2 replies to this topic

[Iqfish]

http://kotaku.com/fa...lion-1551487939

gg Mark.

[Gremlich Johns]

That makes no sense as an acquisition. He wants to make the world more open? Seems more like isolation is his goal.

Edited by Gremlich Johns, 25 March 2014 - 02:09 PM.

[SpiralFace]

So after playing around with the Oculus at my office I would say that graphically getting something that the consumer base that people would want out of virtual reality is probably realistically about 2 to 3 years out.

Oculus is defiantly the front runner of the technology, but this purchase calls out for a few things.

- Facebook is positioning themselves to get into the physical hardware market either through actual hardware production (I find highly unlikely.) Or licensing the tech that Occulus has patented and pioneered to outside vendors to make the tech (Probably the more likely scenario.)

- Unlike the kinect that was marketed as a gaming device but was then developed for other things, they seem to want to mass market VR itself across all fields to develop the way we use tech and not just specifically make a gaming device. (Big risk on their part as its unproven ground, but the potential for big profits if it becomes the next mandatory piece of tech like the ipods and phones before it.)

- Seeing the competition that is beginning to surround the device (Sony and Microsoft both emulating it at the GDC.) He's injecting cash into the company to attempt to hurry that 2-3 year process I mentioned before along to be the first to market with the tech, thus pulling a "Wii" where he would have a working VR set on the market years before competetors reach the market.

Its too early to tell if this was a smart or dumb move. It all depends on how people view VR and its viability in the market. This could be a poor investment if they get beat out to market by competitors, or if VR in the Occulus' form isn't desired by the consumer base.

Also one thing to keep in mind. Facebook stock is actually down 1% in after market trading on this news. Which could signal a big buy out tomorrow because of it, or people are selling off their Neutral stock to lower the company value, and then re-buy in when the profit is lower.

One thing for sure though, this is a long term play. Nothing is going to happen in the short run, and whether this was worth it to them or not is really going to come down to what happens to both the market and the tech in the next 1-3 years.