Facebook May Rebrand Oculus Rift, Import Interface - Update

[Vivi22]

After reading most of the last thread, and getting insights on both sides of this acquisition, I'm surprised how many people flat out dislike Facebook.
I wonder why that is it be honest.

Not sure if you're serious, but their numerous attempts to subvert user privacy and take ownership of things like any picture you put on Facebook alone are enough of a reason not to trust them. And those are really just the tip of the iceberg. As things are today, they're an awful company with an awful social media platform that everyone's just kind of stuck using because no one uses anything else.

As for the article. If this turns out to be true then they'll be shooting themselves in the foot with everyone who was interested but is now hesitant due to this deal. Doing this would be an explicit confirmation that everyone concerned about Facebook taking the reigns was right top be worried.

 

[Weaver]

Well, I'm going to start calling this thing the FaceBox.

 

[Lazy Kitty]

The more I read about this, the more my hate for the facebook brand grows...
There, I deleted my account.

 

[Gorb]

Oh, and another thing.

Why are we taking a completely anonymous source that was apparently barring from communicating (but managed to communicate) as some kind of absolute fact? Bearing in mind that disclosing company secrets is not only gross misconduct, but can come with legal punishment.

And people wonder why the Internet has a terrible reputation for taking something completely untrue and making a hellhole out of it. Don't worry, I can sell you some moon dust that fixes all ya problems for ya. It's completely legit moon dust? Why? Because I'm telling you it is, shh.

I swear, professional journalism is a lost art these days.

 

[cerebus23]

stuff like this sometimes get floated to get a reaction, we are reacting .

 

[Lightknight]

The backlash that is present here is just ridiculous. I'm going to hold off my judgment until I actually see what Facebook does with the headset. And I'm just guessing here but I feel some of this backlash is aimed towards the fact that Facebook is where "filthy casuals" go to game.

Oh, it has nothing to do with casual gaming or anything like that. Its the notion that facebook could potentially ruin great hardware.

I'm ok with the option of socializing, but at the end of the day I just want to sit on my couch watching a movie in my own private VR IMAX theater. I don't want to have to log into the internet or sign into facebook. I just want the Rift to be hardware in that circumstance. Not a social endeavor.

Now, if I am given the option to do other things online, then that makes it better. If I HAVE to log into facebook to use the device or can't watch my own movies or play my own games then it will be a problem. I can imagine the Rift requiring you to go through a streaming service for movies or games. Not my cup of tea.

I have been incredibly excited about the Rift since kickstarter. It isn't that this is bad, it's that this casts a shadow of uncertainty on the whole thing. Previously this was going to be hardware you could plug into your computer and pick and choose how you use it. Now it will likely be controlled. If not controlled too much, it could be fantastic, just like we've hoped and even made better by Facebook's grand design. Or, they could cripple it.

At least it wasn't EA. Then it would be casting a shadow of certain ruin.

 

[Gorb]

How about Activision instead? They're pretty good at milking stuff. Better than EA, certainly.

@cerebus23: It's a cheap attempt to get page views, is what it is

Though I guess it's working!

 

[Cerebrawl]

Pictures of the rebranded facebookulus rift have already leaked to 4chan and spread to imgur.

But yeah that's basically what we expect from facebook in a nutshell.

 

[Lightknight]

Didn't Oculus Rift begin on crowd funding? Selling out before there is even a retail version of that product on the shelves for its supporters to purchase is a massive kick in the pants to anybody who had previously stood by this independent company. If this turns out to be true, I will happily set fire to any of my future plans of purchasing it.

They've already released multiple dev kits. As far as I know, they're still doing exactly what they said they would. What's more is the kickstarter perks have already been paid out.

As near as I can tell, it was already an existing device and they used kickstarter as a way to get it into the hands of developers. It's really a grey area because they needed developers to have it to kickstart it even if they didn't need the money perse.

 

[Weaver]

Here's a hot zinger from Zuck himself:

We're clearly not a hardware company. We're not gonna try to make a profit off of the devices long term. We view this as a software and services thing, where if we can make it so that this becomes a network where people can be communicating and buying things and virtual goods, and there might be advertising in the world, but we need to figure that out down the line.

You can hear it yourself at 29:15
http://www.shareholder.com/visitors/event/build3/stage/stage.cfm?mediaid=63723&mediauserid=0

 

[Gorb]

Facebook has auto-playing video ads? I mean, I see at least three of them on this forum page, but I don't get them on Facebook.

EDIT: ahahahah, you think people like notch giving them $10,000 is "funded by ordinary gamers". Hilarious.

 

[Somebloke]

I'm still confused as to why Facebook would buy the Rift in the first place. Google, maybe, they're always doing stuff like that. But Facebook I always saw as solely a social media thing, and the Oculus Rift seems a lot more like a niche gaming device/simulator.
Then again, the PS4 controller has a 'share' button, so maybe social media means more than I thought it did.

Have you ever heard of a social thing called: "Second Life"? Think that, but in VR.

Facebook's user base is slowly eroding and looking around for the next big thing, like with any other trend before it, so they proactively buy things up left and right, to stay relevant, as well as assimilating potential challengers to their position, or components thereof.

