Leak from investor. Rift is to be used for...............

[mayaman]

Facebook virtual store fronts and ads. Until I hear different from Palmer I'm assuming this is the new direction of the Rift. Getting virtual storefronts, virtual chat rooms, ads, etc. Why in the world would Facebook care about hard core gaming? Its not their market, at all!

I think in the coming weeks we'll see a lot of devs drop from the Rift and migrate to the Morpheos. We might see key members of the Rift team leave.

Sorry about being a negative Nancy, but I loathe this deal. I hate that everything is becoming a vehicle to get Ads to us.

Hope I am wrong, I really do.

[GeraldT]

http://www.tomshardware.com/news/tesco- ... 26280.html ... of course there will be virtual store fronts etc. ... what did you think? And do you think that Sonys marketplace will not make use of VR for similar scenarios? why do you even think of this as a bad thing? not having to visit the supermarket can only save fuel and resources (especially the most important resource: time)

[Mystify]

Even if this is true, it will not be the primary use of VR, and such uses would occur no matter who is running occulus. That is a specific type of content people will make for VR. This seems similar to this fake situation:

"What? Facebook is making laptops? You will be able to log into facebook on these laptops, and you will see ads. Why in the world would facebook care about general purpose computing, that is not their market, at all!"

I mean, you would have to actively prevent people from making VR games. I have seen people proposing virtual store fronts on here before, and there was no outcry about it; I thought it was a neat idea, it has uses, just like being to go to amazon.com and order something has uses. People here have actively worked on virtual chat environments. That is a reasonable, expected, desired use of VR. Why are these suddenly aweful prospects now that they might be done by facebook?

[mayaman]

It will be used as just another data mining tool. If you think the Rift will be used for the main purpose of gaming you're kidding yourself. You WILL have to open a facebook account when you register your Rift, you will be tracked, you will be sold too, you will see ads, you will have an experience that will be diminished because the main purpose of the device is no longer its inteded use. It will be a tool for Facebook to sell you something, get you ads, expand their reach. No other reason for them to invest in this tech, no other reason.

[colocolo]

2 billion for nothing??? Sounds too good to be true
If i'll see an Advertissement in VR i will throw myself out of the window.

[GeraldT]

It will be used as just another data mining tool. If you think the Rift will be used for the main purpose of gaming you're kidding yourself. You WILL have to open a facebook account when you register your Rift, you will be tracked, you will be sold too, you will see ads, you will have an experience that will be diminished because the main purpose of the device is no longer its inteded use. It will be a tool for Facebook to sell you something, get you ads, expand their reach. No other reason for them to invest in this tech, no other reason.

there is a list of aquisitions Facebook made - how many of them require you to create a facebook account to use them? And we are the ones that are kiddin ourselfs?

[3trip]

2 billion for nothing??? Sounds too good to be true
If i'll see an Advertissement in VR i will throw myself out of the window.

You see advertising every day in reality, I suspect virtual advertising will be similarly prolific, more animated and clickable.


Edit: in other words not much more annoying in VR than real life.

[GeraldT]

2 billion for nothing??? Sounds too good to be true
If i'll see an Advertissement in VR i will throw myself out of the window.

wow ... I hope you don't fall too deep. even if Oculus would have gone alone - FTP is there and some of it is ad financed. just don't play the ad financed stuff. And be careful to not play EA games like Burnout with the Rift, you might hurt yourself!

[mayaman]

Wonderful company to partner with

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oVfHeWTKjag

[Inscothen]

Facebook virtual store fronts and ads. Until I hear different from Palmer I'm assuming this is the new direction of the Rift. Getting virtual storefronts, virtual chat rooms, ads, etc.....

Wasn't this the direction of Oculus anyways? Sure they wanted to focus on games first but they weren't going to stop there. I mean Iribe was saying he wanted the Rift to be as close to free eventually and alternative revenue is the only way. The only surprise to me is it's Facebook now instead of Oculus and partners.

[mayaman]

Facebook virtual store fronts and ads. Until I hear different from Palmer I'm assuming this is the new direction of the Rift. Getting virtual storefronts, virtual chat rooms, ads, etc.....

