On the Facebook - Oculus VR Purchase

Facebook recently purchased the Oculus Rift technology - a virtual reality headset - from OculusVR. They paid 2 billion dollars for the technology. The backlash has been severe, to say the least. There are a few thoughtful pieces on the acquisition, with one of the more thoughtful commentators arguing that Microsoft should have bought the technology (I am prone to agree). Yet in a surprisingly insightful post, Notch (some game developer, google him if you like) explains that, although he won't be developing for the Oculus because Facebook "creeps him out",   Facebookdid make a smart investment because of all the potential applications theOculus Rift could have on the social networking ecosystem. Some of his ideas include virtual business meetings and virtual 'face to face' chats. However, the internet being what it is, not all reactions have been as well thought out.

Over at Gamespot, Eddie Makuch quotes a few Oculus backerswho say: 

"What a disappointing decision to cash out even before getting first consumer version out."

"A sell out is a sell out, and it means the end of VR Gaming. Welcome your Social VR overlords."

"Too late for a refund? Unbelievable what happened. I was extremely optimistic for the future of this product and the company behind it, and this is how I'm repaid for my investment? Incredibly disappointing."

Over at Gaming Blends, William Usher writes about how gamers mourn the loss of the Oculus Rift. Most of the reactions, however, have been along the lines of backers sayingthat they want their money back. Over at Kotaku, Jason Schreler defends this position by saying that:

"It's always been clear that funding a project on Kickstarter is more donation than investment—there's no financial return, and no legal recourse if someone takes your money and runs—but we've never seen anything on this scale before. Without that Kickstarter money, Oculus might have not been able to attract any of the venture capitalist funding they've been accumulating for the past two years, and without that VC backing, there might be no Facebook deal. So can you really blame Kickstarter backers who might feel like they missed out on something big here?"

Now, let's consider Jason's perspective about how Kickstarter backers were ripped off and whether they should have the right to get their money back. In order to solve this simple problem, all we need to do is look at what the Oculus Rift kickstarter was offering versus what theirbackers got.

According to their kickstarter page, backers who donated in tiers up to 75$ would get some combination of T-shirt, posters, and special thanks. Backers who pledged in the tiers of 275$ or more would get one or more Oculus Rift hardware units. Did the Oculus team deliver? Well, yes.  

In their blog, the Oculus team outlined the shippingschedule for their units. Not only did they live up to their kickstarter promises, but they also createda second run of development kits and put them up for sale for those who wereinterested in the hardware but had not been able to pledge to the Kickstartercampaign. It can be said, then, that without a doubt the Oculus team fulfilled their part of the Kickstarter promise.

Now, it can be argued that Oculus shafted developers by selling out to Facebook, who might turn around and change the hardware, although Oculus creator has already stated that this won't be the case.  It can be argued that this is just another example of "the big guy" eating up "the little guy". But what cannot be said is that in selling to Facebook the Oculus team is betraying its kickstarter backers, because even though they might have wanted a commercial release of the Oculus, what they actually promised were development kits (and t-shirts).

Will developers still be able to create for the Oculus with their development kits? Palmer Lucy (the creator) certainly thinks so. Will some developers be hesitant to deal with Facebook? Sure. Does the Oculus stand a better chance of going commercial with Facebook backing than without? Absolutely. That doesn't mean that gaming in the Oculus is now a thing of days gone by.

If anything, this acquisition means that the Oculus will serve both as a thing to play games on and as a thing to do social stuff with. And it won't even be the first one - there's this thing, you see, the PC, that lets people do just as much.

Honestly, I am a bit surprised with the backlash. The PC gaming community (you know, the so-called master race) has always prided itself because of the fact that a PC is more versatile than a console. They would argue that in a PC they can play games AND use Office. Why is it a problem, then, to have a VR headset that can serve both to play games AND do social media stuff?

The only real potential drawback I can see from this is if Facebook focuses its commercial Oculus marketing mainly towards social functionality and completely discards gaming potential. If it markets the Oculus as the cool gaming thing that you can also do virtual conferences with, they are golden. But if they market it as a social thing only... well... I'm just not sure that grandma is too eager to spend a few hundred dollars only to strap on a big virtual headset just to chat with the kids in 3D. On the other hand, if there is "one of them game 3D glasses things" laying around the house because the kids wanted it to play Call of Battlefield Scrolls Crush the Third Saga, and it also works for social, maybe there's a chance of reaching a wider audience (ie. 'grandma').

 So, what is the point I'm clumsily trying to make?

Well, stop it with the "I feel ripped off" and "I want my money back" comments. If you backed Oculus, you either got a Dev Kit or a t-shirt. Enjoy your Dev Kit and / or t-shirt. If you're a developer, keep having fun with it. Unlock what the Oculus can do, create your vision of what a visually immersive game should be, and when Facebook mass produces the Oculus, release your virtual experience and make people happy.

And if you're whining about getting your money back, go sit down in the corner and let the grown-ups get to work.