Oculus Rift Thread: Consumer release months away - Games

[QUOTE=Orkel;44357946]I'll just repost these here Facebook is investing in the [I]platform[/I]. Oculus just happens to be the biggest player on it. They want VR to grow so they can make a (very profitable) VR-facebook of some kind in the long term future - Oculus Rift will still be mainly a gaming device. And Oculus gets practically unlimited funding and mass-market appeal. Like going back to the nineties, investing into the internet and creating Facebook 10 years later and profiting billions. You'll still have your porn and games on the Rift, but "VRbook" as well to tap into if you so wish, and that's what FB wants. To be [I]the[/I] boss on the social VR side. Those who think Facebook is going to fuck up the Rift to its core are knee-jerking fools. And remember, if the Rift loses a few thousand sales from these knee-jerk nerds, it'll still have hundreds of thousands (if not more) of new sales because of the enormous Facebook mass market that spans the entire globe that this deal gives them access to.[/QUOTE] See I'm not concerned about Facebook stepping in now and pissing on Oculus/VR I'm actually fully confident that Oculus will get the current/short term funding it needs to deliver an absolute smashing VR experience right here, right now. And even right after. I don't think Facebook is interested in disrupting this at all. I just don't like that of all the companies to control where this goes beyond that, its Facebook. I guess its not the end of the world, because hopefully at this point VR will be pretty deeply rooted already before Facebook starts driving VR into social/etc - aka at that point that direction would have been the next logical step anyways. Meanwhile Facebook still allows Oculus to make open ended hackable consumer-level devices seperate from the Facebook motive. That would be the ideal from this situation.

[QUOTE=Clavus;44359701]I believe it's the exact opposite. Oculus was growing like crazy, but had nowhere near the size and resources as Sony. Now they do. Remember the discussion and concern that some big company would swoop in, sideline Oculus, and ruin VR forever with an inferior product but better marketing? There's no way this is happening now that Oculus joined the big leagues.[/QUOTE] Right, but they've clearly lost a lot of faith from the overall Oculus community. Sony can easily swoop in and pick up all that and more. I mean, you look at the PS4, and it's not really much better than the XBOne aside from pure hardware specs. However, the marketing and PR strategy for that was so ridiculously spot-on that it caught all the cancelled XBOne preorders and more. I think Sony's got a similar opportunity with Morpheus. Just set themselves up as a "We're in it for the games" position, and the script will write itself. (Not that they should. It'd be a bit scummy, really.)

[QUOTE=woolio1;44359834]Right, but they've clearly lost a lot of faith from the overall Oculus community. Sony can easily swoop in and pick up all that and more. I mean, you look at the PS4, and it's not really much better than the XBOne aside from pure hardware specs. However, the marketing and PR strategy for that was so ridiculously spot-on that it caught all the cancelled XBOne preorders and more. I think Sony's got a similar opportunity with Morpheus. Just set themselves up as a "We're in it for the games" position, and the script will write itself. (Not that they should. It'd be a bit scummy, really.)[/QUOTE] Sony can't pick up those developers without being hypocritical, their HMD only works with the PS4. The Rift [i]should[/i] be mostly unchanged from that perspective.

[QUOTE=Clavus;44359074]Again, have some faith that Palmer only agreed because he got those guarantees. We've been following this guy for a few years now, and I don't believe he'd sell his vision for any amount of money. There are reasons to be cautious, but there are more reasons to be excited.[/QUOTE] I think the majority of the sensible critics to this don't doubt that his vision for CV1 won't be changed, we doubt whither or not Oculus as a company will be changed from this after CV1. I'm worried that Palmer will get his toy he's always wanted, but then end up having to do something completely different from his vision he had in the first place after that, and one that isn't a positive one for the VR community at large. And then maybe at this point he won't care anymore because he has all the money in the world and the VR device he's always wanted.

Lets organise a server for some rift supported game in December when we all have Devkit 2's.

