So Facebook just bought Oculus Rift

[Zelkova]

This was posted not 30 minutes ago.

http://kotaku.com/facebook-buys-ocul...ion-1551487939

Facebook has just announced that it's buying Oculus Rift for $2 billion. Seriously.
"Mobile is the platform of today, and now we're also getting ready for the platforms of tomorrow," Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg says. "Oculus has the chance to create the most social platform ever, and change the way we work, play and communicate."

P

Oculus are equally chuffed. "We are excited to work with Mark and the Facebook team to deliver the very best virtual reality platform in the world," Brendan Iribe, co-founder and CEO of Oculus VR says in a PR release. "We believe virtual reality will be heavily defined by social experiences that connect people in magical, new ways. It is a transformative and disruptive technology, that enables the world to experience the impossible, and it's only just the beginning.

The deal is made up of around $400 million in cash payouts, with the rest being made up of Facebook shares. It's not a done deal yet; it's expected to be finalised in Q2 2014.

Zuckerberg says this:

I'm excited to announce that we've agreed to acquire Oculus VR, the leader in virtual reality technology.
Our mission is to make the world more open and connected. For the past few years, this has mostly meant building mobile apps that help you share with the people you care about. We have a lot more to do on mobile, but at this point we feel we're in a position where we can start focusing on what platforms will come next to enable even more useful, entertaining and personal experiences.
This is where Oculus comes in. They build virtual reality technology, like the Oculus Rift headset. When you put it on, you enter a completely immersive computer-generated environment, like a game or a movie scene or a place far away. The incredible thing about the technology is that you feel like you're actually present in another place with other people. People who try it say it's different from anything they've ever experienced in their lives.
Oculus's mission is to enable you to experience the impossible. Their technology opens up the possibility of completely new kinds of experiences.
Immersive gaming will be the first, and Oculus already has big plans here that won't be changing and we hope to accelerate. The Rift is highly anticipated by the gaming community, and there's a lot of interest from developers in building for this platform. We're going to focus on helping Oculus build out their product and develop partnerships to support more games. Oculus will continue operating independently within Facebook to achieve this.
But this is just the start. After games, we're going to make Oculus a platform for many other experiences. Imagine enjoying a court side seat at a game, studying in a classroom of students and teachers all over the world or consulting with a doctor face-to-face — just by putting on goggles in your home.
This is really a new communication platform. By feeling truly present, you can share unbounded spaces and experiences with the people in your life. Imagine sharing not just moments with your friends online, but entire experiences and adventures.
These are just some of the potential uses. By working with developers and partners across the industry, together we can build many more. One day, we believe this kind of immersive, augmented reality will become a part of daily life for billions of people.
Virtual reality was once the dream of science fiction. But the internet was also once a dream, and so were computers and smartphones. The future is coming and we have a chance to build it together. I can't wait to start working with the whole team at Oculus to bring this future to the world, and to unlock new worlds for all of us.

[Jedward]

Facebook shares

throwing potential money away

I'm kind of disappointed that a company like Google didn't pick them up instead, seeing as Google can do more with Oculus than Facebook can. I think a Google situation would turn out better for everyone, with better Google Glass and Oculus Rift for everyone.

[Sephie]

I wonder where Valve stands on this.

[Chew]

HOORAY!
Now everyone can play Farmville and Candy Crush in Virtual Reality

[Kirov]

…And all interest in Oculus Rift is now gone.

Oh well at least there is still Sony.

[MuscleWizard]

Google why you no think of this

[Sephie]

I wonder what the implications of this purchase will have in the future of VR tech. I always imagined Oculus purely as an open appliance/device like a monitor or speaker. If Facebook owns it, how would their business model affect future devs looking at this platform...

The plus side is that with Facebook funding, VR is definitely on its way soon, but at what cost? <_<

[Malthe]

VR was meant to be the future, gaming was supposed to ascend.

Why. pineappleing why, i hope this pushes valve to continue working on their own supposedly amazing VR.

[xparasite9]

[Dudewitbow]

at this point in time, its a good thing that other companies already have started with their rendition of VR(e.g Sony's Project Morpheus, Valve's VR, especially since valve themselves have game programmers, will at least produce games rather than solely relying on 3rd parties to do it)

[Foxino]

My feelings are so mixed about this. Facebook has the money to make this amazing.. however I aint interested in no pomegranatety VR Farmville I want some real games

[Zelkova]

My feelings are so mixed about this. Facebook has the money to make this amazing.. however I aint interested in no pomegranatety VR Farmville I want some real games

I don't want any of the "You must Like our post to continue" pomegranate included in anything the Oculus Rift does. If Zuckerberg manages to not include facebook into the device I would just be ecstatic.

Also, this.

Astroturfing

[Sardines]

Shareholders.

[Mute]

Facebook: meddle some more.

[Sardines]

How much income do you think VR Ad-revenue is going to make.

I would bet all my facebook shares that they were given restricted stock units, the only thing is I can't actually trade mine yet.

[Lozmaster]

And everyone was slightly disappointed that day that fu'ckbook didn't get there first.

[Frostilyte]

If VR ends up being the next big thing in communications this could prevent Facebook from falling off the face of the earth...or net rather.
However, with gaming being the current scope of focus for VR at this time, it's hard to say exactly how this will pan out in the long run.
My personal opinion is that Facebook just wasted a lot of money. But hey, at least Oculus has a cash cow backing them now, so that's something, right?

[Mute]

If VR ends up being the next big thing in communications this could prevent Facebook from falling off the face of the earth...or net rather.
However, with gaming being the current scope of focus for VR at this time, it's hard to say exactly how this will pan out in the long run.
My personal opinion is that Facebook just wasted a lot of money. But hey, at least Oculus has a cash cow backing them now, so that's something, right?

Not every investment is a wise, good, nor profitable one.

[Chilly]

Oculus cashed out, Facebook bought this to prevent someone else from buying it. I think both will regret the decision in the future, think "I made a huge mistake". Facebook has too much stockholder money, with Zuckerkorn having too much authority to spend it as he wishes. I am glad I jumped on early, made my money and took my profits and ran.