Wasn't this the direction of Oculus anyways? Sure they wanted to focus on games first but they weren't going to stop there. I mean Iribe was saying he wanted the Rift to be as close to free eventually and alternative revenue is the only way. The only surprise to me is it's Facebook now instead of Oculus and partners.

LOL what?

Oh well, I can see the Bu bu bu bu bu it was always going to be XYZ responses are going to be coming in trying to rationalize this. Its a horrible purchase for gamers, horrible. Its great for Oculus, thats for sure. But for gamers, it sucks. This will be just another acquisition that gets sucked dry in order to satiate shareholders thirst for a third Bentley and that second house on the Riviera.

You're fooling yourself if you think otherwise.

[Mystify]

You're fooling yourself if you think otherwise.

Or maybe you are just paranoid. I doubt there will be no negative effects from this, but why would facebook want to limit it in any fashion? Sure they will expand the non-gaming aspects of VR, but that is not itself a bad thing. The non-gaming potential of VR is just as exciting as the gaming aspects, and there is absolutely nothing making them mutually exclusive.

[GeraldT]

actually mayaman is obviously just trolling, he evades all discussion and plays the same tape over and over again. but there is a solution to the problem

[mayaman]

I'm trolling? Thats just stupid, who has time for that. I'll just post what I posted in the other thread.

You think people are being negative just to be negative? C'mon now, there are serious, and I mean SERIOUS concerns raised about this entire situation. One of the main ones being that the purchaser of the tech doesn't even have a viable product of any sort themselves and rely completely on ads and obtrusive tracking in order to turn a profit.

Its akin to Ford Motor Company selling out to Johnson and Johnson talcum powder company so that Johnson and Johnson can have control of the new car scent industry. WTF. What does facebook have any clue about any of this other than to turn it into an ad generating system, tracking, etc.

We all hope our fears are unfounded but if you follow history at all you'll know that they will take this technology and morph it into something that benefits FACEBOOK, not the gamer.

You say people being critical are being naive? Its actually the other way around. In the end, Facebook looks at this as a tool to grow their business. Last I checked, Facebook wasn't in the business of creating compelling games or entertainment.

[Mystify]

I'm trolling? Thats just stupid, who has time for that. I'll just post what I posted in the other thread.

You think people are being negative just to be negative? C'mon now, there are serious, and I mean SERIOUS concerns raised about this entire situation. One of the main ones being that the purchaser of the tech doesn't even have a viable product of any sort themselves and rely completely on ads and obtrusive tracking in order to turn a profit.

Its akin to Ford Motor Company selling out to Johnson and Johnson talcum powder company so that Johnson and Johnson can have control of the new car scent industry. WTF. What does facebook have any clue about any of this other than to turn it into an ad generating system, tracking, etc.

We all hope our fears are unfounded but if you follow history at all you'll know that they will take this technology and morph it into something that benefits FACEBOOK, not the gamer.

You say people being critical are being naive? Its actually the other way around. In the end, Facebook looks at this as a tool to grow their business. Last I checked, Facebook wasn't in the business of creating compelling games or entertainment.

Why would occulus suddenly be incapable of making a viable product just because they have funding from facebook?
Last I checked, companies can expand or change their scope. The rift is not about making games. The rift isn't even a platform to run games. It is a peripheral that games, and other products, can use. Occulus was not about creating compelling games or entertainment either. It was about creating a VR system, which other people could then use for such things. How exactly is facebook going to ruin that? Its not a console. Its like worrying that a facebook mouse will require you to log in to facebook before you can click on things.
The things you are worried they will do don't even make business sense. They make sense from the perspective of a cartoonish caricature of facebook

[JonR]

I'm trolling? Thats just stupid, who has time for that. I'll just post what I posted in the other thread.

You think people are being negative just to be negative? C'mon now, there are serious, and I mean SERIOUS concerns raised about this entire situation. One of the main ones being that the purchaser of the tech doesn't even have a viable product of any sort themselves and rely completely on ads and obtrusive tracking in order to turn a profit.

