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Minecraft creator says he’s canceled talks for Oculus Rift version

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Re: Minecraft creator says he’s canceled talks for Oculus Rift version

#211

Post by ChrisClark »

sillysaurus3 wrote: post #186
fchollet wrote: post #181

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, it is factually true. JC on Twitter: "I have a deep respect for the technical scale that FB operates at. The cyberspace we want for VR will be at this scale." https://twitter.com/ID_AA_Carmack/status/448631430533246976

If Oculus's plan all along was to create a giant MMO powered by Rift headsets, then this is the first I've heard of it. Interesting. I think a bunch of smaller apps created by developers has a better chance of being successful. EDIT: By "giant MMO" I mean "metaverse from Snowcrash," not "video game."

Well, Carmack has always wanted to create the metaverse. And the Oculus founder has wanted that too. It seems this acquisition might be the best for their plans, if Zuck is on board with it.

Re: Minecraft creator says he’s canceled talks for Oculus Rift version

#212

Post by debaserab2 »

wtallis wrote: post #183
fchollet wrote: post #169

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The "scale" JC is referring to is not hardware production. It's the virtual reality. Millions of people interacting in real time in a virtual universe in which they are actually present . Think of it as similar to the scaling challenges of MMORPGs. Only much worse.

Ok. But how much realtime stuff has Facebook done? (IM doesn't count.) Do they have any credible experience with anything more specifically relevant than just running large data centers?

What kind of credentials do you need other than "large data centers" the scale of Facebook? IM doesn't count - so what does?

Re: Minecraft creator says he’s canceled talks for Oculus Rift version

#213

Post by seanalltogether »

cwyers wrote: post #143
blhack wrote: post #108

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The best thing? There is really no other company you could think of who would be a better partner? Like google? Or Microsoft?

Google would buy Oculus to integrate it with existing product lines, either Android or wearables. Microsoft would buy it for the Xbox. Apple would buy it to make it part of the iOS line. Facebook by far seems like the weirdest of the possible major buyers, because they have by far the fewest obvious complements to Oculus, but by the same token, that makes them the most likely company to be buying Oculus to expand int…

Microsoft would buy it for the Xbox and desktop PC. They have been very good about making other peripherals for XBox work really well with Windows. I think this would have been the best outcome.

Re: Minecraft creator says he’s canceled talks for Oculus Rift version

#214

Post by mantrax3 »

asdfologist wrote: post #75
mantrax3 wrote: post #49

Facebook buys WhatsApp - hundreds of thousands creeped out, go to Telegram app. Facebook buys Oculus Rift, Minecraft creator cancels talks, creeped out. Feels like that Facebook brand has taken a hit or two with all the privacy violations, huh?

WhatsApp lost hundreds of thousands of users out of 450 million. Yeah, I bet they're losing sleep every night over that 0.1%.

I find this particular form of cynicism entertaining. But this is not about the particular number of users lost.

It's about Facebook's brand.

There are many things Facebook might want to do, but it can't, because people don't trust them, and their every movie is a potential cause for outrage.

No company wants to be left with the only alternative of buying their way into success, and as you see this doesn't work quite smooth, either.

Re: Minecraft creator says he’s canceled talks for Oculus Rift version

#215

Post by anigbrowl »

lingben wrote: post #78
mrschwabe wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Indeed, nice to see Notch take a stand and provide some sliver of redemption today for the thousands of nerds (myself included) upset about the Oculus Facebook deal today. I can't imagine the Oculus team ever reaching their fundraising goal if backers knew the founders were going to sellout before ever reaching the vision they shared to get people to back it in the first place. EDIT: Notch seems to have just confirme…

Exactly. But this goes further and lays bare the sheer stupidity inherent in kickstarter or any other crowd-sourcing platform. Just like facebook's Frankensteinian monstrous mish-mash of consumer/content/advertiser/publisher crowd-funding in its current state is a mish-mash that ends up meaning nothing in the end. You are not an equity partner, you really have no say in how decisions are made, you are not a lender, y…

It's good for artists and small projects that need some capital but might not have very high ROI or might be beyond an innovator's personal means. I can think of quite a few electronic and music-oriented technology projects that I wouldn't have heard about and which would have struggled to find funding in its absence.

