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[Unknown?]

The day is here! Advertising company starts using products it produces to harvest more data and advertise to you!

A Wednesday blog post has confirmed that Oculus, the VR-specific arm of Facebook, is now displaying advertisements in select VR games and apps to its players. As Facebook has since emphasized in emails sent directly to the press, these ads will leverage "first-party info from Facebook to target these ads"—and Facebook has yet to announce any limitations for what Facebook account data may be leveraged.

Facebook begins tying social media use to ads served inside its VR ecosystem

Announcement doubles down on Facebook account requirement for Oculus hardware.

arstechnica.com

 

[Banjo64]

How does anyone not think Facefuck are like some dystopian super org. fucking nightmare fuel? Just look at the reptile in charge.

 

[James Sawyer Ford]

I hope Sony wins the VR war and not FB

 

[Cert.in.Death]

RIP Oculus. Sad to see it end like this between us, but it’s you, not me.

 

[Punished Miku]

Maybe if they want to give out the hardware for free. Otherwise, this is a joke.

 

[StreetsofBeige]

Surprised this wasnt a day one thing. It was obvious it was going to happen. Just a matter of when.

Cant wait for all you Oculus users to see in your own FB news feed....... [You] is playing VR Porn on Oculus Rift!

Buried in settings somewhere
Share what you are playing on news feed: Default On

 

[Wonko_C]

It's not like ads in games are something new. I remember the uproar when Burnout Paradise on 360 had ads in their billboards.

Personally I don't mind as long as they don't interfere with gameplay.

 

[Miles708]

Maybe if they want to give out the hardware for free. Otherwise, this is a joke.

It would be a net loss even in that case.

Advertising is such a shady industry, it's a wonder regulatory bodies are not putting these practices under deeper scrutiny.

Taking advantage of people emotions in such a blatant and systematic way should cause more than a concern.

 

[Punished Miku]

It would be a net loss even in that case.

Advertising is such a shady industry, it's a wonder regulatory bodies are not putting these practices under deeper scrutiny.

Taking advantage of people emotions in such a blatant and systematic way should cause more than a concern.

Our consumer rights legislation has not caught up to the digital age, so its the wild west now for all these corporations. Completely shameless.

Whenever they get called to Congressional hearings, some 90 year old asks them why their email doesn't work (literally happened).

 

[LOLCats]

Oculus is dying, they killed all thier early adopter advocates, so it wont be long now.

 

[McCheese]

No problem with this at all.

Adverts serve a purpose in the real-world, so it would stand to reason they could serve a similar purpose within a virtual world. If this results in more free-to-play games that are funded by bill-boards or adverts then that's fine; if we're striving for realism then well placed adverts could actually be a net-positive towards that; i.e. sports titles that have real banners, sponsors.

Let's not forget they are selling the system at a loss, and are investing massively in their software and hardware teams and pushing the VR space forward quite rapidly as a result.

(hopefully Sony can steal all their good ideas and implement them in a more consumer friendly format)

 

[kretos]

Facebook is disgusting i hope they crash and burn

 

[Shodan09]

And this is why I will never play that RE4 remake.

 

[xrnzaaas]

The best thing you could've done after the announcement of Oculus being taken over by Facebook is ignore the hardware and take interest in other VR headsets. Of course they'd start using personalized ads without a chance of not having a Facebook account and without a way to opt out from the program.

 

[DeepEnigma]

We all knew it was the trojan horse this whole time.

Nothing will change until enough humans care about their data being sold without compensation and form massive class action suits.

 

[StreetsofBeige]

Facebook is disgusting i hope they crash and burn

I like FB.

If people just use it for friends and fam normal shit and happy birthdays, it's a perfectly fine service.

Just avoid and block all the trashy news feeds, ads, and people's news feeds who are self promoting losers. I got some friends who I've know forever, but they can turn FB into an advertisement for hoping friends and fam buy their real estate or pawn shop junk like shoes. I block those people's feeds.

 

[Sleepwalker]

I returned my oculus a while back, no regrets.

 

[RoadHazard]

I'm gonna be pissed if they start showing ads inside games I have paid for. That's not what I purchased. Show ads in free games, sure, I'm used to that with mobile games. But not in something I've paid $30 for.

