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[BlazingDarkness]

So what, the guys behind OR get off the ground via kickstarter money (donation) and then go and sell the result of that for 2 billion? I have no idea about OR or how it really came about, but if it's anything like that then that seems really dirty.

 

[gcubed]

I don't think you'd need a full 360° feed if the intention was just to emulate the view from a court side seat which could still be really cool.

Isn't that just 3D then?

 

[Syrus]

....wtf is this....I don't even

 

[ScepticMatt]

I'm laughing and sad at the same time - total disbelief.

 

[joffocakes]

Wasn't interested in Oculus before but now that facebook are involved I'm keen to see what they come up with.

 

[Azzurri]

Farmville in VR!!!!!

 

[a Master Ninja]

We haven't had a Megaton in quite a while. This will do nicely.

 

[Ferrio]

So I guess this means their kickstarter backers are left holding their dicks?

Nope they're holding their old shitty devkits... gotta pony up for the new ones!

 

[jett]

I wonder if Carmack has any stock in Oculus. If so he could just quit this shithouse and go back to being a rocket scientist.

 

[jono51]

I kinda suspected that OR was gonna get heavily pushed towards non-gaming after that VC funding, but I didn't expect to see them get bought out so soon, especially not by FB. I do wonder how Sony will respond, since they've gone from being vs the small upstart to a company that can really push the tech. If FB push it in a non-gaming direction and rake in the cash, Sony will have to follow (or better, be there first). That said, I don't think its a negative for gaming on OR/VR. As long as OR stays open and free as a platform then people will make great games for it. If it doesn't.... well, I'm sure someone will see the gap in the market and fill it, like steam or android or...

 

[Wilsongt]

What does Facebook have to gain? I mean, this is great for the or guys, but... Why Facebook?

At least it's not EA...

 

[Shengar]

so ahead of it's time it's not even funny

Shouldn't be more like, Brave New World instead of 1984?

 

[Sanke__]

Fuck

Was hoping i could buy some stock in an ipo one day (well after one)

 

[Dr.Acula]

Question.

Does Palmer Luckey, a 21-year-old college dropout get to decide the direction of OR? Or do they bring in a "established" former airline CEO who knows all the Harvard frat secret handshakes and shit? Do the public shareholders of FB tolerate Luckey at the helm of a 2 billion dollar arm?

 

[Alienous]

This sounds awesome guys!

Too awesome.

This isn't about VR perfection anymore. It can't be. It has to be profitability driven now. We'll see how it pans out.

 

[Seanspeed]

Confidence doesn't matter shit. If your company is owned by someone else, they make the decisions. Unless it's in writing it doesn't count, and much like WhatsApp's hollow claims that it has a "culture" of privacy that oddly doesn't involve anything contractual that would actually stop Facebook hoovering up the data at any point they want.



They didn't pay $2 billion for an open platform that didn't lock people into an ecosystem and provide revenue opportunities.

Its in Facebook's interest to let Oculus continue what they were doing. And its in Oculus' best interest to not make a deal unless they thought they could continue doing what they wanted to do. These guys were never in it for the money. It was a passion project. Facebook may hold the reigns, but that's not automatically some horrible thing if it helps get VR on its feet. The press release says very plainly that games are still a priority.

People need to calm the fuck down til we learn more.

 

[Deleted member 144138]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WeBo_L0RytA

Just wow.

 

[zeorhymer]

I find it a bit odd. FB is a software social network company. How are they going to fit the Oculus into their business strategy considering that they have to build, ship and maintain a physical device. Unless they only supply cash, I don't know how it will work together.

 

[Jigorath]

Sony should definitely add PC support for Morpheus, the have a much bigger chance of dominating the VR market thanks to Facebook's negative stigma.

 

[DJSebolski]

Smart business decision. Take that money and run.

 

[CF_Fighter]

So, then the question is, what besides gaming could Oculus do for Facebook? Well, lots of stuff comes to mind. Someone records a video and puts it on Facebook; once camera tech allows for 3d videos or newer formats, Oculus could be a great way to put yourself in the memories other are sharing. Commercial video and especially sports content could be another application (like the stuff Nintendo has sort of in a very amateur way done with the AR/VR travel video stuff they have on Wii U, poorly executed). Facebook has flirted a bit with directly selling content but they're not quite there, but it's an option. Facebook also wants to have more investment in chatting tech; Facebook Messenger has been a very very powerful asset for them, missing out on Snapchat was painful, and WhatsApp is a big strategy for them. Oculus enabled VR video chats in 3d space could be a communication option.

