Support NeoGAF

[Guess Who]

If Facebook's press release is anything to go by, we can expect to be our very own account-locked VR 3D models.

There is literally nothing in the press release that implies anything like this.

 

[Boken]

It's truly amazing how fast the trajectory of something can change just by the mere act of a corporation buying into it.

VR just went from the next big thing to the next big belly flop.

Right. Maybe if your world revolves purely around gaming.

Capitalism and arms races are what allow us to push technology to its boundaries. Visionaries invent, busineses develop.

VR actually just went from a gamers wet dream to the next big thing.

 

[Faith]

Why is everyone talking about these fucking ads? Did they buy Whatsapp for 19 billion $ to integrate some ads?

 

[senahorse]

It's truly amazing how fast the trajectory of something can change just by the mere act of a corporation buying into it.

VR just went from the next big thing to the next big belly flop.

In this thread maybe. At the end of the day Facebook buying OR could greatly help mainstream adoption of VR, which is a great thing for everyone. The knee jerk reactions are really just a bit crazy, we really need to play the wait and see approach here. If VR proves successful but OR is steered in a way gamers don't appreciate, there will be plenty of other companies willing to carry the torch.

 

[SparkTR]

I dunno what possible benefits this could bring to me, other than that it could possibly go mainstream which could possibly mean more VR general apps but still doesn't mean AAA money flowing into VR games.

In terms of the device, it'll be cheaper and won't have to use leftover mobile parts. There's definite benefits in the short term.

 

[Aaron]

It's truly amazing how fast the trajectory of something can change just by the mere act of a corporation buying into it.

VR just went from the next big thing to the next big belly flop.

Yeah, because that Facebook sure isn't popular. Geez, if Occulus wanted to make it, they should have sold out to Myspace.

I don't want FB to do anything with my VR headset, I dont want to see notifications, I dont want to have ads, I dont need the social interaction which is the reason FB bought them.

I dunno what possible benefits this could bring to me, other than that it could possibly go mainstream which could possibly mean more VR general apps but still doesn't mean AAA money flowing into VR games.

Yes it does. The more popular the device gets, the more demand for a range of experiences, which includes AAA games.

 

[Zabojnik]

As long as it stops people from spelling Oculus as Occulus, I'm down with it.

 

[Chabbles]

How will this work ?, will Facebook eventually launch some sort of closed platform PC machine/console, that will be beefy enough to operate the rift ?, or will they just rely on the users already owning a machine capable enough to using it ?

 

[RalchAC]

I don't know if I like this thing or not. One on hand being part of a "big" company will help the Oculus project. On the other hand is Facebook and I don't especially trust them...

I'd have prefered Google tbh. They're not perfect, but they have a really big R&D department and adding VR to their techs would have been great. VR street view could have been awesome.

 

[pupcoffee]

There is literally nothing in the press release that implies anything like this.

"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."

How do you envision that working out, without having your own personalised VR model for people to like look at and communicate with? face-to-face being a key phrase there. What will be the security for this sort of thing?

 

[Boken]

Why is everyone talking about these fucking ads? Did they buy Whatsapp for 19 billion $ to integrate some ads?

Did they buy instagram to integrate some ads! People need to understand that Facebook isn't just Facebook.com anymore, they're diversing


I think people are - understandably - upset about losing their indie gaming darling and allowing it to cloud their perspective and judgement.

 

[Theman2k]

I still have the feeling OR would have made it big without facebook.

Freaking sell outs !!!

 

[Seanspeed]

That would get you basic stuff, like the VR cinema or maybe a virtual desktop. But games will need more power than could be realistically built into the headset

Doesn't have to be games. For mobile stuff, there's a whole world of interactive shit that people could come up with that might not necessarily involve needing a Titan-equipped smartphone. Phones/tablets are getting increasingly powerful as well don't forget. This isn't something we're going to see next year or anything, so there's time to let technology catch up a bit.

In the meantime, PC gaming will need to be the main priority. No use buying Oculus for so much money if you're going to ruin it in its early stages by taking away the main thing it'll initially be useful for.

 

[thunder_snail]

There seems to be a lot of people worried about Facebook integration. PC being an open platform and all, this won't happen as long as the software being run on the PC is not related to Facebook. Games from Valve will not have facebook integration for example.

What I see as the real problem is:

Facebook's going to allow Oculus team to either spend money researching lowest cost, just acceptable level hardware OR low/average cost enthusiast hardware. Facebook not being a hardware company, I don't see them supporting both.

Think of it this way, OR was focusing on making enthusiast hardware and now will have to ask permission from Facebook to do so.