Its akin to Ford Motor Company selling out to Johnson and Johnson talcum powder company so that Johnson and Johnson can have control of the new car scent industry. WTF. What does facebook have any clue about any of this other than to turn it into an ad generating system, tracking, etc.

We all hope our fears are unfounded but if you follow history at all you'll know that they will take this technology and morph it into something that benefits FACEBOOK, not the gamer.

You say people being critical are being naive? Its actually the other way around. In the end, Facebook looks at this as a tool to grow their business. Last I checked, Facebook wasn't in the business of creating compelling games or entertainment.

Who indeed... Facebook has about as viable a product as Google or any number of other advertisement driven firms.

What is this history you're talking about? What firm has Facebook bought and morphed into something that only benefits Facebook? As far as I can see, Instagram is still Instagram and Whatsapp is still Whatsapp.

How does a gaming VR head-set differ from whatever you think that Facebook wants to do? It would be exactly the same device in both scenarios. Oculus wasn't in the business of creating compelling games or entertainment, they were in the VR goggle business. What Facebook will look to do is to start providing VR services, and they need VR goggles to do so. With Oculus they can provide the hardware their services require, and they can profit from each sale. The only reason this should bother anyone is if Facebook for some reason decides to lock their goggles to Facebook services only. This again would only make sense if they're going to subsidize the headset. As long as they provide a full-price unlocked version alongside the subsidized one, I don't see a problem.

[mayaman]

You can hide our head in the sand if you wish. I understand, you want to be ultra positive. Some of us have been around a long time and know how stuff like this turns out.

I hope I'm wrong, really I do, but probably I won't.

Also, some of you are taking this so personally. Get a grip and settle down, nobody stole your first born. Some of us think this is a ultra crappy merger. If you think it isn't, thats fine. For every point you bring up about the extra revenue afforded to Oculus, there is still the fact that Facebook bought Oculus not to expand gaming. They bought Oculus to expand Facebooks reach into a demographic they are losing in droves.

So yeah, have a great day.

[JonR]

You can hide our head in the sand if you wish. I understand, you want to be ultra positive. Some of us have been around a long time and know how stuff like this turns out.

I hope I'm wrong, really I do, but probably I won't.

Also, some of you are taking this so personally. Get a grip and settle down, nobody stole your first born. Some of us think this is a ultra crappy merger. If you think it isn't, thats fine. For every point you bring up about the extra revenue afforded to Oculus, there is still the fact that Facebook bought Oculus not to expand gaming. They bought Oculus to expand Facebooks reach into a demographic they are losing in droves.

So yeah, have a great day.

You loath something, yet you're not taking it personally? It's funny that you'd tell others to get a grip and settle down, yet your posts are filled with really strong language. Few are saying that the merger is certain to be a good thing, yet plenty of people are certain that it's bad. That's the difference here. There's no evidence that would indicate that Facebook would ruin Oculus, only evidence that Facebook usually doesn't meddle with their subsidiaries. So some of us are waiting for actual evidence before making our minds up, while others have no problem jumping to conclusions based on precognition. Now, in the face of a internet-wide poop-storm, the people who aren't crying from high heaven will of course come across as ultra-positive, but that's only because the majority is brandishing pitchforks.

[Mystify]

Mayaman, this article specifically denies the things you are afroad of
http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2014/03/w ... ebook-era/

specifcially

very little [would change] day-to-day at Oculus" following the acquisition. He later promised reddit questioners that there will be "no specific Facebook tech tie-ins" in the consumer version of the Rift, and he said that "if anything, our hardware and software will get even more open, and Facebook is on board with that."

I guarantee that you won't need to log into your Facebook account every time you wanna use the Oculus Rift.

[Zuckerburg]said he sees the gaming "vertical" as an important method for convincing early adopters to purchase an Oculus head-mounted display, creating the "network effects" needed for further social VR applications.

Luckey also says that the deal "specifically lets us greatly lower the price of the Rift" and gives Oculus the resources to support indie developers better. And no less than the sainted John Carmack tweeted that he has "a deep respect for the technical scale that FB operates at. The cyberspace we want for VR will be at this scale."

