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Facebook Buys Oculus VR, The Internet Freaks Out

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So, you all heard about Facebook buying Oculus Rift right? I considered doing an article last night, but I decided to let my own and everyone else's hot heads cool down a bit.

You should all know my thoughts on VR by now, I don't like it and it is as simple as that. I don't want to strap some big ugly device to my face and block out anyone else in the room to play a game. I don't know anyone else if my own circle that want to either regardless of what platform they game on, they simply don't want to.

Anyway, Facebook has purchased Oculus VR for 2 BILLION DOLLARS and a wave of developers have already cancelled their Oculus Rift games.

Oculus' own blog comments say it all, their first and top voted comment is:

QuoteDO NOT WANT.


That is the first comment you can see on it.

It has led figures such as Notch to outright cancel Minecraft on the Rift:

We were in talks about maybe bringing a version of Minecraft to Oculus. I just cancelled that deal. Facebook creeps me out.

— Markus Persson (@notch) March 25, 2014


A funny fact is that John Carmack who previously worked for id Software (Doom, Quake, Rage) moved to Oculus VR, he now works for Facebook because of it.

For the record, I am coding right now, just like I was last week.I expect the FB deal will avoid several embarrassing scaling crisis for VR.

— John Carmack (@ID_AA_Carmack) March 26, 2014


Sadly though, this won't mean much as their entire indie "cred" has vanished with the announcement. Facebook is interested in gaining users and monetizing them and nothing more. Selling VR kits to gamers will not be even close to the top of their "things to do with Oculus" list.

Simon Roth, the developer of Maia put it quite well:

Imagine how crap their Kickstarter backers must feel. Gave them all that cash just to line their pockets with a tech bubble style sell out.

Simon Roth (@SimoRoth) March 25, 2014


His comments also align with Notch's blog post where notch stated:

NotchAnd I did not chip in ten grand to seed a first investment round to build value for a Facebook acquisition.


Say goodbye to VR as we knew it, or rather as we didn't know it since the consumer devices weren't even out yet.

Oculus needs to do some major damage control.

Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
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36 comments
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Guest Mar 26, 2014
Quoting: scaineIf you ever got a chance to try it, you'd understand. It's fundamentally a new experience. Really, really game-changing. I was same - very sceptical. Then I tried it and if I'd had $300 there and then, I'd have bought one. Simple as that. It's that amazing.

Or rather, it /will be/ that amazing, because there are still a few kinks to iron out.

I wouldn't agree with that. Tried it for long enough to know that I really don't care for it; it's a gimmick more than anything else. Your hands are still tied to some controller and you're sitting down, so the immersion is immediately removed.

I know the "release" versions were expected to be better, but the quality of the screens was also difficult to adjust to, all I could ever see was scan lines and the awkward FOV (that was either too narrow or too warped).

I was really hyped before I tried it out -- though fortunately, I didn't actually invest in it.
Joe Mar 26, 2014
This acquisition opens up the space for someone else to step in. I really can't imagine where Facebook's goals and those of OR's early adopters overlap in any way, so these people will surely be looking for alternatives now.

As someone above said though, this could be a major blow to Kickstarter and similar platforms. Reading comments on the web, it seems that quite a number of backers are wondering "can they even do this?", suggesting they thought they had gained some form of control over Oculus with their backing. Obviously this isn't the case, however people might have perceived it that way, so if this reality about Kickstarter starts sinking in to more and more people's minds, crowdfunding will probably see a major reduction in spending. Currently it seems people see it like an investment while in reality it is only a pre-order scheme.

Concerning the OR headset, I'm still quite bummed about this news though. So much potential now going to waste...
Lulu Mar 26, 2014
Quoting: edgley
Quoting: scaineIf you ever got a chance to try it, you'd understand. It's fundamentally a new experience. Really, really game-changing. I was same - very sceptical. Then I tried it and if I'd had $300 there and then, I'd have bought one. Simple as that. It's that amazing.

Or rather, it /will be/ that amazing, because there are still a few kinks to iron out.
I wouldn't agree with that. Tried it for long enough to know that I really don't care for it; it's a gimmick more than anything else. Your hands are still tied to some controller and you're sitting down, so the immersion is immediately removed.

I know the "release" versions were expected to be better, but the quality of the screens was also difficult to adjust to, all I could ever see was scan lines and the awkward FOV (that was either too narrow or too warped).

I was really hyped before I tried it out -- though fortunately, I didn't actually invest in it.

I have to completely disagree, I loved every second of using it, but I respect your opinion.
scaine Mar 26, 2014
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Quoting: edgley
Quoting: scaineIf you ever got a chance to try it, you'd understand. It's fundamentally a new experience. Really, really game-changing. I was same - very sceptical. Then I tried it and if I'd had $300 there and then, I'd have bought one. Simple as that. It's that amazing.

Or rather, it /will be/ that amazing, because there are still a few kinks to iron out.
I wouldn't agree with that. Tried it for long enough to know that I really don't care for it; it's a gimmick more than anything else. Your hands are still tied to some controller and you're sitting down, so the immersion is immediately removed.