...or in terms of a nice kitchy little novel called: "Ready Player One": IOI just bough Gregarious.

Hopefully they get the message from the widespread backlash, and take it as incentive to prove their good will by keeping their paws off Oculus just about entirely -- I have my deep doubts about that, though.

 

[V da Mighty Taco]

After reading most of the last thread, and getting insights on both sides of this acquisition, I'm surprised how many people flat out dislike Facebook.
I wonder why that is it be honest.
As for Rift, I don't mind the branding, it is Facebook's product after all . I'll just have to wait and see what Facebook does with the tech before I decide it is worth my money or not. I'm very happy I wasn't a backer.

This one's easy, if a bit long-winded. Do keep in mind though that no particular reason will apply to every single person, but rather each person has their own combination of reasons why they hate Facebook.

The first big issue people have with Facebook is FB's traditional business model. Facebook has been primarily reliant on advertising, social games such as Farmville that are more often than not virtual Skinner Boxes (which have a particularly nasty rep in the hardcore gaming scene), and selling user info. Any attempt to make the Oculus adopt this business model even slightly would automatically ruin the OR in it's entirety for a lot of people.

The next major problem people have with FB is that it's quite arguably the single worst non-government related company out there when it comes to respecting people's privacy (this one is the main reason I personally refuse to use Facebook). Whether it's Germany banning FB's "like" button for failing to adhere to privacy standards, having an infamously sketchy-as-fuck TOS (at least in the past - I have no idea what it's like now), Facebook making all user info public regardless of whether or not people actually want that info public, the CEO and founder's supposed numerous anti-privacy quotes, or the aforementioned selling off of any and all user information that it sees fit; Facebook has certainly earned colossal amount of ire from a lot of people, especially in this post-NSA Scandal day and age.

Another common issue with Facebook is the whole social-networking thing itself. Some people just straight up don't care for social networking. For others, Facebook's reputation for being a place that causes drama and where posts can unwittingly cost one their job make it seem unsafe to use. For both of these groups, even the mere possibility of it being forced upon them in order to use a product that they have been anticipating or may have even helped fund is enough to be heavily upsetting.

Finally, Facebook is not a gaming company, nor has it ever cared about non-social gaming before unless they could use it to get people to use Facebook itself. The Oculus Rift, on the other hand, has been designed primarily around hardcore gaming from the outset and is a major reason why it's Kickstarter was so successful. In other words, Facebook's track record makes it very easy to believe that gaming could (<- keyword here) cease to be the main focus and/or that Facebook accounts could be mandatory for the OR, both of which would completely kill said people's interest in an otherwise extremely promising product. Once again, that alone is enough to be upsetting for many, especially with all of the above reasons in mind as well.

Hope you've enjoyed this ride on the USS Text Wall. Please feel free to return whenever you plan your next essay-long trip! XD

Captcha: "take a vay-cay" o_0

 

[Headsprouter]

This is starting to make me think of Google+ and YouTube. Force the social media on everybody why don't you?

At least I use facebook. Not for anything other than conversations and organising outings with close friends, though. I'm not into that whole status bullcrap. Well...not any more.

*flashbacks*

Even then all I'll use is the odd fan page. I like those, I post in them. Sometimes. At least I don't already own and use an Oculus, this doesn't annoy me nearly as much as Google's antics for that reason. At least I get the pleasure of sitting back and watching the chaos unfold.

 

[Johnson McGee]

When reached for comment about whether they plan to continue working with developers to integrate VR support in more video games or offer any compensation for kickstarter backers the Facebook rep reportedly made a jerk-off motion before mooning the camera on the way out.

 

[NuclearKangaroo]

its good to know we are off to a horrible start, thanks for justifying my fears Facebook

 

[Rabid_meese]

Can... can we just take a step back people?

This is leaked information with no credible basis in fact. A leak from an un-named individual could just as easily be a hoax as a real deal. Remember all those leaks about the "PS4" and "Xbox 720?" Yeah.


Facebook has given no proof that they mean to dismantle anything the Occulus stood for, or add anything for that matter. There's been no mention of it from the company. Facebook doesn't have a record of doing such a thing with previous buyouts. And if the leak is true, it doesn't say that these features are necessary for using the Occulus.

We all need to collectively stand back, untwist our panties, and wait for a credible shred of evidence before we start condemning Occulus for having the gall to take a buyout. How dare they want money and resources!

 

[Koltoroc]

Can... can we just take a step back people?

This is leaked information with no credible basis in fact. A leak from an un-named individual could just as easily be a hoax as a real deal. Remember all those leaks about the "PS4" and "Xbox 720?" Yeah.


Facebook has given no proof that they mean to dismantle anything the Occulus stood for, or add anything for that matter. There's been no mention of it from the company. Facebook doesn't have a record of doing such a thing with previous buyouts. And if the leak is true, it doesn't say that these features are necessary for using the Occulus.

We all need to collectively stand back, untwist our panties, and wait for a credible shred of evidence before we start condemning Occulus for having the gall to take a buyout. How dare they want money and resources!

if you look back at facebooks corporate history, they don't deserve the benefit of the doubt. Facebook is toxic.

I don't have a problem per se with a buyout, I have a problem with the company it was sold to. I will never support anything this internet cancer has its fingers in.