Exactly my thoughts. They have said they want your Facebook page to be something your kids, grandkids, and generations beyond could go and visit to see how you lived. If VR becomes a viable platform the integration with 3D videos and photos to put you "in the moment" could create memories unlike any we have experienced before. Your descendants could go and be "at" your wedding or "in" the room right after they were born and have a closer connection with their relatives than pictures and iPhone videos offer.

 

[kuroshiki]

People who think that Facebook will somehow not make this tech all about Facebook are dreaming.

They're company is simply a machine designed to get more and more people looking at ads on their website.

They aren't going to make a 2 billion dollar investment that doesn't play into that strategy.

This.

I'm amazed how fucking naive some people here are. No company would spend 2 billion dollars acquisition just because it can 'improve' industry. WTF?

 

[ChiefofCitadelSecurity]

I wonder how Valve feels right now. They were the ones helping push VR tech for Oculus. Oculus takes that help and uses it as a tool to sell out to Facebook.

Curious to see if this partnership continues anymore.

Yeah, I wanna see their reactions too.

What does good ole Gaben have to say about this? lol

 

[Angry Fork]

Hope there's a mass exodus of Oculus devs to Valve or Sony teams.

Why is everyone so pessimistic?

Thousand dollar suit wearers who don't know shit about or care about gaming and want to do nothing more than sell ads/your personal info bought something that was supposed to be a revolution in gaming. They will crush all potential or divert it to something else entirely if gaming doesn't net enough money.

I want you people who say mainstreaming something is a good thing to explain to me how. It has never been the case in the history of any great idea/tech. Check all music/bands who sign to labels that fuck up their original sound, movie franchises that get new screenwriters/actors and are exploited, TV shows that are stretched into as many episodes as possible for ads, gaming franchises that have taken on qualities of other games we're bored with instead of being it's own thing, the # of developers/studios shut down or turned to shit soon after huge companies take over. Every cool new thing for enthusiasts ends up being diluted by these people. Don't even have to get into the NSA bullshit.

Valve feels like the only place left with a direct line to gamers, who know exactly what we're like and what we want and have no problem enacting that vision. I like Sony but their device will likely not be as friendly to PC or open for everyone who wants to tinker with it.

This is so dumb and sad.

 

[Jarmel]

I wonder if Carmack has any stock in Oculus. If so he could just quit this shithouse and go back to being a rocket scientist.

I'm sure he has stock options. I wouldn't be surprised to see him bail if things take a turn for the worse.

 

[BlastProcessing]

Facebook splash screens, ad interstitials and their logo watermarked in the bottom right

I will bet you one million internet dollars that this doesn't happen.

 

[mattiewheels]

The way people here talk, the Rift just became some proprietary device that can only play what Lord Zuckerberg deems appropriate. Why don't you wait for solid proof before making ridiculous generalizations?

 

[Betta Lines]

Its in Facebook's interest to let Oculus continue what they were doing. And its in Oculus' best interest to not make a deal unless they thought they could continue doing what they wanted to do. These guys were never in it for the money. It was a passion project. Facebook may hold the reigns, but that's not automatically some horrible thing if it helps get VR on its feet. The press release says very plainly that games are still a priority.

People need to calm the fuck down til we learn more.

QFT

 

[sub_o]

Is this the reason why they are experimenting with tethering Oculus to android phones? Hey Oculus for Facebook phone sounds pretty sweet.

 

[Dangoesforth]

So is this great news for Sony? I'm guessing it's bad news for high-end PC gamers?

Sony must use this opportunity and open it up to PC at least, just don't do it for Xbox.

 

[Guevara]

I won't even try to predict the impact this will have on the future of OR, or VR, or any other R. I will say this though:

If you ever wonder why it is that The People cannot defeat The Man, look at Oculus Rift. This thing was one of the crowdfunding darlings. Kickstarter mega success. A phenomenom that was wildly successful to the tune of 2.5 million dollars in donations. Facebook comes in and drops almost 1000x as much cash to buy them out.