[QUOTE=danharibo;44359864]Sony can't pick up those developers without being hypocritical, their HMD only works with the PS4. The Rift [i]should[/i] be mostly unchanged from that perspective.[/QUOTE] So... Like they completely changed their social plans for the PS4 at E3, then?

[QUOTE=woolio1;44359834]Right, but they've clearly lost a lot of faith from the overall Oculus community. Sony can easily swoop in and pick up all that and more. I mean, you look at the PS4, and it's not really much better than the XBOne aside from pure hardware specs. However, the marketing and PR strategy for that was so ridiculously spot-on that it caught all the cancelled XBOne preorders and more. I think Sony's got a similar opportunity with Morpheus. Just set themselves up as a "We're in it for the games" position, and the script will write itself. (Not that they should. It'd be a bit scummy, really.)[/QUOTE] But it's not the same situation at all. There isn't a single indication that Oculus is changing direction. In the end, it's likely it'll be more favourable for consumers since they can build a better product for a lower price. All this outrage is based on speculation, while the xbone backlash was for a scenario that would happen if Microsoft kept its course.

[QUOTE=woolio1;44359894]So... Like they completely changed their social plans for the PS4 at E3, then?[/QUOTE] ? The Sony HMD only works with the PS4 (or so I've read), it would be nonsensical to adopt the Sony HMD over the Oculus just because it's owned by Facebook.

[QUOTE=Clavus;44359896]But it's not the same situation at all. There isn't a single indication that Oculus is changing direction. In the end, it's likely it'll be more favourable for consumers since they can build a better product for a lower price. All this outrage is based on speculation, while the xbone backlash was for a scenario that would happen if Microsoft kept its course.[/QUOTE] Right. But you've still got the blind consumer backlash, which is what the entire PS4 PR spectacle was built on. Even if there's not a single indication that Oculus is changing, the people [i]think[/i] they are. You don't have to look much farther than this thread, or any one of a hundred discussions on Reddit, to figure that out. Perception IS reality, according to Emerson. I don't know. There is potential, whether Sony leverages that or not is up to them. [editline]26th March 2014[/editline] [QUOTE=danharibo;44359913]? The Sony HMD only works with the PS4 (or so I've read), it would be nonsensical to adopt the Sony HMD over the Oculus just because it's owned by Facebook.[/QUOTE] Like it's nonsensical to lose all faith in Oculus and its team because they've been bought by Facebook? Like it's nonsensical to start a million threads on that when we know nothing about the deal? Like it's nonsensical to fly into a blind rage when Oculus' situation has actually improved? The gaming community is built on nonsense and irrationality. It's why the PS4 was the most pre-ordered console ever, and it's why Sony's got a chance to make a lot of money right now.

[QUOTE=woolio1;44359961]Like it's nonsensical to lose all faith in Oculus and its team because they've been bought by Facebook? Like it's nonsensical to start a million threads on that when we know nothing about the deal? Like it's nonsensical to fly into a blind rage when Oculus' situation has actually improved? The gaming community is built on nonsense and irrationality. It's why the PS4 was the most pre-ordered console ever, and it's why Sony's got a chance to make a lot of money right now.[/QUOTE] Oh sorry, I see where you're coming from now. I'm only checking in here quickly, easy to misread. I hope that Oculus do turn around some good news soon, I think that would go a long way to recover some of the positive mind share if they can show that the acquisition is working in everyone's favour.

facebook is trying to stay relevant, they've thrown around a number of buyouts [i]to gain back the young market[/i] that they've been steadily losing since the whole "my parents, grandma, extended family, and all of their friends will see every photo I'm ever tagged in" realization hit a lot of people years ago. Facebook wants to continue making money, so they're investing in cool shit. They're not turning the oculus into an angry birds platform, they're getting their foot in the door on something they probably see as a super popular upcoming gaming fad, [i]because it will make money if it does well[/i]. They're not doing this to serve the mobile games market, they're doing it to help a new one. the only thing that will kill this are the fucking drama queens telling everybody to jump ship because shit's dead. There's nobody more averse to any form of progress than people talking about facebook

