It seems I’m not the only one who feels that Facebook’s recent purchase of the virtual reality gaming technology Oculus VR was the wrong way to go. As I scroll down the Oculus blog page, I’m delighted to read such enthralling public comments as, “I feel like canceling my pre-order,” “No longer interested in Oculus,” and “Fuck you.”
Oculus is a ground-breaking device for virtual reality technology. It’s a motion-sensor headset with a built-in screen that fully covers the user’s vision, and simulates an immersive alternate reality. The headset has most prominently been used for gaming, and has caused an excitable stir among hardcore gamers.
While still in development, the company has been releasing beta “development kits” to consumers, with each new kit being a development update from the last. Essentially, this device is the science-fiction technology of our dreams. When I first heard about it, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on one.
That was until the company sold out to Zuckerberg and his cronies over at that one social network. On March 25, The Guardian reported that Facebook had purchased Oculus for $2 billion, shocking gamers and game-makers alike, who felt this move would lessen Oculus’ impact on the gaming industry. I must say, I do agree.
It’s understandable why Oculus would choose to partner with a larger company, being relatively small and competing with technologies such as Sony’s new headset. Oculus needs all the promotion and funding it can obtain. But why on earth would they choose Facebook?
Does Facebook really intend to get serious with this technology, or are they just experimenting? While Facebook is an international success, it is still a social network, not a game development company. It’s also a company that has gained notoriety for absorbing anything that it feels will make it more money. It looks like ‘Suckerberg’ wants some more pocket-change.
Facebook hastily bought the company without a clear plan. Zuckerberg nodded vaguely at the ability to see others across long distances or watch events (both of which Youtube and Skype have long since accomplished) and said, excitedly, “I can’t wait to start working with the whole team at Oculus to bring this future to the world, and to unlock new worlds for all of us.”
Right. This sounds like the regular glitzy press-rhetoric he probably yanks from his rear at the last minute. Facebook’s motives for using Oculus are too unclear and shifting, and they haven’t historically been a stable platform.
It’s also unnerving that such a ground-breaking technology has fallen prey to a company that makes billions from feasting off people’s private information. Oculus must truly be the icing on the cake. Facebook has, once again, managed to taint innocent technology with its invasive capitalist ways disguised as a friendly embrace.
Oculus could have done so much better. The technology is astounding; it could change the way we perceive reality and ultimately the way we interact and live. I believe it was created with at least some good intent: revolutionizing video games and bringing the world together. But this vision has now been distorted by a company whose sad motives are to dominate, well, everything.
Looks like it’s time to get our hopes up for Sony.
