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Oculus Store update ties DRM to headset

They could even let everyone have it for free, creating public goodwill and a huge incentive for people to install their store front and buy games even if they didn't own their head set. That's how you build a platform.

I am sure they know that their storefront is bad compared to even uPlay, so they wouldnt want that.
You cant chat with anyone, no achievements, no cloud saves, no refund, only CC payment etc. Some of these should be standard nowadays.

Right now besides the exclusivity and maybe the "VR Home", you are better off buying games on Steam if both games are available on Steam and Oculus Home.
 
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thepotatoman

Unconfirmed Member
Actually, there are more vive-compatible games alone on steam than there are total games on oculus home.

Partly because Oculus got beat in hardware with roomscale.

Maybe the Oculus vs Steam fight still isn't easy, but I bet it's going to be easier than fighting every hardware company in the world, and letting Steam be the default software platform for every last one of them.

Apple is having a hard enough time as it is with Android being the choice of every non-apple device, and that's with having years to establish itself as the smartphone of choice before android came in, Oculus is starting out with a tough fight against HTC, and that fight will only get harder as other hardware manufacturers give additional options to enter the Steam marketplace.

I think Oculus must have let that Time cover and late night show appearances go to their head when a Time cover article doesn't automatically make you the Apple of VR any more than it made Jay Leno the face of primetime.
 

Pie and Beans

Look for me on the local news, I'll be the guy arrested for trying to burn down a Nintendo exec's house.
I love how almost every single thing Palmer Luckey said before release now feels like a checklist that Scumbag Oculus went through to go back on.
 

Kevin

Member
There are a lot of companies that I dislike but Facebook/Oculus is moving to the front of the line fast. What's even more impressive is that this is Facebook's first actual consumer product and they ALREADY managed to piss off gamers everywhere.
 

Alexlf

Member
So far I've been able to rationalize and pardon a large number of Oculus's more controversial decisions, but this I really can't. And the only person it's hurting in the end is themselves honestly (well, the consumers too of course). They genuinely don't have enough content to artificially limit the size of their market and that's exactly what they are doing. Truly a shame.
 
Y'all better prepare yourselves because u/heany555 is going to have to spin this one so hard that it may effect gravity.

Has he responded yet btw?
 
Well...it's their store. If this is really how they want to proceed, I guess the market will decide whether they will be the future of the VR medium.

Though really, if they wanted to become the Steam of the VR medium for the next decade, this is 100% the wrong way to do it. I guess I'm not entirely sure what their long range strategy is, but I suppose this is part of that plan for now.

Funny thing is, if they would simply have allowed this by way of ReVive, sales through their Store would have risen dramatically. It's like they don't want money. I'm sure GabeN is smiling somewhere, but I admit it's a bit disappointing.

As always, life will find a way.
 

NoPiece

Member
I was optimistic after the Facebook acquisition, but adding DRM and their limp response to the inquiry on privacy and data collection is pretty much the worst case scenario actually happening.

It's really disappointing because I want to root for Palmer Luckey (and John Carmack) to succeed at building something that would impact the world, but now it has devolved into the the typical big corporate anti-consumer bullshit. I sold my DK2, and have been on the fence about Vive vs Rift. This makes the decision very clear.

edit: next step will probably be Facebok starting to sue other VR headset manufacturers for patent infringement..
 
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thepotatoman

Unconfirmed Member
And this is with Rift hardware being soft locked to the Oculus Store, so they're closed off in both directions.
 
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thepotatoman

Unconfirmed Member
That's not true, you can buy rift software on steam and other places.

I know, by soft lock I mean you have to take steps to unlock outside content. It's an additional consideration for developers releasing outside the Oculus store.
 

BrettWeir

Member
Dick move. Glad I supported HTC, and this definitely will cause me to not support Oculus in the future unless things change.
 

mnannola

Member
If a VR game is on both Oculus Home and Steam, why the hell would anyone buy it on Oculus Home? Buy it on Steam and you can use any VR headset to play it, buy it on Oculus and you can only use a Oculus headset.

This is not the way get people to move to your platform.
 

Bookoo

Member
Glad I went with a VIVE. Not sure how anyone could go with a Rift to be honest.

Well personally I find it to be the best headset and think it will have the more compelling content in the short term since they seem to be heavily investing in content.

I also own a Vive and while cool it very much feels like the product Oculus was a few years ago. All the content is super arcady and/or proof of concept and without large companies fully on board I feel like we are going to continue to wait for compelling content.
 

dark10x

Digital Foundry pixel pusher
Reminds me of all those bundled games included with 3D cards in the 90s.

Stuff like Mechwarrior 2 included with the Monster 3D would *ONLY* run with Diamond's drivers - the reference drivers wouldn't run the game. Same deal with Motorhead and a number of others. I still have so many of those discs but, alas, they are now useless without those original cards.
 

Kevin

Member
My security software has been going on the fritz today saying that the Oculus store software was doing things (don't even have the store open). I'm assuming this is the reason.

It seems like the Oculus software is doing all sorts of weird things on your computer even when you're not actively using the software. Doing what I wouldn't know.
 

Nzyme32

Member
Guess it's up to valve to save PC gaming again.

For Oculus, the business sense is there for this decision; in order to sell more headsets and ensure there is a big reason for someone to choose an Oculus headset hardware over others (even though this is contrary to Palmer's prior position), where Oculus users get access to Oculus Exclusive content along with whatever other stores support Oculus, but not the other way around for other competing headsets. That's the choice they have made to try and expand. At a later date, when they are in a better position to do so, they may add other valid headsets from competitors of their choosing, while blocking whatever they don't like. PC gaming is a means to an end for them as it is. Facebook is more interested in the development of everything else, from metaverse to entertainment and more general home use.

