Jimquisition: So, That Facebook And Oculus Rift Thing...

[Jimothy Sterling]

So, That Facebook And Oculus Rift Thing...

Jimquisition tackles the whirlwind of confusion surrounding Oculus' purchase by Facebook [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/133231-Facebook-is-Buying-Oculus-VR-for-2-Billion-Update-4], and suggests that, even IF it means bad things, it could have been WAY worse.

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[Rabid_meese]

Thank god for you Jim. Finally, someone who actually took the emotion out of this whole deal and is using logic to talk about the issue!

Hit this one right on the head.

 

[Jimothy Sterling]

RE: A cute little niche thing:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_games_with_Oculus_Rift_support

I have seen that list. That says nothing about audience adoption, only games coming out. The Wii U had plenty of launch support, and the Nvidia Shield has a pretty damn big library. Still niche products for specific audiences.

RE: Facebook hardware success:

http://www.cnet.com/news/heres-why-the-facebook-phone-flopped/

Facebook has had NO success with hardware, even when selling them as a loss-leader so they call sell services and advertisements as they've already announced doing so with the Oculus Rift:

http://www.shareholder.com/visitors/event/build3/stage/stage.cfm?mediaid=63723&mediauserid=0

Yeah, sure, they were late on the phone thing, nobody's disputed that. But them owning the work someone else is doing and has traction on isn't the same as them trying to put a phone out.

 

[Steve2911]

The point about the game industry completely fucking it up if they bought it I didn't previously consider, and is a very valid one. But Facebook is the company that pushed 'social gaming' to the forefront. It's basically where the terrible F2P and 'harass your friend' practices we see on the mobile market today started. It represents everything Jim was decrying on Monday.

Why in the fuckitty Christ would we want them anywhere near what was widely considered a haven for enterprising, enthusiastic PC gamers?

(All said as someone who didn't Kickstart it and will probably never buy/use the thing. If I'd been following it or cared about it, I'd be absolutely livid. As it is it's just a bit sad).

 

[Theminimanx]

We really need a soundclip of "Thank god for me" without any background music.

OT: Am I a bad person for not really caring? I've never cared about the oculus rift as something other than a neat piece of technology. I wasn't ever going to use it for gaming, so I really don't care that facebook got their hands on it.

 

[Evonisia]

Given that you've given a few notable examples, what do you think Nintendo would do if it acquired the Oculus Rift?

Anyway, this episode is amazingly topical given the short time frame. Bravo, Jim Sterling, and thank God for you.

 

[Rabid_meese]

RE: A cute little niche thing:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_games_with_Oculus_Rift_support

RE: Facebook hardware success:

http://www.cnet.com/news/heres-why-the-facebook-phone-flopped/

Facebook has had NO success with hardware, even when selling them as a loss-leader so they can sell services and advertisements, as they've already announced doing so with the Oculus Rift:

http://www.shareholder.com/visitors/event/build3/stage/stage.cfm?mediaid=63723&mediauserid=0

Yeah. That's a pretty small list of games considering the tech thats currently out. The Rift is pretty good tech, but you're not going to be able to sell the Rift to most gamers. A few hundred dollars for a peripheral your monitor already handles for you doesn't have a punch out success people hope for. Look at what happened to the Ouya - a heavily hyped console, backed with Kickstarter, set to start a revolution of consumer friendliness. It was dead on arrival.

As for your smartphone bit - assuming the HTC First died because of Facebook is a gross understatement. The smartphone market is highly based on iterative designs and stronger tech. Not only does Apple hold a huge steak in the smart phone market, as well as a huge retention cycle, but the First was outclassed by nearly every other new Droid out on the market. Not to mention, it had lousy advertising - I've seen plenty of HTC One commercials. I've seen no HTC First commercials.

As far as officially announced things, there has been no mention of integration of ads into the Rift. I'm sure if you're running the Facebook application, it'll probably have ads. I seriously doubt you'll get ad's when loading up a game, or that interupt gameplay.

