PCGamer: Facebook to buy Oculus VR for $2 billion

[LeftOfSelf-Centered]

Source: http://www.pcgamer.com/2014/03/25/facebook-buying-oculus-vr-for-2-billion/

Facebook has reached a "definitive agreement" to buy Oculus VR for around $2 billion. Oculus is the clear leader in virtual reality headsets—only recently challenged by Sony's Project Morpheus—and though it hasn't yet released a consumer product, the company announced last week that the second version of its Oculus Rift Development Kit will ship this summer.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg posted on Facebook (naturally) to explain the purchase. He makes a point to stress that immersive gaming will still be the first experience on the Oculus Rift headset: "Oculus already has big plans [in gaming] that won't be changing and we hope to accelerate. The Rift is highly anticipated by the gaming community, and there's a lot of interest from developers in building for this platform. We're going to focus on helping Oculus build out their product and develop partnerships to support more games. Oculus will continue operating independently within Facebook to achieve this."

Once it's a gaming platform, Zuckerberg plans "to make Oculus a platform for many other experiences." That might include "enjoying a court side seat at a game" or "consulting with a doctor face-to-face," he writes, all "just by putting on goggles in your home."

...

Reaction to the purchase on social media has been mixed. Reddit commenters sounded their frustration and distrust in a thread Luckey himself posted after the deal was announced. "I am legitimately disappointed by this news," user Soranma wrote in a particularly calm response, citing Facebook's bevvy of privacy issues and concerns for Oculus' direction getting dominated by Facebook desires. Other Reddit users were decidedly less polite about their concerns.

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But... But I don't want to give my money to Facebook...

[Ohio Joe]

1. Looks like the kickstarter people want their money back....

Oculus Kickstarter Backers Are Demanding Refunds

http://kotaku.com/oculus-kickstarter-backers-are-demanding-refunds-1552041702

I don't blame them at all.

[LeftOfSelf-Centered]

2. Yeah, I saw that

I remember reading somewhere (I think it was on The Escapist) that Oculus had fulfilled all of their Kickstarted obligations and so those people had no real leg to stand on. I wonder if they would have even otherwise.

Not that I blame them either. I didn't follow the Oculus project that closely, even though I thought it looked interesting, and I'm not familiar with Kickstarter at all. On one hand I think it's great that fans are able to fund projects that they would like, things that otherwise maybe would never get made. So it kinda feels like you are an investor in a budding venture, but you have none of the benefits; You get absolutely no say in things and, if the venture hits it big (like in this case) you get none of the windfall. I wonder how this whole thing would have turned out, if Oculus had to distribute the buyout to all the people who had put money in, proportional to their contribution...

All I know is that I would be pretty disappointed if I had put money into a venture that was then handed off to some megacorporation. For me, what it all boils down to, as I said in the OP, I'm not big on the idea on giving money to Facebook.

I also read another interesting thing (on Reddit of all places!); It was pure speculation, but it spoke to the cynic in me. This acquisition could be used for future legal/patent trolling in order to keep other upstarts out of the VR market. Even if the technology was completely different and Facebook had no leg to stand on, they have an endless supply of cash and a legal team that would make the cost of litigation prohibitive to a small upstart...

[Ohio Joe]

4. Yeah... Kickstarter is nothing more then a donation...

Once they deliver on whatever they promise for a donation, it's done. You have to hope that the people you give money to do what you want because you get zero say so in what happens once you give. The only kickstarter I've donated to so far is the Wasteland II game... I think I got a note letting me know I could try it out now but I'm waiting till it's done so I can really dig into it

[LeftOfSelf-Centered]

3. Jim Sterling did a special Jimquisition video about the sale.

Jimquisition: So, That Facebook And Oculus Rift Thing...