Palmer Luckey actively answering questions - Follow more responses here (click context for erm context)
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For reference - As for exactly how Facebook will monetize Oculus, CEO Mark Zuckerberg said on the call to investors, "We're clearly not a hardware company. We're not going to try to make a profit off of the hardware long-term...but if we can make this a network where people are communicating, and buying virtual goods, and there might be ads down the line...that’s where the business could come from." - Full investor call if you've got the balls to go through it (tasty data for zuckerburg monster nom nom nom)("Ubiquitous computing platform rather than console platform route)
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Some good Q & A over at the verge as well - too much for the OP
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Palmer: This deal specifically lets us greatly lower the price of the Rift.
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Q Cut the PR.
Most of us will not agree with it.
Most of us will see it as a sell-out.
You had our trust. Now you will have to regain it.
A I understand that, and I am confident that I will.
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Q Just promise me there will be no specific Facebook tech tie-ins.
A I promise.
Why would we want to sell to someone like MS or Apple? So they can tear the company apart and use the pieces to build out their own vision of virtual reality, one that fits whatever current strategy they have? Not a chance.
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Palmer: We promise we won't change. If anything, our hardware and software will get even more open, and Facebook is onboard with that.
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Q Okay, question really all I want answered since you didn't go into detail or even really speak about it.
What will this $2 billion in investment allow you to do with VR that you could not achieve before?
Follow ups...
Is it going to rapidly expand your employee base? Do you worry that it might hurt the company culture or efficiency of a smaller team?
A We have not gotten into all the details yet, but a lot of the news is coming. The key points:
1) We can make custom hardware, not rely on the scraps of the mobile phone industry. That is insanely expensive, think hundreds of millions of dollars. More news soon.
2) We can afford to hire everyone we need, the best people that fit into our culture of excellence in all aspects.
We can make huge investments in content. More news soon.
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Q I can support this as a great step forward to a variety of VR experiences, not just gaming VR.
But I have one request: Don't put Facebook updates in my HUD
A Deal!
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Q What if Facebook tries to create its own version of Steam or Origin where all Oculus games have to go through?
A We are already working on our own VR game platform/launcher, but we are not going to force everything to go through it. Facebook has no interest in changing that, they believe in what we have been doing all along.
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Q Well, for one thing, I was working on a VR social network platform. It's still extremely early but this news makes me wonder if I'm wasting my time because Facebook may have an "app store" that denies this sort of app.
A We are not going to lock people out because they compete. We have been working on a variety of first party applications, but are completely open to community equivalents. It would be arrogant of us to assume that our solutions will be the best solutions, users can decide for themselves.
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Q Palmer, as a die-hard fan and supporter since the first day that the kickstarter went live, I am legitimately disappointed by this news, not to mention your response. I feel like your post does not address any of the issues that most people are having, and instead relies on PR doublespeech to avoid our questions. I feel like you have not answered any of the main issues that we are having, such as:
Facebook is known for it's intrusive tracking of users, not to mention it's extreme focus on advertisement, intrusive logins, and focus on linking to real-life data collection. The appeal of Oculus (as compared to Sony, for example) is because it is on a PC platform, and thus allows us, the developers, freedom over what we want to do with it. How are you going to guarantee that this partnership will not cause the Rift to become "commercialized", so to speak; for example, targeted ads overlaid over games, intrusive tracking of applications or programs that we run, brickwalling indie developers from the rift, and allowing our personal information to be sold/marketed/given to facebook?
Facebook, although undebatedly a massive company, is beginning to lose a lot of its teenage population due to the more widespread use of it by the older population. The Rift is absolutely targeted towards the gaming population, which tends to be teenage to early 20s/30s, which is the exact population that Facebook is currently losing. By partnering with Facebook, you are gaining access to a massive userbase of people that the rift is not targeted towards, which people might feel is a very bad move. In fact, it's arguable that you are actually targeting the userbase which has the highest chance of actively opposing the Rift, due to how the middle-aged/older population tends to view technology and video games, and especially the negative consequences associated with them. Can you guarantee that this will not negatively affect the Rift's health?
The fact that Oculus has been acquired by Facebook, not partnering with Facebook. I noticed that in your post, you were very careful to use the term partnering, which suggests that you retain freedom and complete control over Oculus. However, news sites are stating that this is an acquisition, and the price point thrown around of $2b suggests that this is correct. What we fear is not that Oculus will be partnering with Facebook, but that you are selling out the company to Facebook and no longer retain control over Oculus. I can say that I, personally, support Oculus because I believed in the goals and visions that you had. However, now that you have been acquired by Facebook and no longer retain control over your own company, how can you guarantee that you will continue pursuing these goals?
I know that due to the massive negative backlash right now, chances are you will not reply to this post. However, I hope that sooner or later, you will provide us with answers to these issues, since I feel that you stand to lose a large section of your fanbase.
A I am sorry that you are disappointed. To be honest, if I were you, I would probably have a similar initial impression! There are a lot of reasons why this is a good thing, many of which are not yet public. A lot of people obviously feel the same way you do, so I definitely want to address your points:
The appeal of Oculus (as compared to Sony, for example) is because it is on a PC platform, and thus allows us, the developers, freedom over what we want to do with it.
None of that will change. Oculus continues to operate independently! We are going to remain as indie/developer/enthusiast friendly as we have always been, if not more so. This deal lets us dedicate a lot of resources to developer relations, technical help, engine optimizations, and our content investment/publishing/sales platform. We are not going to track you, flash ads at you, or do anything invasive.
The Rift is absolutely targeted towards the gaming population, which tends to be teenage to early 20s/30s, which is the exact population that Facebook is currently losing. By partnering with Facebook, you are gaining access to a massive userbase of people that the rift is not targeted towards, which people might feel is a very bad move.
Almost everyone at Oculus is a gamer, and virtual reality will certainly be led by the games industry, largely because it is the only industry that already has the talent and tools required to build awesome interactive 3D environments. In the long run, though, there are going to be a lot of other industries that use VR in huge ways, ways that are not exclusive to gamers; the current focus on gaming is a reflection of the current state of VR, not the long term potential. Education, communication, training, rehabilitation, gaming and film are all going to be major drivers for VR, and they will reach a very wide audience. We are not targeting social media users, we are targeting everyone who has a reason to use VR.
What we fear is not that Oculus will be partnering with Facebook, but that you are selling out the company to Facebook and no longer retain control over Oculus. I can say that I, personally, support Oculus because I believed in the goals and visions that you had.
This acquisition/partnership gives us more control of our destiny, not less! We don't have to compromise on anything, and can afford to make decisions that are right for the future of virtual reality, not our current revenue. Keep in mind that we already have great partners who invested heavily in Oculus and got us to where we are, so we have not had full control of our destiny for some time. Facebook believes in our long term vision, and they want us to continue executing on our own roadmap, not control what we do. I would never have done this deal if it meant changing our direction, and Facebook has a good track record of letting companies work independently post-acquisition.
There is a lot of related good news on the way. I am swamped right now, but I do plan on addressing everyone's concerns. I think everyone will see why this is so incredible when the big picture is clear.