[mayaman]

LOL you haven't seen strong language, gimme a break. But my guess is you're going to see some once the next tidbit of information is leaked.

[JonR]

LOL you haven't seen strong language, gimme a break. But my guess is you're going to see some once the next tidbit of information is leaked.

I've seen language that's strong for an impassive person.

[mayaman]

LOL you haven't seen strong language, gimme a break. But my guess is you're going to see some once the next tidbit of information is leaked.

I've seen language that's strong for an impassive person.

I think you're being kind of silly. You're on MTBS3D.com, not I'mjustacasualobserver.com. Of course people here are going to be passionate about this, its our hobby.

Again, you're being naive if you think Oculus exists in any shape or form the way it did before this. I can guarantee that there have already been changes made not only in personel or on their way, the hardware track has been changed so that it can best serve Facebooks purpose.................metrics, data and advertising.

[JonR]

I think you're being kind of silly. You're on MTBS3D.com, not I'mjustacasualobserver.com. Of course people here are going to be passionate about this, its our hobby.

Again, you're being naive if you think Oculus exists in any shape or form the way it did before this. I can guarantee that there have already been changes made not only in personel or on their way, the hardware track has been changed so that it can best serve Facebooks purpose.................metrics, data and advertising.

That's weird, considering you just recently said this :"Also, some of you are taking this so personally. Get a grip and settle down, nobody stole your first born."

I'm interesting in hearing your ideas as to what a Facebook Rift would entail. As far as I can see, a Rift that's good for VR is good for VR. It doesn't matter if you're shooting Xen or if you're walking donw a virtual Tesco.

[mayaman]

Jonr, my point was the fact that you and others were annoyed that someone has an opposing view, thats it.

Again, Oculus as it was does not exist. It is now a vehicle for Facebook to make money. How they do that is still an unknown, but in the end, gaming as we knew it isn't it, that is for sure.

bottom line is, They mine your data and sell it to other people. Most likely including the NSA. You cannot think they are 'open'. They don't need to listen to what their customers want if it doesn't directly impact their bottom line. What do they care what the VR community wants. They're not a gaming company and the rift is their product to use as they see fit

Of course Oculus benefits from this acquisition in the form of $$$$ and resources. But what suffers in return is that Oculus is no longer that mod community started, for the people, endlessly possible creative platform. Oculus is now facebook and subject to facebook's rule.

[JonR]

Jonr, my point was the fact that you and others were annoyed that someone has an opposing view, thats it.

Again, Oculus as it was does not exist. It is now a vehicle for Facebook to make money. How they do that is still an unknown, but in the end, gaming as we knew it isn't it, that is for sure.

bottom line is, They mine your data and sell it to other people. Most likely including the NSA. You cannot think they are 'open'. They don't need to listen to what their customers want if it doesn't directly impact their bottom line. What do they care what the VR community wants. They're not a gaming company and the rift is their product to use as they see fit

Of course Oculus benefits from this acquisition in the form of $$$$ and resources. But what suffers in return is that Oculus is no longer that mod community started, for the people, endlessly possible creative platform. Oculus is now facebook and subject to facebook's rule.

We weren't annoyed just because we weren't taking part in the hate-orgy. If you ask me, those who thought that the merger must be bad were the emotional once. Understandably.

Oculus was always out to make money. Facebook doesn't force people to use their services, they offer a service that's compelling enough that people opt to do so. And those who opt to use Facebook is who they sell to advertisers. I don't see this changing in the future. Facebook will start offering VR services that people can choose to use. And for this, they'll sell a Rift that can be used for their Facebook services. But there's no reason to only allow the usage of Facebook services. Either the services are compelling enough that people want to use them, and there is no reason to force them to it by locking down the Rift. Or their services aren't compelling enough, and then no amount of forcing will convince people to first buy a Rift, and then use it with Facebook VR services.

[mayaman]

LOL enjoy your neutered VR device. You sound like a shill.

Lets get together next year this time and see whats what. I'm betting long before then we'll see some announcements that truly show what a crappy situation this is.

If I'm wrong great.