I know the "release" versions were expected to be better, but the quality of the screens was also difficult to adjust to, all I could ever see was scan lines and the awkward FOV (that was either too narrow or too warped).

I was really hyped before I tried it out -- though fortunately, I didn't actually invest in it.

Sounds like we came at from different expectation. You were hyped and left disappointed. I was sceptical and left hyped.

We agree that the initial version didn't cut it. Poor resolution and a tiny, but noticable, lag made the experience just short of "immersive". But that will change.

Remember Wolfenstein for the first time? Remember how, despite the ridiculously poor graphics, you still felt that this, right here, was a game changer? Then Doom came along. Then Hexen, Quake, Half Life and the rest is history. That's the journey the Rift started.

But succeed or fail, I'm most pissed about the damage they've done to Kickstarter. Pledges on Kickstarter don't give you any leverage, but the engagement and communication give you the illusion of leverage. OR has destroyed that now. No one will trust a hardware-based kickstarter after this. No one with any sense that is.
Half-Shot Mar 26, 2014
Quoting: scainePledges on Kickstarter don't give you any leverage, but the engagement and communication give you the illusion of leverage. OR has destroyed that now. No one will trust a hardware-based kickstarter after this. No one with any sense that is.

To be honest, right now its getting harder to trust start-ups/indie games in general that get acquired. A few years ago 'Ace of Spades' was a windows/mac/Linux game which was only in 0.3 but rocked because it was 'Minecraft with Battlefield'. Jagex marched in and remade it and made a REAL mess of it. It cost £6-10 and I believe its only on Windows. So yeah, why do people bother with Kickstarters if they just go onto making deals and pretty much making the kickstarters seem worthless.
Guest Mar 26, 2014
Quoting: scaineSounds like we came at from different expectation. You were hyped and left disappointed. I was sceptical and left hyped.

We agree that the initial version didn't cut it. Poor resolution and a tiny, but noticable, lag

Definitely; I had to cut your quote there though as I don't agree with the last bit.

Quoting: scaineRemember Wolfenstein for the first time? Remember how, despite the ridiculously poor graphics, you still felt that this, right here, was a game changer? Then Doom came along. Then Hexen, Quake, Half Life and the rest is history. That's the journey the Rift started.

I remember all of them really quite well -- but I don't ever remember thinking at the time that they were not "amazing" in all aspects. When Half-Life came out, genuinely thought the graphics were the most immersive, the gameplay the most revolutionary and the story the most enthralling. Doom and Wolfenstein were both a bit before my proper comprehension of what I was doing, they were just good fun and better than the kids games I had at the time (and my first foray into unoffical Amiga Ports as well!). The Rift, after first use, left me with a "meh" feeling. Much like every other "Virtual Reality" device I've ever tried.

I don't see it as the future. I see burning images directly into our retinas as the more probably future. The Rift might be a stepping stone for some, but I just don't think the current concept is ever going to take off the same way using a mouse, or a gamepad has.

Ah well, each to their own.

Quoting: scaineBut succeed or fail, I'm most pissed about the damage they've done to Kickstarter. Pledges on Kickstarter don't give you any leverage, but the engagement and communication give you the illusion of leverage. OR has destroyed that now. No one will trust a hardware-based kickstarter after this. No one with any sense that is.

Yeah -- I can agree with that. I've actually been disappointed with most of the 99 kickstarter campaigns I've backed. Either through lack of a Linux port (ala 7d2d), or just uninspiring gameplay (Liam will no doubt kick me for saying this, but Planetary Annihilation).
Anonymous Mar 26, 2014
As someone who has been following the Snowden leaks closely, i'm very concerned.
Facebook has been given the NSA a blank check to access user content, facebook users might as well send all of their information straight to nsa.gov. I don't think that letting the NSA monitor your pupils and scan your Iris is a good idea. Apart from privacy issues, there's Facebook's blatant patent trolling; They will no doubt stifle innovation in the VR sphere with their army of lawyers.
This is bad news all around
RaymondTerrific Mar 26, 2014
Quoting: loggfreakrazer responded to notch 'perhaps we can help out. Will be in touch.'
https://twitter.com/minliangtan/status/448606945272803328
so now there's going to be a VR-headset thats overhyped AND overpriced, were all doomed


Don't forget bright green.
berarma Mar 26, 2014
Companies are all after the money they need to make them profitable, some may seem more ethical than the others but the money is the only thing that matters in the end. Was the original owner better than Facebook? It seems it wasn't.

I look forward to this kind of devices, whether it is through Facebook, or any other company or community project.
the future Mar 26, 2014
People are quick to jump to conclusion and this is ok.
But we must also understand that we still have to weight for things to play out, the real world is not in the past or all in speculation its whats happening now. so we must weight and see whats happening.
I would have loved them to do it independently with ought Facebook but if partnering with Facebook helps them out then we need to give them the chance to prove this was the correct decision.

Here is another article i came across in my research read it and look at some of the things they say.
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/why-you-shouldn-t-worry-about-facebook-buying-oculus-rift/1100-6418545/

as much as i like this sight and the posts it is one sided to make a decision onthis you must look at different sites and view points.
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