Opinion: Facebook And Oculus Rift

As SNK used to say: The Future is Now.

Oculus Rift is one of the seminal names in the state of modern immersion gaming. The company has been refining its product and has been slowly working toward a consumer release. Facebook just bought Oculus for two billion dollars.

Why might this be the greatest thing ever for Oculus Rift? Simple really, most people outside of hardcore gamers have no idea what the device is. It sounds like a fault line in the Mediterranean Sea. So Facebook ponied up two billion for a company that has only sold a limited number of developer kits; and has no real consumer footprint or distribution method beyond web sales.

I mean, Sony announces a PS4 headset and people start dancing in  the street like it's raining skittles and lotto tickets. But OR has been refining a technically superior product and has seen no where near the coverage. Facebook, as a corporate entity can provide the exposure that Oculus has been lacking through its development stages. More than that, it can help in mainstreaming open platform VR in such a way that could make OR more of a household name.

It's like this, have you ever heard of Dusenberg motor company? They started making cars around 1913, around the time Ford made the model T. Dusenberg made cars that were faster, of higher quality, that were hand built like the horse drawn coaches of the Victorian age.

The problem is that they were marketed to a niche market and had no traction as a tangible product with the masses. So they got blown away in terms of raw sales by the Ford and the Model T (despite being a higher quality product). Eventually going under in 1937. This is the fundamental problem with Oculus Rift's model up to the present day. VR headsets stand to revolutionize not only gaming but media consumption in general. But can only do so if they receive meaningful support beyond just games.

This acquisiton can serve to make the Rift more of an open platform for media consumption. And less of an expensive toy for "PC master race" types that define their self worth by the wattage of their Power Supply Unit.

Putting it plainly, this means that Sony and Microsoft have to step it up. because if a device like the Rift gets meaningful support from non gaming content creators as well as the gaming hardcore. They could very well become the Xerox of open platform VR. I only hope for greater competition in the future to spur greater innovation.