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Virtual Reality is going to change the world

notch.net

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Re: Virtual Reality is going to change the world

#11

Post by fernly »

"I think social could become one of the biggest applications of VR. Being able to sit in a virtual living room and see your friend’s avatar?" -- But that was Second Life! I'm trying to imagine what 2L would have been like with convincing VR.

First, probably not anywhere near technical feasibility for at least several years. Remember the lag when a bunch of avatars were in one place? Or how long it took for a scene to fill in after you teleported? And the bandwidth, good lord...

But then I imagine what it would be like if the bandwidth and server performance issues were magically solved. And I realize that it was all imagined before decades ago, in Snow Crash[1].

[1]http://www.amazon.com/Snow-Crash-Neal-Stephenson/dp/05535626...

Re: Virtual Reality is going to change the world

#12

Post by mambodog »

VR will be like the web. Eventually it will belong to all of us. Once it gets off the ground, no single company will be able to ruin it.

Just like touchscreen smartphones, initially we had the iPhone which is relatively locked down and controlled by a single vendor, but now we have cheap, commoditised hardware of acceptable quality.

More importantly, the real 'platform' for smartphones is the web, which is as open as any we've ever had. Eventually, VR will have something of the same.

I'm glad to see that at least Notch gets it.

Re: Virtual Reality is going to change the world

#13

Post by benched »

mjfl wrote: post #8

This seems to be an unpopular opinion, but I don't believe all the hype about VR. You are never going to be able to get sufficiently passable virtual reality to make up for the hardware hassle. If I want to have a conversation with a friend, I just want to see his/her face, I don't need the whole room simulated for me. Oculus will be a flash in the pan, and it's purchase by Facebook is just another example of the com…

never

You take the long view, I see.

Re: Virtual Reality is going to change the world

#14

Post by TrainedMonkey »

xpose2000 wrote: post #3

I can see the avalanche of negativity coming, and I understand why. However, I don't think we should automatically assume it's a negative thing like Notch did. Facebook can try to ensure that the games are geared towards social interactivity that benefits their platform, but in the end, the developers truly pick the direction. Anyone can buy a dev kit and see what they can build with it. Maybe Facebook wants Oculus R…

"Think about when Microsoft got into gaming and created Xbox. Now imagine if they didn't."

All of Halo series would be on PC.

Re: Virtual Reality is going to change the world

#15

Post by zachinglis »

I wrote about about my views: http://zachinglis.com/posts/oculus-and-facebook-sitting-in-a...

But long story short - As Zuck said, it's a long bet. But one that most gaming companies won't want to be associated with. But they're not going after gaming anyway, gaming was 2 words in the press release. They're going after experiences, of which they have no prerequisites in place (healthcare, sports games, etc.)

I'll be looking forward to whoever shows up in place. It's just such a shame - I felt like they were the awesome people to look forward to seeing help change the gaming landscape.

Re: Virtual Reality is going to change the world

#17

Post by jeffool »

baby wrote: post #10
xpose2000 wrote: post #3

I can see the avalanche of negativity coming, and I understand why. However, I don't think we should automatically assume it's a negative thing like Notch did. Facebook can try to ensure that the games are geared towards social interactivity that benefits their platform, but in the end, the developers truly pick the direction. Anyone can buy a dev kit and see what they can build with it. Maybe Facebook wants Oculus R…

Exactly, everybody is trashing the acquisition for no reasons. I feel like I'm the only one actually happy for Oculus that facebook bought them. Now people around me are gonna hear about Oculus, VR was going to be something big, but with facebook to back them? It's going to be the next big thing.

I think people have reasons. I think their hesitance in relation to Facebook is not completely unwarranted. Mostly people are exaggerating anything I'm worried about, but, hardware owned by non-hardware companies is often tied into software platforms in really damn annoying ways.

To me that would be a legitimate concern with any non-hardware company purchase of a hardware company.

Re: Virtual Reality is going to change the world

#18

Post by jfb »

xpose2000 wrote: post #3

I can see the avalanche of negativity coming, and I understand why. However, I don't think we should automatically assume it's a negative thing like Notch did. Facebook can try to ensure that the games are geared towards social interactivity that benefits their platform, but in the end, the developers truly pick the direction. Anyone can buy a dev kit and see what they can build with it. Maybe Facebook wants Oculus R…

Think about when Microsoft got into gaming and created Xbox. Now imagine if they didn't.

We might have gotten a non-crappy Myth III.

Re: Virtual Reality is going to change the world

#19

Post by jiggy2011 »

TrainedMonkey wrote: post #14
xpose2000 wrote: post #3

I can see the avalanche of negativity coming, and I understand why. However, I don't think we should automatically assume it's a negative thing like Notch did. Facebook can try to ensure that the games are geared towards social interactivity that benefits their platform, but in the end, the developers truly pick the direction. Anyone can buy a dev kit and see what they can build with it. Maybe Facebook wants Oculus R…

"Think about when Microsoft got into gaming and created Xbox. Now imagine if they didn't." All of Halo series would be on PC.

It was originally a Mac title!

Re: Virtual Reality is going to change the world

#20

Post by bduerst »

skore wrote: post #4

For a guy who is otherwise rather easy going, Notch can be incredibly pragmatic and strident. Here, he has cut to heart of the issue. > And I did not chip in ten grand to seed a first investment round to build value for a Facebook acquisition. > Don’t get me wrong, VR is not bad for social. He is right - "social", especially in the way Facebook is doing it at the moment, is terrible for VR. Terrible for any technolog…

My guess is that when Oculus Rift found out about Sony coming to market, they knew they needed someone with deep pockets to speed up their implementation.

They were probably in talks with a number of other companies, but Facebook jumped the gun and made an offer they couldn't refuse, in order to prevent their "competitor" from getting it.

I wonder if FB is going to use OR to rebirth Facebook games, or maybe make their own foray into the gaming industry.

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