What Facebook should have done in a perfect world would've been partnering up with companies like Samsung to work on bringing low cost, good for most things, VR hardware to the mainstream.

They didn't have to go and purchase Oculus who were doing fine pursuing the enthusiast market.

 

[Faith]

"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."

Why is this a bad thing? Wouldn't it be awesome if I could check a hotel/location/beach before I go there for 2 weeks? Or go to a museum without being there?

Virtual reality is not only about gaming. It will be bigger than anyone could have ever imagined.

 

[Friction]

Can't for VR for smartphones. Uping the ante on checking FB while driving.

 

[l Zealot l]

Didn't see this coming

 

[Mushroomer25]

I still have the feeling OR would have made it big without facebook.

Freaking sell outs !!!

It would have been impossible for them to meet demand without a serious capital infusion. Better it be Facebook, than one who will lock the tech behind a walled garden.

 

[ChrisMahoney]

Because I don't want to give my personal info to Facebook. Also my money. Even though I got Facebook, Instagram and Whatsapp all owned by FB. I loved what OR represented. A bunch of talented people made it with the help of the people, free from the shackles of big corporations. Now that dream is dead.

You aren't giving your info to Facebook by buying an Oculus Rift. You aren't even giving your info to any company or person when you use a Facebook account. Automated servers use your info to show you targeted ads. The ad companies don't even have your info. It's all protected.
Facebook isn't a shackle, they'll prop up Oculus VR to help them release a consumer Rift faster than they would have alone.

 

[Corto]

Boingboing just captured my feeling perfectly (I hope it's not a banned site).

http://boingboing.net/2014/03/25/oculus-vr-could-have-changed-b.html

A revolutionary tech like this one reaching mainstream in a blink of an eye is extraordinary, not something to weep about.

 

[kmax]

Just imagine the ad revenue on that thing. Ads could pop up every 20 minutes when you play your game. Ad companies are going to pay big money and Facebook's going to bank some serious cash. They'll be laughing all the way to the bank.

 

[pupcoffee]

Why is this a bad thing? Wouldn't it be awesome if I could check a hotel/location/beach before I go there for 2 weeks? Or go to a museum without being there?

Virtual reality is not only about gaming. It will be bigger than anyone could have ever imagined.

I'm not saying it's a bad thing at all, and I agree.

I'm using that PR quote specifically to speculate. I think we'll eventually get our own VR "models" other users can identify as us. VR will become a close part of everyday life somehow and will open up issues of privacy of the like we haven't seen before.

 

[GhostTrick]

I don't want FB to do anything with my VR headset, I dont want to see notifications, I dont want to have ads, I dont need the social interaction which is the reason FB bought them.

I dunno what possible benefits this could bring to me, other than that it could possibly go mainstream which could possibly mean more VR general apps but still doesn't mean AAA money flowing into VR games.

Lol. You know that it's just a hardware right ? Unless they put some sort of special chip to display apps on it, it's like your regular TV.

 

[SparkTR]

"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."

How do you envision that working out, without having your own personalised VR model for people to like look at and communicate with? face-to-face being a key phrase there. What will be the security for this sort of thing?

Avatars, you know, like PS Home and XBL? The security would be a username and password, like everything else out there. There's a whole lot to be skeptical of here, but that's just unimportant fluff.

 

[BlackBanditSho]

A revolutionary tech like this one reaching mainstream in a blink of an eye is extraordinary, not something to weep about.

I tried to mention some of this in my quick Oculus Rift/Facebook episode of the BlackBanditSho Radio Show. I think the doom and gloom is a little overdone. There are a LOT of positives that could come out of this. I'd love to hear some of your feedback and comments! Personally? I think that the infusion of cash is a good thing. Palmer said so himself: it allows them to make specialized hardware now instead of picking up off-the shelf mobile technology parts...

Can I link that episode here without getting banned?

 

[El-Suave]

This will end in a better working first person version of Playstation Home - at best.

 

[jorma]

I don't think you're using that particular word correctly in this instance.

So True.
His facts are all wrong, because i for one won't wear a NSA helmet.

 

[ChrisMahoney]

Yeah and imagine all the casuals running Facebook VR on their cheapo laptops or on their tablets. With FB buying Oculus, things got much easier from a technical point of view for Sony, but they also got much harder from a marketing point of view.

It's a completely new situation and I think the big loser is the PC hardcore crowd (those guys who kickstarted Oculus). I mean Carmack is suddenly talking about "Cyberspace"...

Oculus has talked about Android phones being a main target for the Rift. I don't think laptops will be a problem.

 

[HP_Wuvcraft]

Freaking sell outs !!!

