Facebook to acquire company behind Oculus Rift VR headset for $2 billion

[Mathragh]

I'm betting Carmack will jump ship once they restrict what he does.

Or the other way around: what they want him to do.

I don't pretend to know the man, but I always had the impression he also wasn't really into this kind of thing. Could be me being wrong ofc.

 

[lanceknightnight]

The reason is 2 billion dollars.


He also got stock so he does have say, just not a controlling stake.

 

[DannibusX]

I was pretty shocked when I heard about this. I wouldn't have been surprised if they sold out to a gaming company like EA, ActiBlizz, Microsoft or somesuch, but Facebook? Good lord.

There's only going to be a couple of outcomes with this. Dissent is already underway with Notch pulling Minecraft for Rift and plenty of people pissed off about it, but in Facebook's defense the vast majority of their acquisitions they have left completely alone and allowed to run independently.

The other part will be the mandatory Facebook Account and sign in requirement with super-secure-you're-already-opted-in retina passwords and the accompanying database.

 

[xenocide]

I feel like people are being a little melodramatic. Facebook wouldn't invest $2,000,000,000 into acquiring a company to rip them apart and fundamentally change the way they function. They need Oculus to succeed, and that means they are going to start dumping money--money that Oculus clearly needs--into the company to ramp up production and R&D. This also means rather than Oculus having to dedicate themselves to running an entire company, they can focus on refining their hardware and making the best product possible without having to worry about marketting and business relations.

I think it's good Oculus has all of Facebook's resources at their backs now, it will only lead to more affordable products. You know if they try and put DRM or anything like that baked into the device people will just find a way to bypass it anyway.

 

[Mussels]

ugh.


the problem with this is simple - we wanted a display we wore on our heads. much like our PC screens are now.


instead we're going to get a device with heaps of social integration and media features we simply dont want, that will slow the device down, drain batteries faster (if it uses them) and up the costs - let alone annoy the shit out of us with notifications we dont want.


The only way this wont be ruined is if facebook simply leaves it the fuck alone, and just provides funding.

 

[remixedcat]

Ugh.... I was rooting for EA to buy it.

SMH facebook??? whywhywhy.gif.

Every time me and my hubby would hear about the rift it was news about it messing up or some kinda fail. Now it's gonna fail harder.

 

[Xzibit]

Didn't Oculus have supply issues.
engadget - Oculus ends Rift dev kit sales citing parts supply issues

Sony had the only other alternative which is visually better.
playstationlifestyle - GDC 2014: Hands-On Project Morpheus – Sony’s VR Headset
IGN - GDC: Sony Reveals Project Morpheus PlayStation 4 VR Headset


They might of thought sell now instead or relying on a competitor to supply them with parts which wouldn't happen at the price they could afford.

Now that Facebook has it. It will be like watching a NASCAR event with all the sponsors you have to "Click Like" to get off the screen.

 

[kn00tcn]

hate speech... hate speech everywhere, wtf is wrong with you people

where are you saying the same things when mark or fb fund charities or internet organizations? how can you say with a straight face that you would want EA (shut downs, microtransactions, mismanagement) or microsoft (bipolar, mismanagement, proprietary) to buy oculus!? how about google glass, is that not unusual & does google not spy on everyone??

guess what, pages forcing you to like them to unlock content is entirely the fault of these pages, all the crappy games pushing notifications to your wall are the fault of the apps (they also can push to twitter or other places)

why ignore the fact that so many rifts are already out there, so much press is out there, any major negative changes to it would be a problem, rift could be the next controller or mouse paradigm with those potential 1 billion users...

google started in a garage, look at it now... like all relationships it's not perfect, but it has changed the world & provides so many useful things, imagine oculus in a few years or decade...

notch disappointingly sounds like the moody phil fish (then again when was the last time MC was relevant), looks like i'll only be waiting for what gabe & carmack have to say

(PS, i find the title of the thread strange & inefficient... the company name is Oculus VR, company+behind+rift+headset is a lot of extra words, reminds me of tabloids in a way)

 

[remixedcat]

EA would at least focus on games and not likes. Which is what the rift is for.

The rift is not a facebookvisionator.

 

[Mussels]

its like microsoft using windows update to spam ads selling us shoes.

none of us want a display device ran by a company well known for being invasive with privacy and advertising.

 

[Ahhzz]

http://newsroom.fb.com/news/2014/03/facebook-to-acquire-oculus/

all I can say is.... AH CRAP

I'm all the way to Oh FUCK!


