technology Facebook purchasing Oculus VR, creators of Oculus Rift

[Adachi 772]

I think it's awesome. I know most people hate the fact that they bought it, because they're thinking that all Facebook games are bad, but now, instead of having something awesome limited to some overpriced games for an even more overpriced system that only a small percentage of the population can enjoy, now, it will in the future, be used to make a truly immersive social experience. People will be able to meet with their online friends in any scenario they choose, and the only limit will be that we can't physically interact with each other.

 

Also, when they make it so we can interact with each other, and if they happen to make a MLP social room, would anyone be interested in meeting there?

[Teller 360]

I like to laugh at the folks who like to jump to conclusions.

[Gourgeist 262]

Can't wait to play Farmville in real life. Inviting friends with pointless game invites have never been so real!

[Scootalove 10,689]

If they made a MLP social room, I would play it. As for Oculus Rift, I'm not really interested in social settings in games but maybe something good can come out of it. But if you ask me, I don't want Facebook interfering with Oculus Rift and their games.

Edited March 29, 2014 by Scootalove

[Dddrgn 450]

No. I hate it. The entire reason I supported the Oculus rift was BECAUSE it was being developed by a smaller company. I don't want an... evolved social experience. I want more innovative, more in depth game experiences, that's it. I'm pissed that Facebook bought it, I hate the company and how marketing focused it is.

[Sigma 768]

Ah Facebook, your typical underhanded corporate shark that knows how to make money off of you without you even knowing.

 

If anything, they're not stupid. They know the Oculus Rift has great potential. It just saddens me that it'll likely be used to to further aid Facebooks growth. Facebook is spreading like the plague; and the bigger it gets, the more things it can get away with.

[Adachi 772]

No. I hate it. The entire reason I supported the Oculus rift was BECAUSE it was being developed by a smaller company. I don't want an... evolved social experience. I want more innovative, more in depth game experiences, that's it. I'm pissed that Facebook bought it, I hate the company and how marketing focused it is.

Yeah, but Sony is greedy. Just look at how much they charge for their consoles. I'm on a fixed income, so even if I save all the money I get (besides for needs and internet), it'll take like 3 months of straight saving just to get the console, and the games are like $50-$70 each, aren't they?

 

Also, it's not just gonna work with Facebook. It works with non Facebook games as well, such as Skyrim, and I'm sure it'll work for consoles. And they're planning on even eventually making it free. If it was PS4 only, no doubt it would forever have a hefty price tag since "it's next gen VR" and it would only be compatible with Sony products (until other companies made their own version).

Edited March 29, 2014 by Assertive Fluttershy

[Dddrgn 450]

Yeah, but Sony is greedy. Just look at how much they charge for their consoles. I'm on a fixed income, so even if I save all the money I get (besides for needs and internet), it'll take like 3 months of straight saving just to get the console, and the games are like $50-$70 each, aren't they?

 

Also, it's not just gonna work with Facebook. It works with non Facebook games as well, such as Skyrim, and I'm sure it'll work for consoles. And they're planning on even eventually making it free. If it was PS4 only, no doubt it would forever have a hefty price tag since "it's next gen VR" and it would only be compatible with Sony products (until other companies made their own version).

No matter what they do, the hardware will be expensive. Facebook is going to try to try to make it work for SOCIAL things, not gaming. Facebook is interested in it's potential for social interaction with others, video chat most likely, easier status updating, etc. Maybe some compatibility with facebook games. The issue here is that the hardware as it was being developed by oculus was not linked down the way it will be with facebook.

[Sugar Cube 4,843]

@, Hey there, I just wanted to inform you that we already had a similar thread in the 'Media Discussion' subforum, so I merged your topic with this one. Thanks!

[Katana 298]

I know that lots of people see the backlash as being an over-emotional, unconsidered response based on people's dislike of Facebook. In some ways, that's fair, and the move deserves a fair analysis.

 

On the plus side, Oculus may not have worked whatsoever without a huge company funding it that is capable of looking at the long-term. Their engineers kept finding new challenges to getting it immersive, and that's not even thinking about the business side of it, like flying out to developers' offices and convincing them to integrate their games with yours. Finally, there's the need to turn it into a whole consumer experience - not just having an online store to sell Rifts, but to sell various programs built for it.

Having venture capitalists (ie, rich people with no technical focus) go for that wouldn't work though, because most investors want to see a small company turn big, and then sell it. They're in for short-term profit. So it's a little painful to admit that the early promises of "We will never sell out to a big company" simply didn't work. Microsoft, Sony, Valve, Electronic Arts, Amazon, or any number of bigger-budget companies probably could have acquired them, for some amount of backlash, but ultimately resulting in a positive effect.

 

On the negative side, it's Facebook.

 

I know that over-summarizing it in a few words and saying "They're evil!" is perhaps immature. But there ARE reasons people feel that. Facebook has a business model - a game plan - just like every other company. EA Games sells overpriced, fast-made games and then follows up with DLC. Amazon wants to be the one company you go to to buy EVERYTHING, even when they're taking losses to gain that position. Each time a large company buys a smaller one, it tends to have some variable it adds to that equation in some way. Perhaps it's long-term, but a cigarette-selling business isn't going to buy a major skateboarder and think "Yeah...we're giving up the cigarette business. We're going to just milk cigarettes for what they're worth, while building up a skateboarding empire completely seperately."

 

Facebook's business model is intrusive social engagement (Share with your friends!), leading to growth of user data (Hm, 17-year-olds love Irish porn?), driving advertisements (Buy.). The free services that Facebook provides for that, like a messaging service are perhaps marginally useful to people; but ultimately, in their big equation, you are the "product". Your eyes, your attention spans, and your data are theirs to sell. If they bought Oculus, it's to tie into that in some way.

 

I understand most people don't agree that that's the case, or even point to the promises made by the former owner of Oculus. I'd even wager the very first hardware sale they make will have very little intrusively involving you with Facebook. But the board of directors isn't going to be nearly impressed by the tiny trickle of money made by selling years of research at a tiny price margin above the cost of the hardware. Their big question is "How do we drive social core engagement virality nanomachines etc?" I'd be fine with it if they intended to make some big "Oculus Store", but they'd be making all of that from scratch, with even LESS return over the years.

 

They intend to use their knowledge of social networks somehow. I don't even know HOW especially after they promised that people won't use Facebook logins (Maybe the plan is to...*gasp!* renege on their promises!) - but I know Mark Zuckerberg is a much more sly, much smarter person than I am. Right now, every single variable in the current Facebook equation scares me, and it's a thing that I don't EVER want to be drawn into.

 

Rift, for me, went from a day one buy, to a 100%-guaranteed never-buy. On the positive side, Sony and Valve are still working on it, so maybe something cool will still happen with this technology.