Facebook to buy Oculus VR for $2 Billion

Someone mentioned that maybe the weirdest thing is that John Carmack is now a Facebook employee.

On Reddit a month ago:

I liked: http://www.theverge.com/2014/3/25/5547946/welcome-to-planet-facebook

But yeah if this is what's next count me out.

I think The Zuck is taking the "wearables" concept a bit too seriously.

@dave, maybe the problem then is that they spent more than a second closing the deal :)

I assume there's already plenty of backlash against stupid stories like "what about all the people who donated through kickstarter." It reminds me of reporting on people who were outraged when Steve Jobs reduced the iPhone 1 price by $200. Consumers do not own future rights to feel privileged about their past consumption decisions. Those who feel they do are making stupid decisions and deserve to learn their lesson as brutally as possible. They are absolutely NOT a class that needs protection in this world.

http://pando.com/2014/03/26/oculus-rises-to-a-2b-exit-while-its-kickstarter-backers-are-left-with-cheap-swag/

ಠ_ಠ

@snapster, Right, I think there's a potential for a change in reaction to future Kickstarter projects (though the "ooh it's shiny" aspect will likely win over any "how upset will I be if they make billions after taking my donation). But based on Kickstarter's previous responses, they'll gladly tell people they should not donate if they expect anything at all from the project.

It does make me wonder about a crowd-funded site that actually did end up giving some of the ownership away, but I guess that's just what an IPO is.

If there's a silver lining, some of the gifs are hilarious. For example:

@snapster, What do you mean? Of course I am outraged that Jobs reduced the price of the iPhone 1 after I spent two nights in a tent on the hard, cold concrete only to pay full price. ;-)

For me to donate to a KickStarter campaign would take either 1) me really wanting the initial run of the product, or 2) an invention that could significantly and positively impact peoples' lives. Oculus fits neither of these. However, a crowd-funded "IPO", as @dave mentioned, could be awesome. It'd be possible to pitch in $1K-$2K for a great idea while the usual $25K-$100K minimum VC requirement is too big of a risk for most of us regular folk.

@joshaw, I'm reading sarcasm, but to clarify my statement: I'm saying that in order for outrage to be justified, the ability to lower the price must be contemplated in advance and also not in response to any external competition that justifies it. I don't believe Jobs intended the maneuver and I think that Android's success indicates there was plenty of competitive reason to be aggressive.

I agree not buying things because we're wary consumers is exactly the right response.

@snapster, I don't think the rage is ever justified. If we take iDevices as an example, the initial wave of people go to outrageous lengths to be the "first" to get them. They are paying the premium for these bragging rights. The second wave are the people that still really want the product but aren't crazy enough to camp out to be the first. The last wave is probably your average consumer that either needs a new phone or their contract is up. This is probably the class that has the best case for rage but with electronics there is one certainty: prices will go down. I am an electrical engineer that works for a company that provides many parts for many different products (the iPhone included). Driving cost down is nearly always our #1 goal (with power consumption usually being second).

And of course there was sarcasm in my post. I'd never buy an iDevice! :D

Interesting time for a competitor to pop up: http://www.trueplayergear.com/.

I'm fully expecting them to push hard on the gaming applications after this news. From their Reddit AMA: "We didn’t initially intend to make any announcement. But we feel that with the news of a corporation buying Oculus, who is focused on web applications and doesn’t understand the hardware business like others do, we really need to come out of the woods and let everyone know that there is an alternative that is coming soon."