For Valve the position is a bit more simple. They already have the platform that most use for PC gaming and are vendor agnostic, gaining their money and growth through sales of software. They want to further drive that position and can simply add to their service and keep engaging multiple vendors, developers, publishers etc. It's not too clear if Valve will venture beyond entertainment (movies and music long being hinted at).

This whole thing will become more interesting when their are more vendors on PC and more content creators and distribution channels, and how both will engage with these.
 
I knew it! I told everyone it would happen! Facebook bought them out and I KNEW this would happen!

But ohhh no, I was just "fear-mongering," there's nothing wrong with facebook! T hey're just giving them money! Remember when we were all told that we were overreacting?

You were warned, but you didn't listen.

Why didn't you listen? *ronpaulskeleton.jpg*
 

Zeenbor

Member
Competition is a bitch, Oculus. Vive went and drank your milkshake and now Google did too.

This is clearly a move to secure their exclusive IP to their platform. I don't see how this is any different than that of Sony and their VR platform. Telling me that PC is an open platform doesn't mean shit, other than PC gamers being entitled.
 

Absinthe

Member
Glad I went with a VIVE. Not sure how anyone could go with a Rift to be honest.

I find it quite a bit more comfortable and love the convenience of built in headphones. Plus a slightly better sweet spot and less SDE. I had a Vive and sold it.

Regardless, Oculus has continually made the wrong decisions for their consumers and when Vive2 comes out I'll be jumping ship. From now on all games I can buy on Steam I will and only exclusives will be bought within Oculus Home.

This is truly disappointing to see how Oculus has handled this entire launch. They were the poster child for VR and have wasted all that good will with these types of practices.

P.s. Pixel junk Monsters needs a sequel!
 

iNvid02

Member
isnt now a good time to like foster vr growth instead of smothering it

giphy.gif
 

Bookoo

Member
By every objective measure the vive and rift are essentially the same headset.

Sure hardware specs are mostly the same, but I find the Rift much more comfortable than the Vive. Within minutes of using the Vive, I was like..."man I wish Touch was out because I would rather be wearing that headset."

Although VR is here now so hopefully companies will continue to invest in content and chances are v2 of headsets will be more comfortable.
 

Krejlooc

Banned
yeah but then you use both of them and it's pretty clear which headset is more comfortable and looks better.

They objectively look the same, running at the same resolution with effectively the same display. The subjective bit is whether you prefer crepuscular rays or not. Let's not pretend everyone prefers the rift's optics.
 

TheRed

Member
I'm so ready to sell my RIft, it's so meh with the way Oculus does everything. I don't even care about the Oculus exclusives anymore. I'll be keeping my Vive.
 

MaxiLive

Member
Urg this is gross, understandable for the company but still gross. I was hoping VR wouldn't have to deal with the crap that is different platforms and services as the hardware is already fragmented enough as it is.

Seems like Oculus CV1 is going to struggle in the short term anyways due to the indie focusing more on the Vive due to developer interest and the magic that is Steam greenlight. It brings a lot of crud with it but offers a lot of flexibility for bedroom devs.
 

themoose5

Neo Member
As bad as all of this is I honestly don't think it's Palmer's true position and is a direct result of facebook's involvement.

Palmer is no longer running this company but merely a figurehead/spokesman for Oculus. If I had to guess he probably has little to no power over Oculus anymore which is why we are seeing this drastic flip in stance and policy from them.

I am definitely going to be watching this closely but I imagine that we will only see Oculus get more and more closed off as time progresses.
 

Zalusithix

Member
They objectively look the same, running at the same resolution with effectively the same display. The subjective bit is whether you prefer crepuscular rays or not. Let's not pretend everyone prefers the rift's optics.

I'm pretty sure he meant the superficial look of the headset in general, not the image quality. At least that's the way I took it. Of course that, even more than the comfort, is a subjective thing.
 

Josman

Member
Honestly I can see why they would do this, Vive is by far the best choice for PC VR, people won't buy a Rift over Vive unless there is an incentive which is making all their games exclusive. And the best way to attach consumers to their store is by selling rifts with Oculus default software.
 

Melter

Member
Honestly I can see why they would do this, Vive is by far the best choice for PC VR, people won't buy a Rift over Vive unless there is an incentive which is making all their games exclusive. And the best way to attach consumers to their store is by selling rifts with Oculus default software.

Some people have small rooms which make a headset focused on seated experience like the Oculus more appealing than something like the Vive which focuses on setting up a whole playspace to get the most out of the kit.
 
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thepotatoman

Unconfirmed Member
Some people have small rooms which make a headset focused on seated experience like the Oculus more appealing than something like the Vive which focuses on setting up a whole playspace to get the most out of the kit.

Except Vive can do sitting and standing a bit better than Oculus too thanks to 360 degree tracking.
 

Mrbob

Member
Too bad, but not surprised. Echo others and say glad I went with the Vive instead. Locked hardware platform on PC is an interesting maneuver to take.

Good news is this may decrease the amount of Rift exclusives in the future. Though I think this was going to happen anyways since it seems like most people are leaning towards the Vive since both platforms released.

The VR market is small enough as it is right now, so creating an Rift exclusive was already scary. Now it became more scary.
 

Brannon

Member
Poor form Oculus.

They really need to demote Palmer and get a CEO with some balls and passion for the gaming industry.

Palmer shouldn't let this bullshit happen. He is one of the more anti consumer CEOs out there.

Let's be real; Palmer is only a face. He has no power there.
 
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