 

[godhandiscen]

 

[RoadHazard]

No problem with this at all.

Adverts serve a purpose in the real-world, so it would stand to reason they could serve a similar purpose within a virtual world. If this results in more free-to-play games that are funded by bill-boards or adverts then that's fine; if we're striving for realism then well placed adverts could actually be a net-positive towards that; i.e. sports titles that have real banners, sponsors.

Let's not forget they are selling the system at a loss, and are investing massively in their software and hardware teams and pushing the VR space forward quite rapidly as a result.

(hopefully Sony can steal all their good ideas and implement them in a more consumer friendly format)

Sure, I would be fine with that. I would NOT be fine with them inserting ads into Red Matter or whatever. Firstly, I BOUGHT that game. Secondly, it would be very out of place in that universe.

 

[B D Joe]

Deactivated my FB years ago, try and use as little social media as possible

Seeing you needed an account and one in good standing (be a good consumer or we will take your toys away) totally put me off. Some people might like being the product in this modern world but I'm trying to make a stand wherever possible now.

Sad because the quest 1 is a great piece of kit

 

[godhandiscen]

No problem with this at all.

Adverts serve a purpose in the real-world, so it would stand to reason they could serve a similar purpose within a virtual world. If this results in more free-to-play games that are funded by bill-boards or adverts then that's fine; if we're striving for realism then well placed adverts could actually be a net-positive towards that; i.e. sports titles that have real banners, sponsors.

Let's not forget they are selling the system at a loss, and are investing massively in their software and hardware teams and pushing the VR space forward quite rapidly as a result.

(hopefully Sony can steal all their good ideas and implement them in a more consumer friendly format)

I work for a programmatic advertiser company and I don’t trust ourselves. Our industry is full of selfish people without respect for privacy or the social impact of our services. Don’t try to justify ads, you are working against yourself, the consumer.
Ads serve no purpose in the real world, they are a parasitic industry that serve disinformation as a service.

Customer product/service discovery would not end without ads, in fact you could argue that it would be more objective, however, the marketing industry has a monopoly on customer attention so new products/services have almost no chance of success without paying for marketing.

 

[CitizenZ]

Tried it when it was somthing new 20 yrs ago? and maybe logged in twice. Saw it for the cancer i knew it was to become, but hey I was down the rabbit hole with 1984 and sci fi stories of brainwashing from the 50's. Amazing to see those amazing stories all coming true.

 

[Trimesh]

And this is precisely why I lost all interest in Oculus the moment Facebook bought them. This shit was as inevitable as death or taxes.

 

[DeepEnigma]

Deactivated my FB years ago, try and use as little social media as possible

Seeing you needed an account and one in good standing (be a good consumer or we will take your toys away) totally put me off. Some people might like being the product in this modern world but I'm trying to make a stand wherever possible now.

Sad because the quest 1 is a great piece of kit

This is a good post. Read between the lines, citizens.

 

[Rudius]

I'm staying with PSVR2 for next gen.

 

[Unknown?]

I like FB.

If people just use it for friends and fam normal shit and happy birthdays, it's a perfectly fine service.

Just avoid and block all the trashy news feeds, ads, and people's news feeds who are self promoting losers. I got some friends who I've know forever, but they can turn FB into an advertisement for hoping friends and fam buy their real estate or pawn shop junk like shoes. I block those people's feeds.

The owner said this when it was still limited to colleges. They collect 70% of information off of your phone, you may be okay with their data collection but are you okay with every company that gets their hands on that?

 

[Spidey Fan]

 

[zcaa0g]

I knew if Bart Simpson ever owned a business, bad things would happen.

 

[CloudNull]

Oh no. How dare Facebook try and sell me stuff that I might actually want.

 

[zcaa0g]

Oh no. How dare Facebook try and sell me stuff that I might actually want.

Hi lemming. I bet you like the government to tell you what to do also.

 

[Majukun]

are they still banning people for not posting enough on their social media?

 

[Trogdor1123]

It always depends on how they do it I guess. I'm not a fan of ads though. They used to cover load times but this is pushing ads on you for shit you already paid for that wasn't supposed to be subsidized with ads

 

[CloudNull]

Hi lemming. I bet you like the government to tell you what to do also.

