Now that Facebook and Sony are both in the VR race... are you interested ?

[WCP]

Actually, I know that the Facebook thing turns a lot of people off, but at the same time, you have to admit that it adds a huge dose of credibility to the whole concept of Virtual Reality headsets as a real product for consumers. At first, we just had this small start up, Oculus Rift, that was trying to evangelize about the return of Virtual Reality to the gaming industry. Sure, they made some noise here and there, but did anybody really stand up and take notice ?

Then you had Sony come out last week with Project Morpheus, and at that point, obviously we know that this is a real thing, and that this is going to be coming to a theatre near you pretty soon, if you know what I'm talking about. Sony isn't going to spend millions of dollars researching this thing, to not release an actual consumer product. VR is back, and it's here to stay.

Then, yesterday, the huge bomb that was dropped, that Facebook purchased OR for 2 billion dollars.


Despite the Facebook factor, the fact that 2 billion dollars was spent says a huge amount about the power of Virtual Reality. Mark Zuckerberg tried a demo of the Oculus Rift, and he walked away from the demo thinking to himself.... " I'm buying this company. Virtual Reality is going to be HUGE! I've got to have this company. This is going to revolutionize entertainment, and I'm going to take advantage of the situation and snatch up this company".

He spent 2 billion, which isn't exactly a drop in the bucket. But the thing is, that's how powerful that demonstration was. I've yet to be anywhere near an Oculus Rift demo kit, so I have no idea what the sensation is like. Maybe it's absolutely amazing. Maybe it will really change the way we experience all entertainment. Who knows, but I can tell you one thing. It sure as hell is going to be interesting. It's nice to have the VR from the 90's resurrect like this. I remember when Sega was talking about a VR headset, and Atari Jaguar was going to have a VR headset, etc, etc. Obviously, those efforts were about 20 years before their time, and now, their time has come.

Well, at least in 2015 one of these things should be available at retailers.

[Niku-Sama]

Oculus is totally dead now, before it was carmak running his mouth and doing what he wanted because he wanted to throw his money around and to get people off his ass about rage.
but now its a lost cause.
I don't think sony's is going to get much further than the testing process, if they are smart they would wait till they refine HDCP as to get rid of a lot of problems one would have with VR and its odd lag and quirks.

its pretty much going the way it did in the mid 90's

[Tupin]

We shall see what the Facebook partnership does. Apparently the guy who founded Oculus is still in charge and the Facebook integration/rebranding thing has been confirmed as false by Facebook themselves.

Regardless, this and the Morpheus will change some things. I guarantee Microsoft and Apple are going to get in somehow, and possibly Valve as well. And shit, why not have Nintendo go for what they wanted the Virtual Boy to be almost twenty years ago?

[Bojay1997]

Oculus is totally dead now, before it was carmak running his mouth and doing what he wanted because he wanted to throw his money around and to get people off his ass about rage.
but now its a lost cause.
I don't think sony's is going to get much further than the testing process, if they are smart they would wait till they refine HDCP as to get rid of a lot of problems one would have with VR and its odd lag and quirks.

its pretty much going the way it did in the mid 90's

Disagree. I've actually used the latest Oculus Rift prototype and while it's not perfect, it is light years beyond anything that has been done in the VR space previously. I have heard good things about Sony's prototype as well. I predict that with the next iteration of Oculus Rift and the next iteration of Morpheus, we are finally going to have good quality VR for entertainment and possibly other purposes at a consumer friendly price point. VR failed in the 90s simply because the technology wasn't there regardless of the price point. Today, the technology all exists and the price point can be very attractive and all it's going to take is a will among technology companies to create some killer apps for the technology.

[Greg2600]

I didn't care before, don't now, won't in the future.

[StealthLurker]

I've got an Occulus Rift, 2 actually... one at home and one to mess around with during down times at work. It's pretty darn neat. Hopefully an FB money infusion will accelerate the release of an improved consumer version.


.

[Ze_ro]

Sony has been making HMD's for quite some time now. They've never managed to make a good community around them though, and I'm not sure they can do it now unless the Oculus guys generate enough of a push that they can ride the wake.