Yup.

Making $400m plus the remaining $1.5b in stock in a massive social media empire is clearly a bad move. Not to mention the funds needed to continue a post-KS production.

 

[call_kotaku]

You need computational power and tons of bandwidth to power a VR device. Most people don't have that power. Especially mobile devices like notebooks, smartphones and tables have awful bandwidth numbers. The graphics and the framerates will be complete crap. Why would someone pay hundreds of dollars for that?

They don't buy it until 5-10 years from now? Even Facebook was clear on that fact

A majority of people own smartphones now but most of them didn't run out and spend a month's rent on an iphone when it first came out

 

[SaberEdge]

If Facebook becomes the center of most OR usage, almost all of OR users will have it connected to outdated hardware, soooo............

Normal people don't have gaming rigs. They have $500 laptops or tablets.

Yep, and those people will be using the Rift to socialize in the VR version of Facebook, while the rest of us will be using the Rift on our high end gaming rigs and experiencing the best that VR has to offer.

 

[Stiflers Mom]

It's probably been said countless times in this thread, but what irks me, is, that the people who kickstarted threw a lot of money at them for a vision.

It kind of feels wrong that they sell out now.


I kind of feel cheated.

 

[CadetMahoney]

I seriously think that now the Sony vr have no future.

Same targeting area, there's no way that sony can win this..

but won't Sony VR be for hardcores and OR for casuals?

It's probably been said countless times in this thread, but what irks me, is, that the people who kickstarted threw a lot of money at them for a vision.

this.

 

[genbatzu]

It's probably been said countless times in this thread, but what irks me, is, that the people who kickstarted threw a lot of money at them for a vision.

It kind of feels wrong that they sell out now.


I kind of feel cheated.

thought the same... I think it's kind of ...unfair to "gather" millions of dollars via kickstarter and then sell it for billions of dollars ôo

 

[Mushroomer25]

It's probably been said countless times in this thread, but what irks me, is, that the people who kickstarted threw a lot of money at them for a vision.

It kind of feels wrong that they sell out now.


I kind of feel cheated.

They threw money at them for the dev kits. They had to find funding elsewhere to pursue a retail product, and already turned over a controlling share in that pursuit. The Facebook sale is only the conclusion of events long set in motion.

 

[childplease]

I seriously think that now the Sony vr have no future.

Same targeting area, there's no way that sony can win this..

Only thing holding Sony back is watch hardware.

Sony has the resources and the engineers to bang out a good Vr set.

 

[Bollocks]

Can't wait to see people use VR to instagram their food
The dream is dead.

 

[Aaron]

It's probably been said countless times in this thread, but what irks me, is, that the people who kickstarted threw a lot of money at them for a vision.

It kind of feels wrong that they sell out now.


I kind of feel cheated.

I keep saying this, but that's not what happened. You think $2 million is enough to keep a tech company like Occulus running? No, the people who supported Occulus were the investors who provided $93 million, and they're rightfully getting rewards for this sale.

Occulus was a growth company. They couldn't exist on their own without a huge injection of capital. It wasn't if they would get bought. It was when.

 

[pupcoffee]

Avatars, you know, like PS Home and XBL? The security would be a username and password, like everything else out there. There's a whole lot to be skeptical of here, but that's just unimportant fluff.

A guy further up on the page was essentially arguing that we weren't going to have VR models/"avatars" and I wanted to argue him wrong and that's why my points here seem so obvious and dumb to people like you who already don't need convincing of the fact we'll have avatars.

And it's not unimportant fluff if people decide to put in real face scans for their avatars and they suddenly get stolen. VR body snatchers will be a thing.

 

[ChrisMahoney]

This will not happen in the near future.

The Nvidia K1 is already more powerful than an Xbox 360/PS3. I'm sure the K2 could handle 360 level graphics using VR.

 

[Durante]

VR will be such a small market at first that it won't be a big deal.

That's the thing you guys need to understand, and why Facebook isn't going to fuck up Oculus' roadmap. They need to establish Oculus as a viable technology first. And to do that, they need to become successful in the gaming market. That market isn't that big, in Facebook's view, it's mainly next-gen consoles and high end PCs.

But for Oculus to establish themselves and VR as a means of interaction, they need to get that hardcore market first. So Facebook isn't going to push their services on you, because they know you don't want that shit. They know you'll go to someone else if they do.

But they're playing the long game. A decade from now when most machines will be capable of doing VR with ease, then the market is a lot larger. Suddenly there's a market for the bullshit that Facebook wants to sell. And what better way to make sure that people use their software and services then to make the hardware as well. Apple will tell you that.

