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| A prototype of the company's VR headset, the Oculus Rift. |
Though still in pre-orders for $350 each, the Oculus Rift VR headset—with its low-persistence OLED display and low-latency positional head tracking—will certainly change gaming. The device fully immerses you into a virtual reality world, and Zuckerberg sees it as just the beginning for a new communication platform.
Virtual reality has been embedded in science fiction for decades. Oculus' technology proves that we're that much closer to the future of entertainment and gaming.
According to Zuckerberg, Facebook's mission is to "make the world more open and connected," far beyond their agenda towards building mobile apps over the past few years. "We have a lot more to do on mobile, but at this point we feel we're in a position where we can start focusing on what platforms will come next to enable even more useful, entertaining, and personal experiences," he continued.
Oculus echoed this news:
"At first glance, it might not seem obvious why Oculus is partnering with Facebook, a company focused on connecting people, investing in internet access for the world and pushing an open computing platform. But when you consider it more carefully, we're culturally aligned with a focus on innovating and hiring the best and brightest; we believe communication drives new platforms; we want to contribute to a more open, connected world; and we both see virtual reality as the next step."Facebook's first initiative after absorbing the virtual reality company will be immersive gaming. Oculus has big plans for the industry, and Zuckerberg reassures us that Facebook will give Oculus the resources to develop their technology more quickly, while leaving the developers free to work independently. "The Rift is highly anticipated by the gaming community, and there's a lot of interest from developers in building this platform," he said. "We're going to focus on helping Oculus build out their product and develop partnerships to support more games."
Facebook plans to extend virtual reality beyond video games. With the new technology, "we're going to make Oculus a platform for many other experiences," Zuckerberg said, describing the possibilities of a courtside seat at a game or a virtual classroom filled with students from around the world—just by the use of the headset.
Oculus isn't the only company in the market developing VR technology. SONY recently announced their own prototype VR headset for PS4. With a much sleeker black and white design, Project Morpheus will be available for developers soon, though no release date has been set.
Zuckerberg has high hopes for Oculus, saying, "Imagine sharing not just moments with your friends online, but entire experiences and adventures."
What do you think of the deal? Is Facebook taking on too much with their past multibillion-dollar ventures? Let us know in the comment section below.
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