Re: Minecraft creator says he’s canceled talks for Oculus Rift version

#216

Post by kennywinker »

akerl_ wrote: post #168
burntroots wrote: post #125

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm curious how you feel about open source, then. Specifically, node.js. Donating hours of your time working on something that eventually got sold for lots of money that you won't see a dime of. Sounds similar.

Except if I'm a major contributor on an open source project, I A) get to shape software that I (generally speaking) am a consumer of, and B) can put that on my resume. Donating to a Kickstarter may give you some superficial "control" over project direction, but it's a far cry from open source, and it doesn't have the future career impact.

> and it doesn't have the future career impact.

If notch cares about "future career" (see parent posts concerning how much money he's got), donating to cool gaming projects and helping them get off the ground will actually probably earn him money in the long run. Positioning yourself as a benevolent benefactor earns not only good will, but influence. Certainly the 10k wouldn't have hurt when it came time to negotiate for Minecraft for the Oculus.

Re: Minecraft creator says he’s canceled talks for Oculus Rift version

#217

Post by cdelsolar »

benched wrote: post #77
Jare wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As much as I'm also negatively shocked by the news, it is impossible to deny the huge impact Facebook has had in how people communicate.

You're right. It has noticeably, negatively impacted all of my real world friendships.

how/why? Facebook is how I connect with my friends and make plans to hang out with them in person later. Without it I wouldn't talk to a lot of people, online or offline.

Re: Minecraft creator says he’s canceled talks for Oculus Rift version

#218

Post by anigbrowl »

InclinedPlane wrote: post #101
Camillo wrote: post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When I said that it was silly to simply donate money to a commercial venture without gaining any stake in it, they called me a naysayer. Who's saying nay now?

True. But back then there was no other option for crowd funding. That's only changing just now as the SEC is finally implementing the crowd funding provisions of the JOBS act.

Yeah, I'm surprised there hasn't been more discussion of that here, though obviously the slow nature of the rulemaking process causes people's interest to wane. Considering the fact that large acquisitions will continue in the future (even if we are in a bubble or unusually inflated period right now), and that even a micro-investment at the right time can lead to huge multiples, it'll be very interesting to see how this changes the landscape. Not being a game or graphics developer I was very interested in Oculus but decided to wait for the consumer version of the technology. However, if I could have bought a tiny equity position for $100 I would probably have done so, since I'm pretty confident on my judgment about which technology is 'hot or not,' and I would likely be celebrating a nice little uptick in my net worth right now.

Re: Minecraft creator says he’s canceled talks for Oculus Rift version

#219

Post by [deleted] »

ctdonath wrote: post #170
sillysaurus3 wrote: post #130

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Heh, from Carmack's twitter 1m ago: https://twitter.com/ID_AA_Carmack/status/448629403740692481 For the record, I am coding right now, just like I was last week. I expect the FB deal will avoid several embarrassing scaling crisis for VR. Glad to see Carmack is still being Carmack. EDIT: By the way, if anyone is wondering why people are having a negative reaction to this Facebook deal, I think one way to understand it…

The problem with grokking Facebook's involvement is the lack of any apparent connection between VR and FB's core competencies. Google at least can use Glass for ever-more data mining. VR? FB? Carmack can sure put the $2B to good use, but how it benefits FB nobody seems to know.

[deleted]

Re: Minecraft creator says he’s canceled talks for Oculus Rift version

#220

Post by [deleted] »

stormbrew wrote: post #204
gfodor wrote: post #139

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The problem people have is that time and time again Facebook releases products, after massive amounts of engineering and research, that are focused on trivialities. Another way to flirt with people. Another way to post photos to the internet. A more fun way to read about the inane status update your ex-girlfriend posted about the food she just ate. Look at Facebook's commercials, the ones where the person is on the p…

> Zuck gets on stage and talks about this world of global connections, and articulates this sweeping vision of a utopia where your whole life is enhanced by Facebook, but what we actually get are cat photos, fake cows, and people yukking it up about celebrity buzzfeed articles. Have you ever considered that this may not be Zuck's fault and that, in fact, this may actually be what the connected world he talks about ac…

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