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Report may suggest that login requirement for Oculus Quest 2 is anticompetitive

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Re: Report may suggest that login requirement for Oculus Quest 2 is anticompetitive

#31

The Xbox requires that you have a Microsoft account, right? This seems like an inconvenience but I have a hard time understanding why it’s worth Congress’s time. Isn’t the world full of products that have to be registered by making an account in some system or another? I guess I could understand if somebody didn’t have internet access and wants to use Oculus, but they wouldn’t be able to download any games either eve…

Does the Xbox stop working if your Microsoft account gets banned?

Re: Report may suggest that login requirement for Oculus Quest 2 is anticompetitive

#32

The Xbox requires that you have a Microsoft account, right? This seems like an inconvenience but I have a hard time understanding why it’s worth Congress’s time. Isn’t the world full of products that have to be registered by making an account in some system or another? I guess I could understand if somebody didn’t have internet access and wants to use Oculus, but they wouldn’t be able to download any games either eve…

Xbox Live is a Microsoft service that requires an account, you don't need an Xbox Live account to use the Xbox.

Re: Report may suggest that login requirement for Oculus Quest 2 is anticompetitive

#33
post #17
post #4

> conditioning access to a product or service in which a firm has market power to the use of a separate product or service is anticompetitive Is the house committee arguing Facebook is a monopoly in....VR? From the stats I found Oculus has a 20-30% share. I don’t like the Facebook requirement for Oculus, but not everything I don’t lime constitutes a monopoly. Other have commented that the house assumes what it sets o…

The complaint does not require a monopoly on either side. It formalizes the reason you don't like the FB login requirement. It is abuse of market power on both sides of the FB/Oculus coin to enforce use of their ecosystem. The market power of FB is obvious, so even if they are using it only to drive a few more ppl to create FB accts by buying Oculus, it is an abuse. Doesn't require Oculus to have much power. Consider…

That seems absurd! You can't use Alexa without Amazon, Chromecast without Google, iWatch without Apple. Why can't Facebook make a headset that requires Facebook?

Re: Report may suggest that login requirement for Oculus Quest 2 is anticompetitive

#35
post #31

The Xbox requires that you have a Microsoft account, right? This seems like an inconvenience but I have a hard time understanding why it’s worth Congress’s time. Isn’t the world full of products that have to be registered by making an account in some system or another? I guess I could understand if somebody didn’t have internet access and wants to use Oculus, but they wouldn’t be able to download any games either eve…

Does the Xbox stop working if your Microsoft account gets banned?

To an extent, yes https://www.reddit.com/r/xboxinsiders/comments/cj5b0a/what_h...

Re: Report may suggest that login requirement for Oculus Quest 2 is anticompetitive

#36

> The report states that, “conditioning access to a product or service in which a firm has market power to the use of a separate product or service is anticompetitive.” I agree with this. I shouldn’t have to have a social media account in order to use a product that isn’t directly related to social media. Accounts like Microsoft aren’t the same as Facebook IMO because they tie products and services I’ve purchased to…

Tangentially related: newly-created Facebook accounts are a whole lot harder to keep up these days if you’re just using them for a single purpose, like following events. I created an account last year to get more socially involved in my community but I didn’t want to post any personal information and my account kept getting disabled unless I added pictures and filled out certain sections of my profile. Not sure if it…

I had this same experience yesterday. Tried to create a new account and it was insta-locked until I started providing personal information. I hadn't even used it.

Re: Report may suggest that login requirement for Oculus Quest 2 is anticompetitive

#37
post #31

The Xbox requires that you have a Microsoft account, right? This seems like an inconvenience but I have a hard time understanding why it’s worth Congress’s time. Isn’t the world full of products that have to be registered by making an account in some system or another? I guess I could understand if somebody didn’t have internet access and wants to use Oculus, but they wouldn’t be able to download any games either eve…

Does the Xbox stop working if your Microsoft account gets banned?

Nope but your console might get banned from xbox live in certain cases (all consoles have similar).

Re: Report may suggest that login requirement for Oculus Quest 2 is anticompetitive

#38

How is this any different than the iPhone and Apple Id?

The Apple ID isn’t a separate business that you are being forced to use if you want to use your iPhone.

Imagine Apple owned Comcast and required you to have a Comcast account to use your iPhone. That’s what they’re mad about here.

Re: Report may suggest that login requirement for Oculus Quest 2 is anticompetitive

#39

While sign in with apple is totally fine. I hate Facebook like any normal person but this is ridiculous.

Does the report say that? The article doesn't mention it and the report is 449 pages long, so I haven't read it.

Re: Report may suggest that login requirement for Oculus Quest 2 is anticompetitive

#40
post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Which standalone VR headset would you recommend, if one can‘t use a Facebook login?

"Standalone" is a nice feature but not a separate product category. Facebook rightly considers Sony, Microsoft, HTC as competing with Oculus.

Standalone absolutely is a separate product cateogory. It's the difference between a computer monitor and an iPad: even though they both have screens, they are different in kind. They target different market segments, have completely different software ecosystems both for end-users and developers, orders of magnitude more R&D requirements, higher switching costs, etc.
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