That is why The Man always wins. Cause The Man is paid.

The Man won when Oculus Rift took $75 million of The Man's money.

 

[BrikHog]

I am legit shocked at this news.

the fuck.

 

[BurnOutBrighter]

Wow just saw the Notch tweet. Bring it to Morpheus!

 

[SegaShack]

I wasn't into Occulous Rift or VR and thought it would fail. That being said I feel so sad for all my fellow gaffers who were into this. This really is crap news.

 

[Septimius]

You're putting on rose colored glasses and ignoring how corporate culture works. Oculus isn't in the drivers seat anymore. Facebook is far more massive. Even if the current intent of the creators is one thing, that's not how it's going to end up. FB is a public company - it gets driven by shareholders. Profit is the only motive for Oculus now. There is no other purpose for publicly traded companies other than to maximize shareholder earnings.

You make shareholders happy by creating profits. How do you do that with Oculus? You let the company do what it does, because it's proven to work. Stockholders can't demand to change how a company works. Yes, you're right about the fact that the incentive of a public company is to create value. But that's true of any company. This is a misnomer, and is not what this is about. Anyone that understands business sees that Oculus is worth what it is because it is Oculus. There's nothing proprietary about it, so there's in intrinsic value to it, besides the synergy of the talent. Facebook won't mess with that. Don't even fool yourself that "corporations are big and evil and will fuck this up", because, yes, corporations are driven by revenue and profit, but you don't seem to get that it's better that someone's trying to make money out of it, rather than everyone sitting around like hippies, saying it's not about the money. Because then one day you'll be forced to close down.

That could've happened to Oculus. Not because they're not about the money, but because they're small and lack resources to get to the infrastructure they'd need. Now they can. And they will. The game market and other businesses are not comparable. Suits don't get the gaming market, and as such, they force silly things like CoD clones and DLC to milk the market. To their credit, it works. However, this is business people get. They get what an upside in a start-up means. It means that you buy part of a company because the company will do great things. Not because you'll do great things with what the company is doing.

 

[LyleLanley]

Isn't that just 3D then?

Not if you're still able to move your head to look around at the image.

 

[thunder_snail]

Oculus have never targeted high-end. They have a minimum spec they want to meet the requirements for 'presence', which will be achieved with their first version. Any subsequent versions will be improvements.

You think facebook will spend the money and raise the price of VR equipment, thereby reducing the profit margin for better experience in the future that won't affect their Facebook related features?

There will be a lot of hate for it, and the need for an alternative supplier of VR equipment will rise. And right now, there's only OR and Sony, with Valve being Valve. The enthusiasts who were waiting in support for OR won't be so enthusiastic towards it.

 

[tekrapid]

I'm struggling to see anything good coming out off this for "core" gaming. It's like the tech worlds gone crazy with all the money being thrown around lately.

 

[jaaz]

You're putting on rose colored glasses and ignoring how corporate culture works. Oculus isn't in the drivers seat anymore. Facebook is far more massive. Even if the current intent of the creators is one thing, that's not how it's going to end up. FB is a public company - it gets driven by shareholders. Profit is the only motive for Oculus now. There is no other purpose for publicly traded companies other than to maximize shareholder earnings.

All eternal optimists, please listen to this man. FB didn't spend 2 billion to let Palmer explote his dream. Oculus needs to start making money for FB shareholders, and that's not going to happen by selling $300+ VR hardware to the high end PC market that is like .00001% of the population. The Rift will need to evolve and be targeted at the FB market, and I don't think I need to tell you that that market is not rocking dual titans.

The naïveté in this thread is astounding.

 

[Just_myles]

whatsapp for 16 Billion and OR only for 2 B ?

This is quite honestly, is my biggest take away from all of this. They sold waay too cheap. If they're going to give it up, at least do that much.

I'm being serous btw, the implications of VR far outweight whatsapp::sarcastic voice

Also where the hell does this leave the backers? I haven't been too deep into this thread to see if this has already been asked.

 

[ZehDon]

... Whatsapp and Instagram, at least from my view, have not changed one bit since they were bought by FB and I expect the same to happen with Oculus...

