Facebook Buys Oculus Rift For $2 Billion

[Vae]

http://kotaku.com/fa...lion-1551487939

 

Hmmm...and I just recently ordered the DevKit2.

 

Thoughts?

[Goldwell]

My thoughts?

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WWaLxFIVX1s

 

But apparently Valve is making their own VR headset so really the Oculus Rift is just one of many that will be coming out. I know for sure I wont be buying this now but hopefully Lord Gaben will lead the market and save us!

Edited March 25, 2014 by Goldwell

[Vae]

That was my initial feeling, as well.

[Al_B]

Thoughts?

Facebook has too much money to spare?

[Airship Ballet]

I think Oculus Rift is too ahead of its time. The technology isn't there yet and neither is the support. The hardware will look as crazy to us in a few decades as inventions from the 40s do to us now. We need to focus on the technology surrounding and supporting it rather than trying to commercialize and cap it off so early on. Facebook buying this is hilarious, and I think they bought it for the same reason OR exists in the same place: the desire to be the first man on the VR moon.

 

[Melan]

The entire Silicone Valley technology-surveillance complex has become legit scary, and I can't help but fear that whatever this new piece of gadgetry will have in Facebook's plans, it will serve nefarious purposes that further corporate espionage, intrusive data-mining and human commodification. The next tech bubble can't burst soon enough.

[Bikerdude]

Oh deep fucking happy happy joy joy, WTF does FB possibly want with a VR rig thats designed for 1st person hardcore gaming.

 

Well I was all set to buy one when the price dropped for use when playing TDM, but bollox to that now. Lets hope the TB burst sooner rather than later, I will opoen rejoice the day FB dies and is no longer part of the modern world.

 

[Melan]

Oh deep fucking happy happy joy joy, WTF does FB possibly want with a VR rig thats designed for 1st person hardcore gaming.

Bob Page Mark Zuckerberg says so himself:

 

But this is just the start. After games, we're going to make Oculus a platform for many other experiences. Imagine 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 — just by putting on goggles in your home.

 

This is really a new communication platform. By feeling truly present, you can share unbounded spaces and experiences with the people in your life. Imagine sharing not just moments with your friends online, but entire experiences and adventures.

Putting it less nicely, like Google Glass, they want to record everything and everyone, turn that collected information into a commodity, and sell it wholesale to private and government actors.

[Airship Ballet]

Uh-huh, there was already that strange tour of an empty 3D Tesco store made for the OR. It's these people's jobs to try out all these new marketing opportunities, and I find it amazing that they're so consistently out of touch, let alone that their position still exists. They'll see it as a goldmine and pass it to marketing to create something with it. You could be fearful of the possibilities in the wrong hands, but really the worst I've ever seen are said out of touch marketing coordinators failing to make the most of the new thing. Zuckerberg, though, ugh. I'll never forget that one video of him being grilled and sweating buckets. Guy's just repulsive, really.

Edited March 25, 2014 by Airship Ballet

[Bikerdude]

Guy's just repulsive, really.

On so many levels and for so many reasons, not least of which is because he is part of a minority group that controls a lot of the big tech and media companies around the world.

[Vae]

Putting it less nicely, like Google Glass, they want to record everything and everyone, turn that collected information into a commodity, and sell it wholesale to private and government actors.

 

Of course...What could be sweeter than recording live personal interaction, with voice and data...A governments wet dream.

[stumpy]

this was a kickstarter, does that mean all those people lost there money.

[SeriousToni]

Of course...What could be sweeter than recording live personal interaction, with voice and data...A governments wet dream.

Nice view on this. We have desperate times ahead. Google is still the data seller it was years past. People don't notice their privacy getting lost with each new step Google takes.

 

this was a kickstarter, does that mean all those people lost there money.

I guess not. As far as I remember the devkit 1 was the kickstarter project you speak about. The further developement will be FBs business then.

[AluminumHaste]

I think the people that pledged over a certain amount got their kits, or FB will have to honour the orders in place already. Either way, this sucks, Carmack just left ID for this company and now it's owned by Facebook, who is probably NOT going to be selling dev kits

[woah]

[demagogue]

Crazy... Id and FB, Carmack and Zuckerberg, seem about as far on opposite poles as devs get.

 

This is what I said elsewhere:

FB is a total nonsequitur for this. Their whole point is they deal in augmented not virtual reality. Something like Google Glass makes more sense for them. But as long as it stays open to develop for it -- so Dark Mod can eventually support it -- I don't care much who owns it.