As for Oculus, I was very excited about it, but with the Facebook tie-in now, you can count me out. I don't trust Facebook enough to strap it to my face.

--Zero

[WCP]

Sony has been making HMD's for quite some time now. They've never managed to make a good community around them though, and I'm not sure they can do it now unless the Oculus guys generate enough of a push that they can ride the wake.

As for Oculus, I was very excited about it, but with the Facebook tie-in now, you can count me out. I don't trust Facebook enough to strap it to my face.

--Zero

Yet, if Sony or Microsoft or Nintendo had a VR headset you'd trust them?

I don't know why trust would be necessary when you're just playing a video game. I don't trust Sony or Microsoft anymore than I would any other huge company like that. (Maybe I'd trust Nintendo, but not because they are altruistic or anything, mostly because they are too inept to know how to do anything evil with my info).

Also, the year is 2014, and legit privacy no longer exists. It's unfortunate, but it's a tradeoff for todays information based society.

[Ze_ro]

Yet, if Sony or Microsoft or Nintendo had a VR headset you'd trust them?

Well, pretty much ANYBODY but Facebook. Their whole business model basically amounts to data mining and targetted advertising, and god only knows how much data they're sharing with the NSA or selling to other companies. I don't want ANY part of that. At least Oculus on their own was a pretty benign company... I could have given them the benefit of the doubt.

Also, the year is 2014, and legit privacy no longer exists. It's unfortunate, but it's a tradeoff for todays information based society.

There are levels of survival I am willing to accept.

--Zero

[Tupin]

Still interested, don't really care. Apple and Google already spy so much, and it's even worse when the latter uses activism to cover it up. Really, being on a forum where you have to register says a lot. You'd think everyone was an anon who was using Tor.

They already have said integration won't happen, and based on what happened with Instagram, I'm willing to wait.

[JSoup]

Nope.

[BlastProcessing402]

I didn't care before, don't now, won't in the future.

This.

Call me when there's a true holodeck, until then I'll be playing my games on TV screens, as God intended.

[CDiablo]

I think it would be fun for certain games, but I couldnt see myself spending more than $100 for one. Im not that big into FPS games, but I feel a game like Fallout 3 would be a blast in a VR helmet

[kupomogli]

I'm not really interested in virtual reality as it is now because there's no reality to it. Real virtual reality would be something like the player actually being in the game and everything would feel real. Like a dream. That's probably never going to happen in this lifetime though.

Maybe I'll try it at some point if there are games that I'm interested in that are compatible with it, but so far no interest.

[YoshiM]

Facebook or not, I could see this or even Sony's VR being similar to the Wii- great potential for a new level of interactivity but a majority of the softs won't fulfill that potential.

[Tupin]

Facebook or not, I could see this or even Sony's VR being similar to the Wii- great potential for a new level of interactivity but a majority of the softs won't fulfill that potential.

Oculus Rift already has a lot of support, and regardless of the level of control Facebook exerts over it (proported to be minimal, similar to their role in Instagram) people will find cool things to do with it. The technology is more capable, even if it does need an external camera.

[Ze_ro]

I'm not really interested in virtual reality as it is now because there's no reality to it. Real virtual reality would be something like the player actually being in the game and everything would feel real. Like a dream. That's probably never going to happen in this lifetime though.

Maybe I'll try it at some point if there are games that I'm interested in that are compatible with it, but so far no interest.

Well, there's stuff like the Virtuix Omni on the way, which might help with that:



--Zero

[JSoup]

Oculus Rift already has a lot of support, and regardless of the level of control Facebook exerts over it (proported to be minimal, similar to their role in Instagram) people will find cool things to do with it. The technology is more capable, even if it does need an external camera.

Yes. Like the Wii. Which is the point, neat tech that may or may not pan out once software rolls out.

[ProjectCamaro]

I only care if this means they'll start making Virtual Boy games again.

[Griking]

I have zero interest in wearing a mask or glasses to play a game. I already get a headache if I wear headphones for more than a half hour. I can't imagine these being any more comfortable.

Besides, my wife thinks that I'm a geek enough as it is.