Facebook bought it because they think VR is the next big thing. They want to be in on the ground floor. Facebook has given us no reason to believe they're going to fundamentally change the rift - merely, they're going to add additional things into the mix (which, as of yet, have seemed 100% optional).

Calm. Your. Tits.

 

[Scars Unseen]

The point about the game industry completely fucking it up if they bought it I didn't previously consider, and is a very valid one. But Facebook is the company that pushed 'social gaming' to the forefront. It's basically where the terrible F2P and 'harass your friend' practices we see on the mobile market today started. It represents everything Jim was decrying on Monday.

Why in the fuckitty Christ would we want them anywhere near what was widely considered a haven for enterprising, enthusiastic PC gamers?

(All said as someone who didn't Kickstart it and will probably never buy/use the thing. If I'd been following it or cared about it, I'd be absolutely livid. As it is it's just a bit sad).

I guess the easiest answer to that question is "because them doing their thing with the hardware won't get in the way of me doing my thing with the hardware." While it is entirely possible that Facebook will happily sponsor F2P social gaming shit stains on the Rift, that in no way prevents me from using it for using it for the kind of games I was planning on using it for already(except, apparently, Minecraft). On the flip side, Microsoft could have made it an XBone exclusive(much like Sony is apparently doing with the Morpheus).

As I said in an earlier thread, so long as the thing still does what it was going to do, I don't really care who puts their logo on the front of it.

 

[Carnagath]

I'll have to disagree with your assessment that Facebook is the lesser of (most) evils. So what if EA or Activision got it? Sure, they'd break our balls and be massive dicks, but at least eventually they'd help make a good game for it, because they actually make videogames. That's what they do. Facebook really doesn't. They have no idea what gaming is, to them it's a means to spam people and fish personal info. Seriously, even someone completely random like, I dunno, PG&E, would be better for it, because they just know nothing and would have to educate themselves on the matter. Facebook have a grim and distorted view of what videogames are, and I dare say a way more grim and distorted view than EA or Activision. As for Sony, at least the hardware would be good. Yes, maybe they wouldn't be able to push it correctly and it would be a niche peripheral, but at least it would be a good start and potentially worth buying.

 

[Jimothy Sterling]

Still niche products for specific audiences.

So all products and services should be homogenized or the greatest possible audience?

What? No. Niche products are GOOD. I was not insulting OR. Just saying it was not "The Future" Zuckerbergs hopes it'll be.

 

[ShakerSilver]

At least doesn't seem interested in undermining everything the Rift tried to be.

Is that why they're already talking about trying to make it "the most social platform ever" and using it as a marketing tool for the sale of "virtual goods"? Because to me it seems like Zuckerberg doesn't care much for its applications in gaming at all.

 

[Agayek]

What? No. Niche products are GOOD. I was not insulting OR. Just saying it was not "The Future" Zuckerbergs hopes it'll be.

Which is very true, it really isn't (unless the technology changes dramatically before it's released).

What is the future is Miniature Fantasy Jim Sterling IMO. No real idea why, but 300,000:1 odds it will take the world by storm.

 

[Lord Doomhammer]

Very good episode Jim, good points raised about the lesser of evils.
But I think given the rise of much more conventional and easy to use tech like 2560 and 4k monitors, and the looming Gsync on the horizon, I just can't see a place for Oculus in my gaming closet. I too could be wrong, maybe the influx of cash will sort out the motion sickness and weight issues, but compared to a 4k Gsync monitor being used traditionally, I just don't see it... ha, 'see it', oh lord...

 

[MysticSlayer]

Given that you've given a few notable examples, what do you think Nintendo would do if it acquired the Oculus Rift?

I can tell you one thing they wouldn't do: Release a Metroid game for it. It is just too obvious of a decisions for Nintendo to figure out. In the meantime, they'd probably release New Super Mario Bros. Rift.