 

Funny to see Zuck confirmed what I was thinking. I don't know if the Oculus is the best for AR though; seems like pushing it in a stupid directly. But the biggest fear is that it's not open & the gaming that develops on it is stupid & social like FB games and not indie & immersive like, you know, it's designed for!

 

All that said, I hope it stays open so it doesn't matter who owns it, and I'd still use it for TDM if we can support it.

[nbohr1more]

I dunno, I think this speaks more to Zuckerburg's fears about the decline of his platform than it says anything about wet-dreaming about VR captive audience pop-up ads and data mining. He's at least smart enough to understand that folks will stop visiting sites like Facebook when they can put on a VR set and visit Rome with their friends instead. We can only hope that he didn't just buy this company to ensure it would be stillborn and give him another 5 years to keep Facebook afloat before other social platforms encroach or displace them.

[stumpy]

you would think facebook would go for this instead

http://www.theverge.com/2013/12/18/5222372/avegant-glyph-the-mainstream-virtual-reality-headset

its aimed more at what facebook are looking at, as currently taking oculus rift away from the market its was going to be aimed at seem a tad mean.

[At0mic]

So John Carmack works for Facebook now? ... OK then.

 

I don't have much interest in Oculus Rift but I'm still pissed, if only because of people who used Kickstarter to invest in the company have basically funded a Facebook acquisition. Facebook, of all corporate giants to buy Oculus VR, it's still surprising.

 

The $2 billion deal is comprised of $400 million in cash and 23.1 million shares of Facebook stock. The CEO is 21 years old and not wise enough to appreciate the importance of personal control over a company (something Gabe Newell does, hence why he's never sold Steam despite numerous offers and why Steam is making fat stacks and doing whatever they like with near universal love from gamers). But having said that, if someone offered you $400 million in cash for your company, you'd be set for life. Could you refuse? It'd hard to say. Maybe long term the company would be a success and make even more money while retaining control.

 

In the end, the legendry John Carmack is now... a Facebook employee.

[Melan]

And yeah, that's crazy. I hope they give him a ton of money to fund his space rocket project.

[Lux]

I think Oculus Rift is too ahead of its time. The technology isn't there yet and neither is the support. The hardware will look as crazy to us in a few decades as inventions from the 40s do to us now.

 

Comon, this VR tech isn't anything new. Its been around for more than 20 years. Tech moves fast and your comments are slanted towards the tech not being there to support it yet? After >20 years? I'm 42 now and I played on a VR headset on a 286 in an arcade when I was a teenager. It was awesome then and now 20 years later the tech IS definitely there to support it. It just hasn't been refined in to the VR niche yet, which is what they (OR and Sony) are currently doing. We have graphics and CPU resources to spare. All that remains is the specialized hardware and that can be, and is being built currently.

 

In short, its definitely not ahead of its time and the tech is definitely there to support it.

 

Sure the hardware will look crazy to us in a few decades but what tech doesn't look that way after 30 years of development? It was awesome when I was a teenager, I couldn't get enough of the $2/15min sessions in the arcade and I can't get enough now. Owning one in my own home? Take my monies!

 

Granted, Facebook getting involved doesn't bode well. Why in the hell would OR do this other than for the cash. Notch has already pulled out because of Facebook's involvement. Who else is going to follow suit?

 

Game companies not interested in Facebook tie-ins pull support for OR and we don't see VR rear its head for another 25 years...

Edited March 26, 2014 by Lux

[jay pettitt]

So Oculus VR and facebook have basically said that the deal means the hardware gets subsidised. "We don’t have to make a big margin on the hardware, and you guys do right now… we [Facebook] are a software platform company."

 

And there was me thinking Valve was giving Oculus a bunk up (and lets be honest, Oculus only had quirky demo hardware before Valve came along) because Valve were interested in Steam being the go-to VR software platform.

[Diego]

I'm just curious to know what Carmack's next move is. Is he ok with this? or is he ready to leave onto his next project (rockets, world domination, whatever goes in that crazy genius head)

[Goldwell]

 

But on a serious note as terrible as this seems perhaps this will boost VR technology into the public eye and help it move forward out into the public better. There seems to be a lot of serious contenders in the virtual reality market so I guess the more competition the better.

 

Sadly though for me the Oculus Rift is dead in my eyes. But there will be plenty of other routes to go on the pathway to the virtual world.

[Lux]

If it enables them to produce their own 3840x1200 or 3840x1080 display tech... I'm all for it, however it pans out.