4 ms·

I'm not particularly bearish on VR but it's clear that the technology is far, far more mature than anything in the 90s. Hardware sales are anyhow not quite as

I'm not particularly bearish on VR but it's clear that the technology is far, far more mature than anything in the 90s. Hardware sales are anyhow not quite as important as the software that runs on the hardware. The console market might be small, but the gaming market is absolutely massive. Facebook doesn't have to make money off Oculus hardware of it can, like Sony and Microsoft, get people into the ecosystem where $60 games are the norm and microstransactions total billions in revenue.

scarface74 6y ago
How many billions did the Microsoft lose before the division became profitable? I believe the breakdown is that Microsoft makes $7 on each third party physical game and $27 on each first party game. I doubt that Sony and Microsoft makes as much on their consoles as Apple makes selling headphones.
- puranjay 6y ago
  Well, Facebook has cash to lose. Further, VR, at least as Facebook and Zuckerberg see it, would be less about games and more about social interactions in virtual worlds. The monetization model would be different than directly selling software I reckon (most likely ads - to a hammer, everything looks like a nail). This would then be an engagement play - something Facebook already excels at. Doesn't sound particularly feasible at the moment honestly. But you never know. I'm not writing it off at least - the people who do like VR think it's the greatest thing ever created.
  - scarface74 6y ago
    That’s like the perennial “year of Linux on the desktop”.
  - ghaff 6y ago
    So VR Second Life. I was largely bought into the Second Life hype briefly. I certainly lived through all the brands setting up camp in Second Life. But I'm skeptical VR was the missing ingredient. Most people don't want immersion most of the time. e.g. people hyping up VR for collaboration. I'm actually fine with video calls at least some of the time. But you're not getting me to wear a VR headset hours a day. Not happening.

scarface74 6y ago

How many billions did the Microsoft lose before the division became profitable? I believe the breakdown is that Microsoft makes $7 on each third party physical game and $27 on each first party game. I doubt that Sony and Microsoft makes as much on their consoles as Apple makes selling headphones.

puranjay 6y ago
Well, Facebook has cash to lose. Further, VR, at least as Facebook and Zuckerberg see it, would be less about games and more about social interactions in virtual worlds. The monetization model would be different than directly selling software I reckon (most likely ads - to a hammer, everything looks like a nail). This would then be an engagement play - something Facebook already excels at. Doesn't sound particularly feasible at the moment honestly. But you never know. I'm not writing it off at least - the people who do like VR think it's the greatest thing ever created.
- scarface74 6y ago
  That’s like the perennial “year of Linux on the desktop”.
- ghaff 6y ago
  So VR Second Life. I was largely bought into the Second Life hype briefly. I certainly lived through all the brands setting up camp in Second Life. But I'm skeptical VR was the missing ingredient. Most people don't want immersion most of the time. e.g. people hyping up VR for collaboration. I'm actually fine with video calls at least some of the time. But you're not getting me to wear a VR headset hours a day. Not happening.