FollowNo earlier than yesterday we were presenting you with the hottest news in the tech industry, the purchase of Oculus by Facebook for $2 billion and the beginning of a new era of communication and life experience, or so does Facebook officials market the deal. Once the details of the deal came out, an impressive number of Oculus developers, VR fans and gamers started bombing the Oculus website with exponentially increasing negative comments and even threats of leaving the boat (for the competition, nonetheless), while Twitter caught fire with all sorts of statements and warnings about Facebook ruining it for everybody with this particular deal. And the media also asks itself if it is true that everybody hates Facebook.
Why is the world upset by the purchase of Oculus by Facebook?
One of the main concerns coming from the gaming community is that Facebook is focused solely on advertising and data gathering, so gamers fear they will be exposed to Facebook ads, when everything they want to do is immerse into a VR gaming world. On the other hand, it’s not only the gaming community who shouts out loud against Oculus Rift becoming a new toy for Facebook to use, but renowned developers weren’t shy to express their decision of not working with Oculus anymore. Such developer who didn’t hide behind an anonymous avatar was Markus Persson, the man behind Minecraft, who openly Tweeted that any collaboration idea or project with Oculus regarding a VR developed version of Minecraft for Oculus was cancelled.
The debates are hot and it is interesting to watch them live, as in the opposite corner there are the other developers and gaming fans that applauded the deal and can’t wait for the promises of Mark Zuckerberg to come true, as he dreams of a world where we could use VR to communicate, experience all sorts of events, be able to travel anywhere and get services we have never dreamed before. Mark Zuckerberg’s own Facebook notes reveal that Facebook will not only allow Oculus and its developers to build the Rift and make it successful, but also helping them achieving it faster and better too, while on the long term, Facebook aims 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.
All good, but how about the developers threatening to leave to Sony who starts to gain the gamers on its site with the PS 4 and their Oculus VR headset rival, Project Morpheus? And is Markus Persson going to send his Minecraft over there too? It is clear that the purchase of Oculus by Facebook is going to be a hot topic in the next few days and we all can expect some serious tables’ turning.
