Facebook’s Oculus Rift Acquisition Could Be Great for Everybody

Posted 2014-03-26 15:01:19 by Dan

So the powerhouse of social media that is Facebook has shocked us all (sans this guy), by announcing its buyout of Oculus Rift for a whopping $2 billion dollars. But what does this mean for virtual reality? Quite a lot, we’d say.

As a team with big plans for the Rift, we’re very excited. As is sensible with emerging technologies, there’s been a level of cautious scepticism surrounding the future of the company and how it will get its device out to the wider public. While the potential for success in terms of experimental indie games, sandbox toys, medical science, design and education was clear, the methodology for reaching an audience outside the tech community seemed cloudy to say the least.

With Sony’s recent VR announcement, Palmer Luckey and co were faced with a huge issue; competing with Sony’s marketing budget and experience reaching the wider public’s living rooms would likely be a struggle for a company in its infancy no matter how innovative it might be.

To paraphrase Edge Magazine, this changes everything…again. Last night’s announcement alone will have hugely boosted the public’s awareness of the device; “It’s definitely more mainstream now”, says Opposable Games’ 3D Artist Tessa, “I’m mainly hoping the Rift will become more accessible to developers”.

“I guess it will make the virtual reality market competition more fierce, which is a good thing”, commented Opposable Games’ environment artist Joe Blakeston. And he's right; big business can’t ignore such a significant buyout from Facebook, we’re likely to see “not just greater competition from the tech sector, but a lot more games and virtual reality experiences in the market”, adds Opposable Games’ Lead Designer James Parker.

While there’s been some backlash, as is inevitable with a deal like this, many of those more wary of the deal can see the upsides: “I think that 'indie theme' has now been lost”, says Opposable Games' Programmer Lukas Roper, “Notch has now decided not to go ahead with Minecraft for the Rift, and people are now thinking of it as a little uncool. It’s a weird toss-up in some ways but it’s likely to be good for the technology”.

Facebook spending billions on your product has arguably become a stamp of legitimacy (see: Instagram, WhatsApp). While the company may have lost a few fans upon initial announcement of the deal, it’s gained marketing budget, a greater chance of sustainability, media attention and, most importantly, the prospect of targeting its product to a much, much larger customer base.

Let’s not forget the social connotations; hanging out virtually with your friends and family, and in a setting your wildest dreams would struggle to so vividly realise, is an enticing prospect. Catching up with your buddies in Australia, watching sports, or attending concerts you couldn’t make it to physically will be made easy when the technologies of these two companies have been carefully integrated.

Word is that the deal will allow the company to significantly lower the sale price, which is obviously great news for the consumer and could be pretty good for developers like us too. The deal will undoubtedly speed up research, development and, perhaps most importantly, help bring forward the consumer release date.

In the meantime, Oculus Rift’s Development Kit 2 is currently available for pre-order, and we’re getting busy with some innovative ideas using virtual reality that may be very useful to you or your company so get in touch if you’re interested.

By Dan Page