It was the cry foul heard ’round the web.
In the face of a perpetually screaming internet questioning the ethics of crowdfunding, and the ambiguous business morals surrounding the acquisition of a startup company by one outweighing them in billions, the deed is done. and everyone can finally calm down from the heated debate. Facebook has completed their $2 billion dollar acquisition of Oculus VR, the proud startup behind everyone’s favorite new gadget, the Oculus Rift.
Along with their acquisition of the creators of the Xbox 360 gamepad, and a stable of top industry talent already on hire the likes of Jason Rubin (Formerly of Naughty Dog and THQ) and notably John Carmack (iD software, sage development wizard) on their side, the future couldn’t be brighter for a company looking to change the way we experience virtual reality.
Now, the only question on our minds is a matter of how, and when this previously-for-gaming application will see the light in a public space. Though any aspiring developer can currently pick up the dev kits for around $350, the question of when something seemingly niche like VR will ever go mainstream is one that hangs over it, no matter how cool early adopters will find games like Alien: Isolation. It’s a largely untested field that has already gone sour in the form of the Virtual Boy years prior, and people still have a difficult time staring straight into their 3DS units without splitting headaches. Competition in the form of Sony’s Project Morpheus is also looming, and with that company having arguably more peripheral experience along with a loyal install base, the pacing towards getting the device out and in competitive form must be a concern for the group as well.
Being acquired by a social media giant like Facebook is no small news either, especially in terms of what it could mean for the service and how it gathers data. One easily recognizable fear some share is just what kind of information an Oculus Facebook app would, and could pick up based on the user. Furthermore, what kind of navigational/sensory experience one would even gain from such a device used in tandem with the social networking service? Would it even make complete sense?
I suppose we’ll find out.
