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.
I had to see the top comment on their blog, and then saw the irony of the comments being done via facebook.
Hah I know right.
As for Oculus itself... I was about to pre-order the crystal cove edition just last weekend. Glad I didn't, and I won't be touching it now. I suspect that continuing Oculus as an open platform died with this announcement.
Finally, what will Valve do? They've staked their colours to VR as the future of gaming. I guess they'll revive their own headset (assuming they buried it in the first place) and sell it as a Steam Machine peripheral. Hopefully it will remain open and cross platform.
What a mess.
SteamVR is the future now, at least we can count on our lord and savior GabeN!
I hope Valve will bring a VR now.
I couldn't agree more to this point. I don't wear headsets for same reasons.
As for everything else, I am confused with all the rage. Maybe because I one of the few who never joined the social media movement and so don't feel anything towards facebook other than it's an apparent waste of time. I do game, which is also a waste of time but it doesn't mess with lives or portray falsities as truths in the same way. Or maybe it's because I didn't back this product because I never wanted it. The game people backing out would actually make me made at them. If it's a privacy concern, have you met the U.S.? They probably have your laptop lens photographing you as you sit there. Use google, yahoo or microsoft products? It's sorta just redundant spying at that point. Anyhow please help me understand the rage part, I don't get.
Facebook taking over Oculus is no big loss as far as I'm concerned.
I don't get the excitement or need for VR in the first place.
Facebook taking over Oculus is no big loss as far as I'm concerned.
If 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.
https://twitter.com/minliangtan/status/448606945272803328
so now there's going to be a VR-headset thats overhyped AND overpriced, were all doomed
But I don't trust Facebook with my information and certainly wouldn't trust living in a virtual world of their creation. This also burnt any bridges they had with the community that had supported them up until this point.
“It is easier to forgive an enemy than to forgive a (facebook)friend.”
― William Blake
“Et tu, Brute?”
― William Shakespeare, Julius Caesar
Hamlet:
I did love you once.
Ophelia:
Indeed, my lord, you made me believe so.
Hamlet:
You should not have believ'd me, for virtue cannot so
inoculate our old stock but we shall relish of it. I lov'd you not.
Ophelia:
I was the more deceiv'd.
One of the products I was waiting for with anticipation, trepidation and awe.
I was imagining that I would one day be able to immerse myself completely in fantastic digital worlds like never before, a sort of oracle on the verge of . But no, I shall be logging into FB to play Farmville 3D.
Pffff
PS - am really sorry for the people who invested in the Occulus kickstarter, just feeding the giant, as if FB needed cash. Interesting to note that as far as I am aware FaceBook did not even kickstart it, so much for their interest in seed companies.
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