Haha no not at all. I just don't post any personal information on Social Media and use it mostly for a travel memories.

I see the future of VR and this is it. If people are against it then they can stay in the past. You will be the boomers who still use flip phones because they don't want "them dang apps tracking me".

 

[zcaa0g]

Behavioral conditioning. "It's all going to be OK; just trust us."

 

[Virt McPolygon]

Anyone that bought an Oculus product after Facebook acquired it in 2014 really shouldn't be whining about it or surprised by any of this.

 

[zcaa0g]

Haha no not at all. I just don't post any personal information on Social Media and use it mostly for a travel memories.

I see the future of VR and this is it. If people are against it then they can stay in the past. You will be the boomers who still use flip phones because they don't want "them dang apps tracking me".

Or I could use the Reverb G2 like I currently am. And I wish at times I was a boomer so I wouldn't have to witness where this whole shit-show is going to end up.

 

[Miles708]

Oh no. How dare Facebook try and sell me stuff that I might actually want.

You're the one selling to Facebook.
And you're not even earning anything, actually you're still the one paying.

 

[CloudNull]

Or I could use the Reverb G2 like I currently am. And I wish at times I was a boomer so I wouldn't have to witness where this whole shit-show is going to end up.

Wired headset will always been niche. The only VR headset focused solely on gaming which will have mass adoption is the PSVR 2. Oculus is going a different route with their product and focusing a lot on the social aspect. Their biggest games are social games. They even state how this data collection will further help them develop their AR products.

 

[CloudNull]

You're the one selling to Facebook.
And you're not even earning anything, actually you're still the one paying.

Yeah I am getting technology that is one of the greatest engineering breakthroughs in years. Also, Facebook is selling them at a loss do build up the market. I respect that even though I am sure they will sell all my data to others. Building new industries is hard and if smaller developers are willing to take the leap because they can guarantee profits because of ingame ads than I am all for it.

 

[INC]

Just never use their eco system then, just run through steamvr

 

[midasmulligan]

fair enough, without facebook there would have been no legit VR industry as it stands today. They need to recoup some of the upfront investment. Nothing wrong with a little capitalism to spur technological innovation. Well played Mark, love my quest 2.

 

[Bonsaibäumchen]

Mark Probably saw Ready Player One and was Inspired by IOI's vr ads

 

[A.Romero]

VR is the future but I don't see myself buying Oculus again. TBH privacy is not even the main reason but the terrible job they been doing managing the platform.

Some day I will be able to afford a non subsidized VR headset.

 

[Miles708]

Yeah I am getting technology that is one of the greatest engineering breakthroughs in years. Also, Facebook is selling them at a loss do build up the market. I respect that even though I am sure they will sell all my data to others. Building new industries is hard and if smaller developers are willing to take the leap because they can guarantee profits because of ingame ads than I am all for it.

Facebook is selling them as a loss because the customer is not you. Oculus is clearly a trojan horse.
They sell a non-invasive version for around 1000$, which should make you understand how much they're willing to lose per-unit just to get to your juicy Facebook account.

 

[Twinguistics]

I never use my Facebook account so don't really care about this to be honest.

Just have a Facebook account but don't use it and the problem goes away. I have tons of interest in VR I have zero interest in using FB.

Why do I care that someone I've not seen for twenty years has liked some far right, or far left meme that they didn't make and don't really understand.

 

[Impotaku]

They always start out with oh it won't be intrusive blah blah blah but give em a few years and it'll be like ready player one, and not the good stuff but this.....

 

[Old_and_Slow]

I cannot believe there are people here pleading poverty for Facebook, of all companies. We all knew it was coming and surprised it took this long. Still sucks.

 

[KormaChameleon]

So glad I cheaped out on getting a Windows Mixed Reality Headset than purchasing a Facebook product. Fuck the Zuck.

 

[Virt McPolygon]

Oh no. How dare Facebook try and sell me stuff that I might actually want.

You also have a lot of cheap/free assistant devices like Alexa recording you in your home, download Chinese and Russian-developed "which celebrity or character does my face resemble?" apps and also give your DNA to companies like 23andme, right?

With data breaches occurring so frequently at tech companies, people really are dumb as shit when it comes to giving away personal info.