefully in turn speed up the progress of expansion/progression within the technology industry as a whole.

Basically, I think Facebook throwing it's weight behind OR coupled with Sony's recent reveal, is going to cause a lot of other companies to start stepping up and taking note. While core gamers might now being treating it with trepidation, I think this move - if successful - is going to cause a lot businesses to rethink the trepidation they were showing toward VR which, will ultimately benefit everyone.

[Sephex]

"You must log into your Facebook account to [do whatever]"

No thanks.

[Slothy]

Oh I knew what you meant Aul, but the thing is that innovation rarely comes from established companies, or from people flush with cash.

I think it's more likely that if VR gains wider acceptance in other areas, it's not going to be the billion dollar companies that find the more interesting uses for it. It's going to be the small startups, college students, etc. that really shake things up. And when those people have the drive and a great idea, the money tends to follow without the need for large corporations buying them out.

[Freya]

I... what?


I see what Aul means. With this move and Sony, it could lead to more VR things being actively pursued. If that happens, with the financial backing both have and now Sony has a legit competitor (not saying OR wasn't already but now they have a financial competitor) that may push it further than anything. Competition always cause advancements. Source: Space race.

[Dr Unne]

By opportunities I mean opportunities in the sense that the wider applications of VR will now be something that will be actively explored with sizeable financial backing behind it, and will hopefully in turn speed up the progress of expansion/progression within the technology industry as a whole.

Unless they patent the crap out of it and sue their competition out of existence.

[Karifean]

"You must log into your Facebook account to [do whatever]"

No thanks.

[Mirage]

Good thing we still have Sony.

[Old Manus]

'enjoying a court side seat at a game, studying in a classroom of students and teachers all over the world or consulting with a doctor face-to-face'
The horror...the horror...


innovation rarely comes from established companies, or from people flush with cash. On what are you basing this?

[Rantz]

I don't harbour much mistrust towards Facebook as a company. Not much more than towards any major company, really. I have my reservations like anyone, but I'm interested to see how they'll handle it and I don't see a reason to ring the bells for OR over something like this. Even if they somehow screw the pooch, the OR is just one product that's gotten a lot of exposure and not the be-all and end-all of VR gaming. Nerds!

[Endless]

ekHhmaA8mfQ

[Psychotic]

Watching LP Oculus videos is great fun. I'd love for the technology to be more widely available and used. Facebook are eh but if it means the idea gets a much needed boost then I'm all aboard.

[Vyk]

I'm one of the people who fears where this will end up until they release a statement clarifying that they aren't derailing the initial goals with the open source work and gaming expansions. I don't want this thing derailed for sports interests or abused as a cash cow by making nothing but VR Farmville clones. It's not the direction this was going, and I think that would be a huge loss to gaming and technological achievements in general. Especially if they do like was suggested and start an Apple Patent suing-war. Before this, Sony's project was barely on my radar. I was falling in love with what OR was accomplishing. Now I'm almost ready to join Notch and write them off. Financially this may have been a great idea. But from a PR perspective, I'm not so sure.. I guess we'll see and maybe my fears will be laid to rest in a good way. One can only hope

[Jiro]

I'm not willing to write it off as a terrible event yet but it is a weird combination and I am hesitant.

[Botchmun]

I'm more willing to take the 'horrible end' route for this. Facebook is pretty terrible and Zuckerberg did state they were gunna add some facebook features to it. There's a lot of people jumping to conclusions but when Notch pulls out- When pornhub pulls out you know you've killed the product.

[Kalevala]

I'm sceptical at worst. It certainly seems like a strange marriage. I understand why Zuckerberg purchased Oculus VR, but at the same time... why? I understand wanting to make money and being an entrepreneur or businessman, but why this and not something else that is a better fit for your company?

[Vyk]

Also CliffyB apparently wrote a whiny-ass blog rant talking shit about Notch and praising this union as the next best thing since Microsoft originally announced no used games and always-on internet requirements for consoles