Well, you've made a pretty large false equivalency to create that parity of expectation. WhatsApp and Instagram, by their nature, were cohesive to Facebook's functionality, purpose and design: sharing. WhatsApp's and Instagram's functionality worked within their limits to create a self-sustained sharing ecosystem all of their own. Bringing them into Facebook aided both sides of the equation: more people to share with, and new things to share. That's why they weren't required to change.

Occulus isn't about sharing, however. It doesn't neatly align to Facebook's design, purpose or functionality. Hell, I'd argue VR is actually the opposite: VR is about removing yourself from this world, to immerse yourself in another. That's what VR is, ultimately, going to provide: man made new worlds. Facebook's purchase is, clearly, to grab VR before it takes off, and possibly even take a shot at the VR meta-verse that science fiction has long talked about. The reason isn't altruistic in nature, evidenced by the nature of Facebook itself. The reason is, obviously, profit and gains.

Unfortunately, this means VR will be entirely advertiser controlled the moment it lands. Imagine worlds where everything you see and hear is controlled by advertisers. Similar to this one, strangely enough, except it will be one where you can't turn off the TV, look away from the billboard, or ignore the advertisements. It will be more Douglas Adams, minus the humour, and less ... whatever people actually wanted.

Frankly, I think this acquisition is horrible news for anyone hoping that VR was going to achieve its full potential.

 

[kuroshiki]

I will bet you one million internet dollars that this doesn't happen.

you mean it is going to be worse? damn.

 

[Acorn]

So I guess this means their kickstarter backers are left holding their dicks?

This is my problem with kickstarter. Donating to for profit companies.

If I give you money to make a product I want equity.

 

[davepoobond]

Holy shit I knew oculus was gonna be bought up but Facebook would not have been something I thought would happen

 

[Mushroomer25]

Wow just saw the Notch tweet. Bring it to Morpheus!

I bet my ass that he had gotten an offer from Sony to do just that, and is using this as a justification for making it exclusive.

 

[Phlebas]

Wasn't interested in Oculus before but now that facebook are involved I'm keen to see what they come up with.

Opposite for me, now I just hope that Facebook doesn't botch this.

 

[rezn0r]

i hate this world

 

[LookAtMeGo]

Should have taken the blue pill..

 

[BeerSnob]

Yeah...yeah.


Welp, maybe Carmack can finally get back to fixing space exploration. It would have been nice but we really didn't need VR anyway.

 

[-SD-]

http://www.oculusvr.com/blog/letter-to-the-team-from-brendan-iribe/

Team,

As you may have heard this morning, Oculus has agreed to join Facebook.

Facebook shares our vision for connecting a billion people through virtual reality with the power of shared presence.

Oculus will continue to operate independently. We’re staying Oculus, we’re still building the Oculus Rift, our email addresses are remain @oculusvr.com, and most importantly, our hoodies will still say Oculus.

By partnering with Facebook, we’ll be able to build a better product with zero compromises and a focus on growth. We’ll also be investing more heavily in made-for-VR content and exploring other opportunities to accelerate our vision.

In broad strokes, here are a few key points to consider for the long-term strategy:

1. We’re able to tap into Facebook’s experience and backend systems for our platform services. As an added bonus, Oculus now has a rock solid, global payments solution.
2. We’ll be able to leverage Facebook’s recruiting infrastructure, including hiring engineers from within Facebook, to supercharge our recruiting.
3. We can afford to always make the decision that is right for virtual reality and our customers in the long term – we don’t have to make short term compromises.
4. We’re going to invest in additional partnerships to build the best product and platform.

I’ll meet with everyone individually over the next few days to discuss what this means in terms of integration. In the meantime, know that things couldn’t be better.

No team, ever, has had a better shot at delivering on the dream of virtual reality. This will be the team that solves the hardest problems and delivers the final platform. We need you now, more than ever, to go out and find the very best engineers in the world to help us deliver the final platform, the Holodeck.

This is a truly special moment. The work we’ve done has captured the world’s attention and changed the perception of the medium forever. This partnership is a huge affirmation of everything we’ve done. Congratulations, guys.

Now, let’s get back to changing the world.

– Brendan