3 ms·

I kept saying to myself, they must be seeing something I'm not... I guess not

• ceejayoz 7mo ago
  "The truth is, these are not very bright guys, and things got out of hand." - All The President's Men
• bee_rider 7mo ago
  VR games are actually kind of neat and fun. But it’s too much of a hassle to set the thing up every time and, I dunno, the association with Facebook is too icky. It would have been really interesting to see what Oculus could have become without getting bought. I do think they were a little neat idea, not at all ready for Facebook sized projects.
  • m4rtink 7mo ago
    With modern inside out tracking headsets (basically camera based SLAM) the setup us none to minimal (clear up some space on the ground so you don't trip over things if not playing seated).
  • jrm4 7mo ago
    As I've heard and said elsewhere -- VR Games are absolutely like a day at the fair. But no one wants to go to the fair EVERY DAY.
    • spijdar 7mo ago
      This is a fantastic way of putting it. When I was 20, I preordered a pixel 2 after watching the launch presentation from my university library. One of the "bonuses" for doing so was Google's new headset you put your phone in for a VR experience, along with a new controller. This "Daydream" only lasted a few years (in software support), but it was a pretty good physical implementation of the "strap your phone to your face for budget VR" concept. I used it more than I'd care to admit for watching movies on a virtual big screen. It'd always give me a big headache between the eyes after an hour and a half, but it was fun every now and again. A day at the fair. It even convinced me to buy an Oculus CV1 when those were being heavily discounted! I never ended up using the CV1 as much as my Daydream, which is saying something. The appeal of VR just isn't that great to me. It's something I find myself wanting to do maybe once or twice a year. Now, never, since the CV1 only ever worked well with Windows, and I can't be bothered to keep a Windows install exclusively for VR (I've tried and failed multiple times with the Linux runtimes). Not nearly enough drive to deal with base stations, wires, or controllers. And even with the newest headsets that do away with all those, not worth the cash or effort to put on, or the space the headset takes up. Not for "once a month" trips to the fair. It's insane to me that Meta dumped so much cash into VR. Their fever dream of working in VR gives me a sense of dread and migraine just thinking about it...
    • wolvoleo 7mo ago
      I use mine pretty much daily though
    • chaostheory 7mo ago
      No one but children aka Gen Alpha. Meta failed to pivot their marketing.
      • jrm4 7mo ago
        It's almost hard to tell even if I'm right about this because Meta's marketing was side-splittingly hilariously awful. "Put on your headset and go into an office meeting!" It really boggles the mind.
    • pjmlp 7mo ago
      Love the way you put it, spot on.
    • mehagar 7mo ago
      The Nintendo Wii was like this too.
      • jrm4 7mo ago
        Yes, but also I often argue that the Wii is better "VR" than VR, because you can play with your friends, which is probably the real "killer app" of gaming?
  • chaostheory 7mo ago
    PCVR is a hassle. Meta VR is simple convenient, and instant by comparison. I was able to use it everyday to workout. The problem with VR in general is that only children, Gen Alpha, are into it as a demographic. Meta failed to take this into account to reposition Meta VR as either their NES or Roblox into their marketing. They were marketing something only children appreciated to adults who couldn’t see the potential. All adults see is a giant bucket that they don’t want to put on their face.
    • vablings 7mo ago
      PCVR is awesome with Steam, even using meta headsets once it's all setup its very straightforward.
      • chaostheory 7mo ago
        PCVR is great for flexibility and freedom, but it really sucks for convenience. There’s too much hassle and too much to turn on and setup even if you’re using Quest headset. I don’t think it will change until Valve Frame, but you can also argue that it’s not really PCVR
• darth_avocado 7mo ago
  Sometimes it’s just a jobs program to keep people busy so that they can’t build something else that can threaten your business
  • overfeed 7mo ago
    If this were remotely true, there wouldn't have huge layoff rounds. The opposite is true: they hire thousands upon thousands of people and teach them how to build scalable software, and then set them loose. I'm frankly surprised by the lack of competition, but I suppose that's gated at multiple levels (visas, personal risk, funding, network effects, etc)
    • joe_mamba 7mo ago
      >teach them how to build scalable software Don't they screen to hire people who already know that?
      • overfeed 7mo ago
        > Don't they screen to hire people who already know that? There was a time when big tech widely hired dor entry-level jobs. Also, cramming for the design portion of an interview, and doing it for real, and interacting with the architects/design documents are 2 very different things
    • Espressosaurus 7mo ago
      It was true. Then they needed money for other things and whole orgs get laid off.
  • nytesky 7mo ago
    That was more an issue when rates were low and borrowing capital was “free”.
  • Ekaros 7mo ago
    I am more leaning towards them simply having infinitely more money than sense. So they keep throwing it at anything that looks like it could be something. Well same goes for Google...
• Spoom 7mo ago
  The product isn't Facebook, Quest, or Instagram. The product isn't advertising. The product isn't even people. The product is the stock price. Viewed through that lens, keeping the hype going at all costs makes sense.
  • remify 7mo ago
    The product is a platform Meta control free of Windows, Google or Apple. That's what meta(verse) was suppose to build.
  • JohnMakin 7mo ago
    Yea - and what a foolproof product. Chase $HYPE, boost stock price, quietly deprecate $HYPE in favor of $NEXT_HYPE, stock doesn't correct, just goes up more you could do this forever!
• eclipxe 7mo ago
  There is. Reality Labs is not just VR. There are several divisions doing things non VR related. These areas have significant investment.
  • foobiekr 7mo ago
    For now.