[JonR]

LOL enjoy your neutered VR device. You sound like a shill.

Lets get together next year this time and see whats what. I'm betting long before then we'll see some announcements that truly show what a crappy situation this is.

If I'm wrong great.

And you sound rude. If you're convinced, that's your business. Accept that all people don't share your conviction.

[Mystify]

Facebooks goals: make money
in order to make money with VR, they have to establish it as a wide-spread product.
To do that, they have to nuture VR
this will not happen if they smother it with facebook logins and constant ads.
Everything you are saying is going to happen are things that they have specifically said won't happen and are not the case.
Could that change in the future? possibly. I doubt it. By then, VR should be established enough with its own business model and profit dynamics, and likely with enough viable competitors, that adding something like mandatory facebook logins (which doesn't make the least bit of sense for them to add in the first place) is not a sensible move.

[Dilip]

in order to make money with VR, they have to establish it as a wide-spread product.
To do that, they have to nuture VR

Exactly,the way they nurture cattle which are meant for slaughter house.Isn't it?
If it would have been oculus, case would have been like mother nurturer kid. but i think its cry over spilt milk now.

[Dilip]

Facebook log-in may be or may be not, but RIFT lovers..........

When ever FACECULOS RIFT CV1 HIT the Mass market,Be ready for ADVERTISEMENT BOMBARDING for Sure!

[cgp44]

This big money injection will be fantastic for the hardware.
6 inch 4K's to be manufactured? They would be silly without magnification.

[Mystify]

Facebook log-in may be or may be not, but RIFT lovers..........

When ever FACECULOS RIFT CV1 HIT the Mass market,Be ready for ADVERTISEMENT BOMBARDING for Sure!

How exactly do you expect them to perform this advertisement bombarding?

[mayaman]

Bottom line is Facebook is a horrible company. How the data mining will be done is unknown, but rest assured it will be done. People didn't know anything about how a lot of tech works or is done until it happens. But it will be done, its their bread and butter. Or do you think they'll get their investment back selling headsets? LOL

Or making games? LOL

With so many devs closing and games flopping I'm sure that Facebook, of all companies can resurrect the game industry. LOL what a joke. Keep thinking that.

Of every company on earth they could have sold to, of all of them, Facebook was the one that could have brought on this backlash. I doubt the ire would be as great even if it were Microsoft. At least Microsoft is a pseudo games company for cripe sakes.

If they didn't' expect this outrage then they are complete and utter morons.

[Dilip]

Facebook log-in may be or may be not, but RIFT lovers..........

When ever FACECULOS RIFT CV1 HIT the Mass market,Be ready for ADVERTISEMENT BOMBARDING for Sure!

How exactly do you expect them to perform this advertisement bombarding?

Via net,which can be hacked in interface of rift-which is now at mercy of Facebook- Users can also be forced for always on internet connection just like blizzard does for DIABLO3 & WOW. OR just like you see the ADs in Android games which are free to play and built using android SDK.

Let there be Facebook APP forced (Woven In) interface is enough to cause SOCIAL NAUSEA

[Mystify]

Bottom line is Facebook is a horrible company. How the data mining will be done is unknown, but rest assured it will be done. People didn't know anything about how a lot of tech works or is done until it happens. But it will be done, its their bread and butter. Or do you think they'll get their investment back selling headsets? LOL

Or making games? LOL

With so many devs closing and games flopping I'm sure that Facebook, of all companies can resurrect the game industry. LOL what a joke. Keep thinking that.

Of every company on earth they could have sold to, of all of them, Facebook was the one that could have brought on this backlash. I doubt the ire would be as great even if it were Microsoft. At least Microsoft is a pseudo games company for cripe sakes.

If they didn't' expect this outrage then they are complete and utter morons.