[QUOTE=SgtTupelo;44359509]Well, the Facebook-purchase certainly ruined something. This thread. Though this thread was silent most of the time, it was nice because ALL the posts were about Oculus and its development. Now it's bitching and more bitching.[/QUOTE] TBH this thread is by far the best discussion on the subject I've seen, and that's counting reddit, twitter and countless clickbait opinion pieces on game journalism sites

Dai, thats kind of the issue though, isnt it? At any point Zuckerberg can meet with palmer, lean over the table and ask "wheres my 2 billion"? The 2 billion wasnt free, it was a loan and fb expects interest. If they arent liking the way things are going they can step in. Sure they won't do it this week but they'll do it eventually

[QUOTE=latin_geek;44360233]TBH this thread is by far the best discussion on the subject I've seen, and that's counting reddit, twitter and countless clickbait opinion pieces on game journalism sites[/QUOTE] The only place on reddit that had a decent informed discussion was /r/truegaming. All the other places were just pure trash. But I believe this reality check for the community was long overdue. Oculus would have ran into scaling issues. The Kickstarter funds weren't paying salaries, just the manufacturing.

[QUOTE=Clavus;44360360]The only place on reddit that had a decent informed discussion was /r/truegaming. All the other places were just pure trash. But I believe this reality check for the community was long overdue. Oculus would have ran into scaling issues. The Kickstarter funds weren't paying salaries, just the manufacturing.[/QUOTE] The kickstarter funds were basically advertising for the $100 million they got from VCs, that's what they've been working with since like, DK1 [editline]26th March 2014[/editline] the internet vastly underestimates the cost of research/development/production

[QUOTE=thrawn2787;44360287]Dai, thats kind of the issue though, isnt it? At any point Zuckerberg can meet with palmer, lean over the table and ask "wheres my 2 billion"? The 2 billion wasnt free, it was a loan and fb expects interest. If they arent liking the way things are going they can step in. Sure they won't do it this week but they'll do it eventually[/QUOTE] Zuckerberg can get $1.6b back whenever he wants. I don't think the man's so petty as to squeeze them for $400m.

[QUOTE=dai;44360138]facebook is trying to stay relevant, they've thrown around a number of buyouts [i]to gain back the young market[/i] that they've been steadily losing since the whole "my parents, grandma, extended family, and all of their friends will see every photo I'm ever tagged in" realization hit a lot of people years ago. Facebook wants to continue making money, so they're investing in cool shit. They're not turning the oculus into an angry birds platform, they're getting their foot in the door on something they probably see as a super popular upcoming gaming fad, [i]because it will make money if it does well[/i]. They're not doing this to serve the mobile games market, they're doing it to help a new one. the only thing that will kill this are the fucking drama queens telling everybody to jump ship because shit's dead. There's nobody more averse to any form of progress than people talking about facebook[/QUOTE] I mostly agree with you, but I don't think Facebook merely dropped $2 billion on a "gaming fad," I think they also believe in the potential impact this could have in our everyday lives. [editline]26th March 2014[/editline] [QUOTE=Clavus;44360360]The only place on reddit that had a decent informed discussion was /r/truegaming. All the other places were just pure trash. But I believe this reality check for the community was long overdue. Oculus would have ran into scaling issues. The Kickstarter funds weren't paying salaries, just the manufacturing.[/QUOTE] This is my theory: I think a lot of people are pissed because they thought when they donated money to the Kickstarter, they were investing in the company and they mistakenly believed they owned stake in the company, which is why they felt betrayed because "they didn't get a say in the Facebook acquisition." The problem is that when people were donating to the Kickstarter, they were [I]donating[/I], and the sole purpose of the Kickstarter wasn't to establish the business itself or pay salaries to the employees, it was to pull in an injection of money so that they could get DK1 into developers' hands as quickly as possible. And to that end, they succeeded with flying colors. The Rift is still the ur example of precisely what a successful and well-made Kickstarter project should be.

