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Virtual reality ads make their way to Facebook's Oculus headsets

reuters.com

31–40 of 196 posts

Re: Virtual reality ads make their way to Facebook's Oculus headsets

#31
post #8

> Facebook said it will use the test to explore ways to help developers earn revenue on the Oculus platform. How about by just selling games? I hate this mealy-mouthed way of deflecting that it’s not about Facebook’s revenue, but about “helping developers.”

It's entirely up to developers whether to put ads in their game or not.

Re: Virtual reality ads make their way to Facebook's Oculus headsets

#32
post #22

Is it just me? I would rather just pay for stuff and be done with it rather than have my attention and sensorium sold to the highest bidder.

It’s not just you, but you are a tiny minority. You’ve expressed a sentiment that’s very popular on HN, but not among the general population. Take YouTube - a popular ad supported service with a premium tier. How many people are willing to pay to remove ads? Less than 1%. Even on HN I don’t think that number would be more than 10%.

>Take YouTube - a popular ad supported service with a premium tier. How many people are willing to pay to remove ads? Less than 1%.

I think that's an inaccurate assessment of 'people who don't want to see ads', given that statistics put internet wide usage of ad-blockers at around 42%.[0].

Maybe it's just that no one wants to pay their captors for golden ear-muffs and blinders when they themselves are the ones responsible for the poor user experience.

[0]: https://backlinko.com/ad-blockers-users

Re: Virtual reality ads make their way to Facebook's Oculus headsets

#33
Honestly I personally do not want an Oculus (mostly because it is owned by Facebook and tied to a Facebook login) but if ads allow them to make the platform even more affordable to consumers, this could be a boon to VR overall. Ideally, ads means cheaper hardware which leads to a larger consumer base which entices a larger developer base, and, hopefully, more and better VR games when the dust settles.

Re: Virtual reality ads make their way to Facebook's Oculus headsets

#34
post #25
post #8

> Facebook said it will use the test to explore ways to help developers earn revenue on the Oculus platform. How about by just selling games? I hate this mealy-mouthed way of deflecting that it’s not about Facebook’s revenue, but about “helping developers.”

Aren't Oculus games typically $20-50? The price points for games always seemed very high to me. In an ideal world they'd offer a "no ads, full price" version and a "discount with ads" version. My guess is we'll probably just be left with "full price with ads" as the only option.

Or, in a worst case scenario, they will be free, with ads, and the ecosystem will turn into a trash fire like the mobile game market did.

Re: Virtual reality ads make their way to Facebook's Oculus headsets

#36
I despise ads in all forms, and the absolute worst offenders are ads built into a platform just like this. Windows 10 shouldn’t be advertising on my desktop, PlayStation/Xbox shouldn’t be advertising on my dashboard, cars shouldn’t be advertising on the controls/display, and Facebook shouldn’t be advertising in my virtual reality headset.

Re: Virtual reality ads make their way to Facebook's Oculus headsets

#37
post #12

Oculus cannot be used without a Facebook account. Facebook is an advertising company. It's simple: if you don't want ads, delete your Facebook account, and don't ever buy Oculus. I got an HTC Vive Pro 2 three days ago, and it's sweet. No Facebook required.

The Vive Pro 2 is absurdly expensive ($1400) compared to the Oculus offering.

The Vive Pros are at its name implies, for pros, or for people with big budgets who want the best. You simply can't compare.

I think that if you don't want to buy Oculus and have a reasonable budget (~$400), WMR headsets are the only alternative.

Re: Virtual reality ads make their way to Facebook's Oculus headsets

#39
post #36

I despise ads in all forms, and the absolute worst offenders are ads built into a platform just like this. Windows 10 shouldn’t be advertising on my desktop, PlayStation/Xbox shouldn’t be advertising on my dashboard, cars shouldn’t be advertising on the controls/display, and Facebook shouldn’t be advertising in my virtual reality headset.

FWIW, the ads are not on the platform level, but inside individual games and apps. For now. (I also despise ads)
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