Oculus Names Former EA Exec as Head of Worldwide Publishing

[BlameTheWizards]

Oculus Names Former EA Exec as Head of Worldwide Publishing

Dean DeMartini's focus will be bringing games to the Oculus Rift, but he also wants to see live concerts and IMAX movies on the platform.

A former senior vice president at Electronic Arts is now the head of worldwide publishing for Oculus VR. David DeMartini's job as leader of this new company arm is to partner with developers to encourage them to bring their games to Oculus VR's Oculus Rift. "What I'm doing at Oculus, it's not particularly different from what I did for seven years at EA as part of the EA Partners program," DeMartini said in a Gamasutra interview today. "I'm figuring out how to partner effectively with big developers, small developers, all the way down to the individual who just wants to make something great for the Rift."

While games are DeMartini's primary focus, he also wants to see more diverse entertainment brought to the headset device. "There are other cool things besides games that you can do with the platform: IMAX movies, live concerts, educational programs, that kind of thing," said DeMartini. "Going outside of gaming, how do I get someone in the travel industry to put up the kind of cameras that let us create a Rift experience of being in, say Barcelona?" While not all of the financial details of Oculus publishing are clear yet, DeMartini said that there is room for things such as platform exclusivity.

It's been a good month for Oculus VR. Just last week, the company <a href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/130502-Oculus-Rift-Raises-a-Further-75-Million>raised $75 million in additional funding which Oculus hopes can be used to get a consumer model out to the public. In addition, legendary game developer John Carmack was recently announced as <a href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/130563-John-Carmack-Spearheading-Mobile-Development-At-Oculus-VR>spearheading mobile development for the device after being lured away from his own id Software studio.


Source: <a href=http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/207511/Former_EA_VP_David_DeMartini_joins_Oculus_VRs_new_publishing_arm.php>Gamasutra

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[Nergui]

My first thought after reading this was that oculus rift will become an optional paid extra for games. But then he wants to turn it into a something other than a peripheral for gaming and the news just keeps getting worse.

But I will wait and see, but I'm not very hopeful.

 

[Adzma]

Now I'm glad I didn't back the Kickstarter.

 

[Evil Smurf]

The name EA is pretty toxic for PR, I'd have gone elsewhere.

 

[Smooth Operator]

I'm guessing he came as a "free extra" with all that shiny new money, him being an EA exec isn't that scary on it's own but him being adamant to steering this boat same as EA... that is the fabric of nightmares.

 

[AngryBritishAce]

Yeah, EA isn't a publisher the gaming comunity like to hear about. Give him a chance, by all means, but be ready for gamers-on-edge ready to pounce at any misspoken word.

As for DeMartini himself, what he says sounds good, but he's got to be able to pull it off well. Focus primarily on the games before the movies and gigs, then go and oculus-them-up once the games are sorted.

 

[Objectable]

I can't wait to use the Rift's predecessor. It really is an underated gem.
http://games.kitguru.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/virtualboy-article_image_combined_600.jpg

 

[Callate]

Oh, DeMartini is back.

Joy to the @$%#ing world.

Mr. "We Want EA to be 90+ on Metacritic Without Ever Having to Listen to Our Customers". Mr. "Steam Sales Cheapen IP". Mr. "Only the hardcore have issues with Origin".

I hope he's good at this whole "bringing developers on board" thing. But word to the wise, ye movers and shakers at Oculus VR: Don't let him talk to the public, and don't listen if he starts suggesting any PR problems are just a few malcontents who don't understand the greatness of your plans.

 

[Stavros Dimou]

I can't wait to use the Rift's predecessor. It really is an underated gem.
http://games.kitguru.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/virtualboy-article_image_combined_600.jpg

Except that it didn't actually had to do anything with virtual reality and it was just Nintendo's marketing bull***t.

Oculus Rift IS virtual reality.
The thing is,I wonder in which way this new 'publisher division' will work.
If you combine it with the news that came up earlier this week about Oculus wanting Rift to have its own 'brains' (i.e. processor,ram,os) does anyone else feels like instead of making it an accessory they will try to make it be another console ?

 

[Dr.Awkward]

And there's the problem. It's not the guy they hired, it's the attitude EA put into his mind. He wants to take it much farther than where it can go right now, and he doesn't seem to understand that maybe staying small means keeping better focus of the intention.

Someone needs to give a firm whack on the side of the head and tell him the EA philosophy isn't Oculus's, or else he's going to find himself looking for another job soon enough, not understanding what happened with the last one.

 

[rapidoud]

Good that he's getting it out there. Can you imagine going to a museum and having access to these things? Or disabled people having access to theme park rides? Or like he said, a travel agency? They're almost as cheap as monitors as well.

Big things are coming. Thank god it's not just excluded to the vocal elitists.

And there's the problem. It's not the guy they hired, it's the attitude EA put into his mind. He wants to take it much farther than where it can go right now, and he doesn't seem to understand that maybe staying small means keeping better focus of the intention.

Someone needs to give a firm whack on the side of the head and tell him the EA philosophy isn't Oculus's, or else he's going to find himself looking for another job soon enough, not understanding what happened with the last one.

Uhh... what? 75 million+ is small, and apparently there's something wrong with trying to ship as many units as possible to people? The software works, and they're working on the hardware anyway. Why not make it bigger and why restrict yourself?