[QUOTE=thrawn2787;44360287]Dai, thats kind of the issue though, isnt it? At any point Zuckerberg can meet with palmer, lean over the table and ask "wheres my 2 billion"? The 2 billion wasnt free, it was a loan and fb expects interest. If they arent liking the way things are going they can step in. Sure they won't do it this week but they'll do it eventually[/QUOTE] I'm not sure you understand what an acquisition is nor do you have a single shred of evidence other than the current "oh no they're evil and going to drive it into the ground intentionally :(" bullshit rumormongering

If I was filthy rich and currently on a slowly sinking ship I'd definitely take time out of my busy schedule to spend thousands of millions of dollars to completely ruin a product unrelated to me but quickly on the way to success, also making a bunch of nerds mad at me

came across this [img]https://31.media.tumblr.com/6ace754328bb36e4297c37dfe5c3ddd4/tumblr_n30r1ejLVn1sl7gimo1_500.jpg[/img]

My expectations have gone to zero. Now I can hope to be pleasantly surprised.

[QUOTE=Jzzb;44360838]My expectations have gone to zero. Now I can hope to be pleasantly surprised.[/QUOTE] John Carmack confirmed literally nothing has changed.

[QUOTE=Durrsly;44360887]John Carmack confirmed literally nothing has changed.[/QUOTE]I'll wait till I can get an OR in my hands before I believe anybody.

Some twitter quotes: [quote]Brendan Iribe ‏@brendaniribe 12h "Remember the phenomenon that is Android began as a little company, that only went mainstream after it received a huge backing" -Tim Sweeney[/quote] [quote]Nate Mitchell ‏@natemitchell 16h We had two roadmaps: plausible and impossible. [B]This partnership means the impossible roadmap just became ‘very likely’.[/B][/quote] [quote]Nate Mitchell ‏@natemitchell 16h Get ready — We have a *lot* more planned for the future, especially now with FB. This is still only just the beginning[/quote]

Sounds promising

One thing I find interesting is how the community is screaming that Oculus has turned their back on them, but they don't realize they're doing the same thing.

[QUOTE=woolio1;44361172]One thing I find interesting is how the community is screaming that Oculus has turned their back on them, but they don't realize they're doing the same thing.[/QUOTE] The average consumers are idiots it's been known for a long time.

Something something Oculus creating an actual Rift... There's a joke here somewhere.

[quote]1:16 PM - Dunkelschwamm: [url]http://kotaku.com/oculus-kickstarter-backers-are-demanding-refunds-1552041702?utm_campaign=Socialflow_Kotaku_Facebook&utm_source=Kotaku_Facebook&utm_medium=Socialflow[/url] 1:17 PM - Cheesesteak : kickstarter is a donation 1:17 PM - Cheesesteak : not an investment 1:17 PM - Cheesesteak : the kickstarter was explicitly to get funds to produce devkit 1 1:17 PM - Cheesesteak : to get it into the hands of developers as soon as possible 1:17 PM - Cheesesteak : to that end 1:17 PM - Cheesesteak : they succeeded 1:17 PM - Cheesesteak : and they delivered exactly what they promised 1:26 PM - Dunkelschwamm: It's like giving money to a street performer and then asking for it back when he gets signed with a record company a couple years later. In any case, people know what is going to happen to their money with Kickstarter. Nobody can say that not getting any money back caught them "by surprise". This is a sad attempt to bully Oculus out of their deal (which so far is doing nothing but helping fund their development) because people are afraid of some negative consequence that hasn't even started to manifest yet. It is truly amazing how negative this situation can be spun when it is legitimately nothing more than a hardware development team being bought out by an interested investor. [/quote]

Fair enough. The bottom line is that you're giving your money to a company. Your motives are irrelevant. What they do is irrelevant. They're not contractually obligated to provide anything, and we're lucky enough that they did.