At least ascribe facebook some subtly. They do data mining, yes. because that is what a social network lends itself to. You have a huge fanbase pouring all of their information into your system, and yeah, its no surprise the company will exploit it. Its despicable, but it is a profitable thing to do.
What is it about VR that is going to make it a data mine? What is it about VR that will make it an effective conduit for ads?
Nothing.
Facebook is a company. their goal is not "Lol, lets be evil and track everyone's data". Its "Lets make lots of money". They have shown themselves to be unscrupulous with how they make the money, yes, but the methods they used made sense for the medium they had. Now they are going to a new medium, and instead of asking "how will they most effectively make money from this?", you just assume they will continue to use the same methods as before. This is why we call your characterization of them cartoonish. Its not reflecting actual goals and methods, it is just asserting that they only do one thing. Facebook is not some computer going around and executing the same program to solve every program.
If you are going to spin doomsday prophesies about them, try something that actually makes sense.

Initially, facebooks supports oculus and lets them do their own thing, providing funding to them so they can create a new industry(which is itself an extremely lucrative prospect.) They keep initial content creation completely open, and encourage other companies to make games for it in order to make it more appealing
they then work to get rifts widespread support, and establish VR as a new market. Meanwhile, they work on their own suite of applications for the rift, which are interconnected, and capable of wide-spread connectivity- the types of things facebook is good at, just turned towards a VR front end.
They then lean on the market, buying up or forcing under competitors for their social VR experience.
Now that the market is established and they have implanted themselves as the definitive shared VR experience, they move towards making self-contained rift systems. Basically, a dedicated console for the rift. The time leading up to this also allows the technology for such things to mature more. Include new features along with the console, so people with older version feel like they are missing out; potentially start making new content mandate these new features to force people to switch.
Once their market is now entrapped in their rift-consoles, start adding in restrictions. Mandatory log ins, closed app market, etc, the types of things that apple has been doing with their phones. People consider switching, but nothing else will work with their VR suite, and so social obligations will keep them with the facebook systems. They can also start charging (or raising) subscription fees for these services, putting in ads, and otherwise aggressively exploit the customers.

[Mystify]

Facebook log-in may be or may be not, but RIFT lovers..........

When ever FACECULOS RIFT CV1 HIT the Mass market,Be ready for ADVERTISEMENT BOMBARDING for Sure!

How exactly do you expect them to perform this advertisement bombarding?

Via net,which can be hacked in interface of rift-which is now at mercy of Facebook- Users can also be forced for always on internet connection just like blizzard does for DIABLO3 & WOW. OR just like you see the ADs in Android games which are free to play and built using android SDK.

Let there be Facebook APP forced (Woven In) interface is enough to cause SOCIAL NAUSEA

... and how do any of those make sense in the context of the rift? Its a peripheral. It would have to be re-engineered to add in limiters to prevent it form being used if you don't meet some set of requirements. Until the rift becomes a platform, not just a peripheral, I give as much credence to those things as a hypothetical facebook monitor that will automatically display ads.
The rift has no interface of its own to add things to.
it does not run its own program to require log in accounts
it doesn't give you a development suite you must use to utilize it, only API methods to do the math for you.

If this was the morpheus, sure. That is built on the playstation, and so sony does have that degree of control over things. The rift is too open.

[mickman]

Bring on the Chinese copies then we can piss Oculus & FuctBook off for good.

Mm.. Valve looks promising.

If Palmer were to show his ugly face at another gaming expo & stand up to make a speech jabbering on about all things V.R
he'd probably get Booed off covered in rotten eggs & tomato...

He won't show his face in public for sometime...

[zalo]

FB needs this to become popular and they can't do that unless there are bountiful apps, and they've seen the best way to do that is with unfettered developer APIs.

With open-ish software (as necessitated by these APIs), I'm not too concerned about the future of the rift...

If Facebook becomes evil with their own software, no biggie, we'll just use our own software.

[GeraldT]

Bring on the Chinese copies then we can piss Oculus & FuctBook off for good.

Mm.. Valve looks promising.

If Palmer were to show his ugly face at another gaming expo & stand up to make a speech jabbering on about all things V.R
he'd probably get Booed off covered in rotten eggs & tomato...

He won't show his face in public for sometime...

I am not sure - but are there no forum rules against talking about a member of the community in this way? Well ... just to make sure I guess I will ask a mod

[cybereality]

@mickman: I understand you are upset, but please try to express yourself in a respectful manner.