9 ms·
The negative reaction isn't because of any of that, it's because it's Facebook. Microsoft, Apple, Google, Valve, hell even Dell would have all been acceptable
by _zen 13y ago
The negative reaction isn't because of any of that, it's because it's Facebook.
Microsoft, Apple, Google, Valve, hell even Dell would have all been acceptable acquirers for most PC gamers backing the Oculus Rift.
- ginko 13y agoMicrosoft/Apple would have been bad because that would lock the Rift to a single platform.
- prawn 13y agoI wonder if Microsoft considered Oculus but figured they had the Research heft to build their own independently and for less than $2b? Oculus have been pretty public about what they've learnt along the way, so that information might give pursuers handy shortcuts.
- ChrisPebble 13y agoEven though Rift might not be locked to a hardware platform it will likely be tightly tied to the Facebook platform. Welcome to the Metaverse, please login using your Facebook account to proceed.
- madeofpalk 13y agoWhat makes you think that when you can't log into Instagram with your Facebook account?
- ChrisPebble 13y agoThat's a good point. I think the difference is that instagram had an existing userbase and social ecosystem that complemented Facebook nicely as another content stream. I don't think you will need a Facebook login to play games, but Facebook will likely monopolize any social aspects. Even if they don't overtly lock out other social players, I think that developers will be skittish to invest a lot of time and money developing the new Second Life with the risk of Facebook cutting them off at any point if they are seen as a competitor.
- madeofpalk 13y agoI think this was mentioned on the ATP podcast, but I can't remember... Facebook isnt trying to be Apple and buy companies that contribute to their core products. They want to be Disney (who owns ESPN, Pixar and many others). They've bought these companies (Instagram, Parse, WhatsApp and now Oculus) to largely leave them alone as independant companies operating within Facebook.
- JumpCrisscross 13y agoWhat is a specific likely worst-case you have in mind with Facebook? Risks with other potential acquisition partners: (1) Valve - limited scope. Valve would be fine if Oculus's future were limited to gaming. But they add little value, in balance sheet or experience, for a broader play. Valve + Oculus is only marginally better positioned, for revolutionising computing, than an independent Oculus. (2) Microsoft - too conservative. Big organisation without a history of funding moon shots. As for pairing Oculus with Xbox, I'd copy the concerns with Valve. (3) Dell - underinvestment. Dell is undergoing a private-equity turnaround focussed on optimising operating metrics for an IPO. Not a healthy environment for an open-ended, capital-hungry start-up with an adventurous future. Apple would have been a fine home for Oculus. I suspect VR's market isn't mature enough for Cupertino. But I do not see a material difference between Google and Facebook. Privacy concerns exist at both, and both have a mixed record of integrating acquisitions. What both have is lots of ambition and the surplus capital and experience with which to fuel it.
- prawn 13y agoMicrosoft have history dealing in-depth with education, business and gaming, plus hardware, operating systems, mobile and so on. Facebook's core appears to be social and a little more superfluous.
- michaelt 13y agoWhat is is a specific likely worst-case you have in mind with Facebook? That they realise there's no overlap between their products, so they discontinue the VR products and transfer the employees to web ad targeting. More precisely they make a play for the "VR socialisation" arena but it's a half-hearted attempt because VR socialisation is some manager's pet project rather than their core business, facebook vr socialisation goes the way of Second Life, and the consequence is the same.
- bjz_ 13y agoEven aquisitions from those companies would have been met with disappointment. I think folks were hoping for Oculus to stay independent.