So them coming out and saying that they're still committed to gaming and aren't going to force you into Facebook's services, and Zuckerberg saying they see Oculus as the next communications platform are not mutually exclusive. They can do both, but for Facebook to capture the market they really want, the reason they payed $2 billion for Oculus, they have to nail the gaming part first. Because if they don't and they scare everyone off, then they threw that money out the window.

Exactly.

 

[StoppedInTracks]

Great post, bananas.

People are not seeing long enough into the future.

This reminds me of the iPhone launch. People were very sceptical. And post iPhone... well, suffice to say every smartphone looks like iPhone now.

 

[Guy.brush]

It"s not just about ads in your face (literally).

It seems the data miners are steadily closing in on their targets (also literally).
And now the biggest data kraken of them all will have direct access to a consumer's head. They are as close as possible to their target. With some faux reasoning they can and will monitor heart rate/bio data and all kinds of very personal info (They are sitting right there in your head when you do VR sex with your girlfriend overseas).
Capture brain waves in a couple of decades? Why not?

 

[Business]

I disagree with the notion that VR needed the acquisition of Oculus by a big company to help it reach the mainsteam. VR in general and Oculus would reach the mainstream regardless. This deal will help Oculus to be in a better position to compete with Sony and whoever enters the race, it's an incredible deal for Oculus VR as a company, for it's investors and for FB's investors. For hardcore PC gamers I don't see how it will improve things significantly, and I can see how it can make them worst.

 

[Jenoss]

Only thing holding Sony back is watch hardware.

Sony has the resources and the engineers to bang out a good Vr set.

I don't think it have "enough" resources.
It will end like the playstation move, a lost cause, with a lot of potential unfulfilled

 

[hepburn3d]

VR will be such a small market at first that it won't be a big deal.

That's the thing you guys need to understand, and why Facebook isn't going to fuck up Oculus' roadmap. They need to establish Oculus as a viable technology first. And to do that, they need to become successful in the gaming market. That market isn't that big, in Facebook's view, it's mainly next-gen consoles and high end PCs.

But for Oculus to establish themselves and VR as a means of interaction, they need to get that hardcore market first. So Facebook isn't going to push their services on you, because they know you don't want that shit. They know you'll go to someone else if they do.

But they're playing the long game. A decade from now when most machines will be capable of doing VR with ease, then the market is a lot larger. Suddenly there's a market for the bullshit that Facebook wants to sell. And what better way to make sure that people use their software and services then to make the hardware as well. Apple will tell you that.

So them coming out and saying that they're still committed to gaming and aren't going to force you into Facebook's services, and Zuckerberg saying they see Oculus as the next communications platform are not mutually exclusive. They can do both, but for Facebook to capture the market they really want, the reason they payed $2 billion for Oculus, they have to nail the gaming part first. Because if they don't and they scare everyone off, then they threw that money out the window.

This.

 

[Wiktor]

I'm quite happy with this. It was becoming more and more obvious that to truly succeed Rift will need some heavy capital. And I mean really havy, not dozens of millions, but hundreds of millions and even billions. And from all the big tech companies today that could deliver Facebook seems by far the best choice. They have the money, they're in it for the long game and they have proven they don't screw up with their big aquisitions.

Plus social is the best opportunity to take VR truly mainstream, which would also help gamers as more devices in the world = more devs support. SF novels have predicted huge virtual realities for decades and nobody is suited better to realize that idea than Facebook.

 

[Durante]

I disagree with the notion that VR needed the acquisition of Oculus by a big company to help it reach the mainsteam. VR in general and Oculus would reach the mainstream regardless. This deal will help Oculus to be in a better position to compete with Sony and whoever enters the race, it's an incredible deal for Oculus VR as a company, for it's investors and for FB's investors. For hardcore PC gamers I don't see how it will improve things significantly, and I can see how it can make them worst.

In the short term, it gives Oculus manufacturing options they simply didn't have before (e.g. custom displays). In the long term, you're most likely right, but hopefully by then we'll have more competitors.

 

[spanna]

My fears of a rift being an embarrassment didn't take long to come true.
Lots of messages this morning from mates ripping the piss.
Cant wait for everyone at work to get in... urgh.

I've gone from thinking ooo it would be cool to bring dk2 into work to let everyone have a go to thinking I ain't mentioning this to anyone EVER!

 

[Binabik15]

Funny how this has changed "VR won't take off, because girls and moms would laugh at us VR explorers!" into "VR will be a flop because girls and moms will use it on their underpowered FB machines instead of the moster rig of a TRUE VR connaisseur!" literally overnight.