Topic: Why is everyone mad about Facebook buying Oculus?

why is everyone so upset that Facebook bought Oculus? i'm honestly confused. if you guys just want the Oculus VR for video games, then Morpheus is coming out soon (and coming from a company that produces gaming hardware, that feels more promising to me than oculus). applying VR for something like social activities could be really cool, so i don't see the problem. imagine for example if VR technology were applied to something like Skype or other video-calling services! seriously revolutionary as opposed to stupid video game gimmicks. so i ask, what's the problem?

I have no interest in the Oculus anyway, but I imagine that most people are upset because it was seemingly owned and created by a core group of guys with a focus on gaming and making the technology available to basically any developer who wanted it.

Now it is owned by a giant company who most people dislike (we may use Facebook, but it's a love/hate relationship) and people aren't sure what is going to happen to the Oculus, and are worried it will be lost in the mix or changed in ways they don't like.

I think the benefits of having Facebook's financial resources will see a more competent product available sooner for devs and consumers. I think it will far far far outweigh the emotions and speculations of people who have no idea about just what it will take to have a VR-tech launch only to NOT sell enough to the world so that it fades from all but the hands of enthusiast tinkerers.

lol thanks, fixed that.

i disagree. it's one thing to use video chat to see something, it's another to actually "visit" it (virtually, of course). maybe it's because i haven't used the oculus, but VR feels just as gimmicky as 3D, in the case of video games, anyway. either way, VR has potential stretching beyond video games, which could be incredibly fascinating. maybe seeing VR applied to movies and video games would be kinda cool, but seeing something like this applied to astronaut training would make total sense, a great space simulator, or maybe it could be used to help train soon-to-be surgeons. i know i'm just shooting in the dark because i don't know where VR will lead us, but its potential is massive.

I don't care one way or the other, but the argument that you're making isn't very solid.

Yeah, I mean who in the world wants to make slaying dragons and racing cars look and feel like real life when you could totally do something revolutionary like have a virtual reality conversation with someone. Wouldn't it be amazing if you could sit in a room with someone, put on the visor, and feel like you're having a conversation in a different room with that person?

There is potential as training simulators as you said, but OR didn't need Facebook to do that, so it's really a moot point. Video game technology has already been used to train astronauts for decades, so why does a company like Facebook suddenly have to play broker?

The issue that people have with FB acquiring OR is that they do not trust FB to keep the consumer's best interests in mind.

what i meant to imply was that VR could be used to visit places and meet people in your own home. using it for video calls could only be the start of that, then we could eventually be visiting the Great Wall of China or something like that.

There is potential as training simulators as you said, but OR didn't need Facebook to do that, so it's really a moot point. Video game technology has already been used to train astronauts for decades, so why does a company like Facebook suddenly have to play broker?

at that point in the discussion, i was talking beyond Facebook, just trying to explain the technical uses and advantages of VR. this way, using VR exclusively for games would sound weak in comparison. no, Facebook isn't going to make a war simulator for the military to practice with, but someone else could once VR technology is popular enough. I'm just saying that Facebook using VR to connect with people or visit places across the globe would not only be pretty awesome, but it could also be the start of something really great. my point is to say that VR has massive potential, and hogging it for video games alone is just selfish.

The issue that people have with FB acquiring OR is that they do not trust FB to keep the consumer's best interests in mind.

thanks for answering the question here, but what IS the consumer's best interest? using VR for games, or doing something revolutionary with new tech? are people really afraid of Facebook turning farmville into a VR experience? i doubt they'd do something stupid like that. if they're willing to spend $2,000,000,000 on this, they are planning something big i think, larger than VR farmville anyway.

I remember reading about VR technology for video games back in gaming magazines the mid-1990's, and I think there were even some arcade games that used headsets. Something like the Oculus would be pretty cool if the screen was high quality and it was affordable.

Everyone already wants to play their video games on a large TV, so why wouldn't you want to be able to "wear" the TV, so that's all you see? It would definitely be more immersive and interesting, especially turning your head to be able to look around.