Right mate, you stick with that philosophy.

 

[008Zulu_v1legacy]

So. . . lightweigght and comfortable. . .

And what about people with glasses?

The current build is only 390 grams, and it has an adjustable display so people with glasses can use it without having to wear any. Can't say how comfortable it is tho.

Imax movies sounds cool, but there are no Imax cinemas within 100kms of where I live. If he meas to stream or download Imax movies, I'm sure the people in Finland will appreciate the convenience.

 

[Hairless Mammoth]

It's good they want to venture into other fields with, but it might be bad they got someone programed by EA to do it. This thing is still in testing right? DeMartini could push the company too soon in directions they're not ready for.

The concerts and IMAX sound like they might be good, too. But, unless they shot a film in IMAX it is up-converted and doesn't add anything outside of a cinema. Hopefully he's just talking about the documentaries and similar films done in IMAX and not that post production 3D bullshit that then gets an IMAX version just so they can add $1.50 on top of the extra $3 you pay to get a headache.

 

[Vaccine]

Well, consider my interest suddenly killed.

 

[Xannieros]

It all starts with "There are other cool things besides games that you can do with the platform". Isn't that right Xbone?

IMAX movies, live concerts, educational programs,

What the quote means to me.

IMAX - High resolution big screen movies shrunk down to a headset.
Live Concerts - Point of it being live is watching it through a screen?
Educational Programs - Can't see too much use here that a regular computer screen can't do.

I hope they can maintain gaming as the main use.

 

[J Tyran]

What the quote means to me.

Actually the stuff he mentions makes perfect sense, like the IMAX comment. Watching a movie with a good 3D headset gives the same experience you get as watching a 26x20m movie screen, makes sense for concerts too. Its not intended to replace actually going to a concert itself at all, the idea is for it to be an additional feature for the rapidly growing concert streaming industry, watching a concert through a VR headset instead of a TV could possibly add to the experience.

When it comes to educational programs thats been a thing for years, its been limited by the technology though. Doctors for instance can train using VR, so can engineers. For home use there could be software that would show the inside of a volcano or virtual tours of monuments and other things like that.

There are challenges of course, like the idea of watching movies at home with same experience as a full IMAX screen would be great but unless these goggles are dirt cheap it will be limited to a single user experience for most people. The headset isn't going to be that cheap though obviously, so even if you get a couple of pairs it doesn't really solve the issue of having a movie night with friends or family. Having to buy a bunch of active 3D glasses for some 3D TVs can be bad enough and they are only £30-50 not the several hundred pounds a VR headset will cost. For those with a small house or flat and not enough room for a large home theatre it would be great, thats the market Sony are going for in Japan with their headset.

Nothing this guy said about the plans for the Rift are out there or extraordinary, its the same direction the other companies working on headsets are taking. Obviously all of this stuff is depending on the headset being good in the first place and dependant on solving the technical challenges involved.

 

[RandV80]

For us sports fans out there who's local team has gotten way to expensive to see live, or at the very least the occasional nose bleed seats once every season or two, I always thought it would be great if this sort of technology could be adapted to live sporting events.

 

[WWmelb]

It all starts with "There are other cool things besides games that you can do with the platform". Isn't that right Xbone?

IMAX movies, live concerts, educational programs,

What the quote means to me.

IMAX - High resolution big screen movies shrunk down to a headset.
Live Concerts - Point of it being live is watching it through a screen?
Educational Programs - Can't see too much use here that a regular computer screen can't do.

I hope they can maintain gaming as the main use.

Yeah, EA isn't a publisher the gaming comunity like to hear about. Give him a chance, by all means, but be ready for gamers-on-edge ready to pounce at any misspoken word.

As for DeMartini himself, what he says sounds good, but he's got to be able to pull it off well. Focus primarily on the games before the movies and gigs, then go and oculus-them-up once the games are sorted.

To be fair... keeping the rift as it has been developed "for games predominantly" is basically bitching that a pc monitor can show more than game images on it... or a video card should only be able to render games and not other forms of entertainment.

This is a VR display... it can, and SHOULD be used for as many different things as possible. To bring the price down even further, and bring more innovation in the hardware.

It is already a working unit, and seeing as this is hardware, not a game, i can't see having someone with a background in EA building relationships with developers and other industry having a detrimental effect.

Sorry, but not all tech advances should be related to "games only", even if they start as a gaming peripheral.

I personally look forward to lots of industries utilizing the Rift and bringing it to a place where most people will want to own one. Games alone are not going to do that.

Why not focus on making them lightweight and comfortable to wear.
How about that. Yes? And why mobile devices? I am not gonna wear that stuff in public.
I would use it at home, to play games on a powerful rig. With proper controls.
And i will watch films at home. . .

So. . . lightweigght and comfortable. . .

And what about people with glasses?


Marketing is the smallest concern here. . .

It's very lightweight, and from all reports i've read is pretty damn comfortable, can be adjusted to compensate for people who need glasses, and even fits directly over glasses.

Soo.. i think they have those three things covered already from my understanding.

Marketing is now their BIGGEST concern. Getting people and industries involved and getting the word to the public and generating a substantial buzz and selling the everlovingfuck out of it.