Welcome to the world of a Facebook locked Oculus. There's no way they won't release this without forcing Facebook integration and ads.

Fuck them. "At first glance, it might not seem obvious why Oculus is partnering with Facebook, ". Bullshit. Money. What a crock of shit.

 

[Vario]

Project Morpheus will probably be worn by Kanye West...

the ultimate stunner shade

 

[RCoon]

Anyone seen the Oculus Rift forums? The news post with the buyout article is literally being hammered by relatively angry backers. Can't help but feel they've betrayed their original backers by essentially selling themselves.
Also there's news about there being facebook branding on the OR device, and also an interface?

 

[64K]

I would like to hear what Carmack has to say about this too. If he's still invested in the company then I doubt he will say too much bad about it. Carmack's genius was in programming. Rift is just something he wanted to work on. That's why he left Id.

 

[Vario]

John Carmack ‏@ID_AA_Carmack 10h
I suppose I will get a FB account now, so that may lead to some writing a little longer than tweet length...

John Carmack ‏@ID_AA_Carmack 10h
I have a deep respect for the technical scale that FB operates at. The cyberspace we want for VR will be at this scale.

https://twitter.com/ID_AA_Carmack

I would like to hear what Carmack has to say about this too. If he's still invested in the company then I doubt he will say too much bad about it. Carmack's genius was in programming. Rift is just something he wanted to work on. That's why he left Id.

 

[RCoon]

John Carmack ‏@ID_AA_Carmack 10h
I suppose I will get a FB account now, so that may lead to some writing a little longer than tweet length...

John Carmack ‏@ID_AA_Carmack 10h
I have a deep respect for the technical scale that FB operates at. The cyberspace we want for VR will be at this scale.

https://twitter.com/ID_AA_Carmack

It's all PR crap. Even Notch said on reddit that he understands they are all bound by PR law in golden handcuffs and aren't allowed to say what they think.

 

[BiggieShady]

Now it's clear how crowd funding operates ... I guess original backers would like to exchange their occulus T-shirt for a percentage of that $2 billion.

 

[RCoon]

Now it's clear how crowd funding operates ... I guess original backers would like to exchange their occulus T-shirt for a percentage of that $2 billion.

I thought the whole premice of Kickstarter is that it is community driven. Now it's owned by Facebook, the community will have no say. I believe all KS backers should be entitled to their money back. They've essentially taken "good-will" money from people and used it to make themselves rich.

 

[Vario]

It's all PR crap. Even Notch said on reddit that he understands they are all bound by PR law in golden handcuffs and aren't allowed to say what they think.

Agreed. All his comments are very non-descriptive.

 

[Easy Rhino]

Oculus was never going to get off the ground on its own. As much as I hate Facebook for allowing the government to spy on me, they do have a good track record at allowing the companies they purchase to operate independently.

I do worry though about all of the crappy Facebook integration with the device that will become inevitable. Maybe I am just getting older but is it that old fashioned to want to see a small startup suceed on their own with investment cash rather than a buyout? It seems like every new idea gets bought out buy some over valued company these days.

 

[BiggieShady]

I believe all KS backers should be entitled to their money back.

They got their t-shirts and mugs for that money ... maybe KS projects should attract crowd by promising proportional percentage of the deal when they sell out. These projects would actually be worth "investing" in.

 

[RCoon]

They got their t-shirts and mugs for that money ... maybe KS projects should attract crowd by promising proportional percentage of the deal when they sell out. These projects would actually be worth "investing" in.

The problem is Lucky always said they would remain independent. I'm not a backer, but if I was told that, and then heard of this acqusition, I'd be pretty pissed.

 

[Easy Rhino]

They got their t-shirts and mugs for that money ... maybe KS projects should attract crowd by promising proportional percentage of the deal when they sell out. These projects would actually be worth "investing" in.

This is why I have never backed a kickstarter project. You have people (mainly young adults) giving these companies money and getting no return on investment!!!!!!!!!!! In the real world, if you invested say $100 in Oculus as an early investor and Facebook made the purchase you would have tens of thousands of dollars now...

 

[NinkobEi]

EA would at least focus on games and not likes. Which is what the rift is for.

The rift is not a facebookvisionator.

Why would anyone vote for EA to acquire anything cool? Their track record is terrible.

 

[vega22]

i hope valve do their own now too.

rift+steambox would take over so many livingrooms......