Okay, throw your arms up in disgust. Everyone’s favorite virtual reality hardware company has now officially been purchased by that service that you think is super evil but also can’t seem to stop using.
You probably don’t think of Facebook as being connected to gaming, and if you do consider its connections Facebook games typically draw more ire than some of the most shameless mobile games out there. So needless to say today’s announcement on the OculusVR site comes as something of a surprise.
Today, we’re pleased to announce that we’ve joined forces with Facebook to create the best virtual reality platform in the world.
Although most people have probably always thought of the Oculus Rift as a gaming utility the language being used to describe their acquisition and Facebook’s goals with the hardware seem to implicate that the team believes there’s more value to the Rift than just playing video games. I’m not sure that the device is how you would expect browsing the internet or desperately searching for bikini pictures of that cute barista whose name you figured out ten years from now, but who knows what this move could lead to.
At first glance, it might not seem obvious why Oculus is partnering with Facebook, a company focused on connecting people, investing in internet access for the world and pushing an open computing platform. But when you consider it more carefully, we’re culturally aligned with a focus on innovating and hiring the best and brightest; we believe communication drives new platforms; we want to contribute to a more open, connected world; and we both see virtual reality as the next step.
The news doesn’t appear to have settled very well with internet commenters. Most of the top posts (somewhat ironically delivered through a Facebook commenting plugin) are of people upset, feeling that the Oculus folks have sold out or even worse betrayed them on some personal level, despite the fact that nobody knows what exactly this business decision will ultimately have in store for the hardware.
Good job pulling one over on us Oculus. All that talk about revolutionizing things and it was just to build up value for an acquisition.
You can read the full press release and really soak in all the built up rage here on the OculusVR site: http://www.oculusvr.com/blog/oculus-joins-facebook/
