Facebook Buys Oculus VR And Opens An Interesting Debate Regarding The Future
The world's largest social network announced the acquisition of the leader in immersive virtual reality technology, Oculus VR, for $2 billion on Tuesday. While the deal includes 23.1 million shares estimated at $1.6 billion and $400 million cash, Facebook mentioned the agreement could also provide $300 million in cash and stock when certain milestones are reached.
Although nobody knew about Facebook's intention until the last moment, the acquisition split analysts and users into two categories: those who rage about Oculus being sold too early and those who speculate on what Facebook could achieve with the innovative technology.
Don't panic, it's not a takeover
A day after the purchase, a New York Times source suggested that Facebook intends to plaster their logo on the most recent version of the Oculus Rift development kit presented at the 2014 GDC. Given the $2 billion transaction, the idea of Facebook redesigning and rebranding the hardware is not farfetched. However, a Facebook spokesman quickly denied the allegations and put many at ease, arguing the idea doesn't make sense because the social network is not working on a virtual reality navigation system.
At the same time, Oculus inventor Palmer Luckey announced in a recent post on Reddit that he agreed with the acquisition because Facebook has aligned with the company's organization culture. Luckey pointed out that deal is advantageous for the company, as Facebook has no other intention than help Oculus develop and expand the great potential of virtual reality. Both sides made it crystal clear that Oculus will continue to operate independently, in a similar manner to Instagram and WhatsApp.
Naturally, Kickstarter backers are raging
Because we're living in an age when multi-billion dollar acquisition are frequent, it's not uncommon to have high expectations. However unfair it may seem at this point, the truth is that Oculus doesn't owe Kickstarter backers anything but a headset. Let's be fair here, simply because you're a passionate gamer who donated $300 to see a revolutionary idea come to life, it doesn't mean that the developer owes you everlasting loyalty and a scrape at gaming conferences.
What is bothersome about this acquisition is that Oculus should have been designed for gaming and instead, it's now all about virtual reality. For gamers, the idea of being able to immerse in an environment and play in glorious 3D is nirvana. Even though both companies are trying to reassure gamers that Oculus will operate independently, deep down inside we all know this is a bad idea.
What I dread the most is the idea of ads. Can you imagine failing the objectives of a mission simply because an ad pops up out of nowhere? Frustrating, to say the least. Frankly, the gamer community who supported this project is entitled to rage at this point.
But armed with virtual reality tech, the possibilities are endless
From Facebook's perspective, we all know they always wanted to sit at the big boys table. Then again, while Zuckerberg has the world's biggest social network, let's not forget that he's missing a key ingredient, a conduit. Google has it, Apple has it, Amazon has it and even Microsoft has the Windows Phone. The only thing Facebook can offer for now is the possibility to pay in order to install a default app.
