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FTC clears Facebook's purchase of Oculus VR
Facebook has earned U.S. antitrust approval to purchase Oculus VR, clearing the way for its acquisition of the company and its Oculus Rift VR headset technology, Reuters reports. The U.S. Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission approved the acquisition this week. Facebook announced its purchase plans last month, revealing that it will pay $2 billion to acquire Oculus VR and its assets. Oculus VR crowdfunded its headset technology in 2012, later expanding its development team with the addition of former Valve software engineer Tom Forsyth, University of Illinois robotics scientist Steve Lavelle, and id Software co-founder John Carmack. The Oculus Rift headset has sold over 85,000 units to date. [Image: Oculus VR]
US government approves Facebook's purchase of Oculus
We're not sure there was ever much doubt, but the US government has given the thumbs up to Facebook's $2 billion purchase of Oculus VR. The Federal Trade Commission examined the deal and found that it would not violate American antitrust laws. Now with most of the regulatory hurdles cleared, the focus can shift to the practical implications of the deal. Joining the Facebook family clearly puts a vast amount of resources at the disposal of Oculus founders like Palmer Luckey. But many in the development community are worried that the move represents something of a loss of innocence. Notch, the man behind Minecraft, in particular is apparently creeped out by Facebook and what it's business model and culture could mean for the future of the Rift. We can't pretend to know what's coming -- we're not even sure that Mark Zuckerberg or Oculus are sure what the future holds yet. All we can say is that we really hope a VR version of Facebook isn't in the cards.
Chris Roberts reacts to Facebook Oculus acquisition, says Star Citizen won't be bought
The fear of a crowdfunded project being bought up by a larger company - whose motives may not necessarily be in line with those of backers - has become something of a trending topic ever since Facebook's acquisition of Oculus VR. Chris Roberts, creator of the super-mega-crowdfunded Star Citizen, took to the Internet to alleviate such concerns this week, just as his game crossed the $41 million funding mark. "We don't need to go to anyone with deep pockets to make our dream a reality," Roberts wrote. "To mass-produce hardware like the Rift, you need an outlay of hundreds of millions of dollars. Luckily our ships are digital so we have hardly any cost of goods, just the cost of developing the universe of Star Citizen and running servers that Star Citizen's universe will be simulated on." Regarding the Facebook acquisition of Oculus, Roberts doesn't seem concerned. Star Citizen natively supports the Rift, and Roberts himself was a backer of the VR headset on Kickstarter. He hopes that Facebook's funding will help Oculus compete in the market, and eventually release an attractively-priced consumer version of the Rift. Roberts wrote that until he sees something that causes the team behind Oculus to lose the "passion that convinced me to back the project," he will remain a committed partner. [Image: Roberts Space Industries]
Oculus VR picks up Valve's Aaron Nicholls
We like to imagine that there's some fantastical conveyance – a giant slide or a catapult, perhaps – that connects the Bellevue, Washington offices of Valve and Oculus VR. It might help explain the number of Valve employees that keep making the jump (launch?) to Oculus' camp. The latest Valver to slide on over to Oculus is Aaron Nicholls who, according to his Linkedin profile (login required), researched virtual reality for two years with Valve. Specifically, said research included "a wide range of perceptual and physical considerations necessary for delivering presence in VR." Nicholls will be working as a scientist alongside other former Valvers, including Michael Abrash, now Oculus VR's Chief Scientist, and Chief Architect, Atman Binstock. [Image: Oculus VR]
Weekends with Engadget: the future of Oculus Rift, new HTC One review and more!
Welcome to Weekends with Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines from the past seven days -- all handpicked by the editors here at the site. For even more news, subscribe to our Flipboard magazine!
John Carmack on Facebook buy of Oculus: 'they get the Big Picture'
John Carmack, co-founder of id Software and current CTO of Oculus, has weighed in on the Internet's ... shall we say "mixed" reaction to the news of Facebook purchasing the virtual reality-oriented company. Carmack responded to a post titled "Wrong and Right Reasons To Be Upset About Oculus" on Anamanaguchi lead songwriter Peter Berkman's Tumblr page, noting that, while he was not involved in the negotiations with Facebook, he has "reason to believe that they get the Big Picture as I see it, and will be a powerful force towards making it happen." That being said, even Carmack seems surprised by the acquisition. "Honestly, I wasn't expecting Facebook (or this soon). I have zero personal background with them, and I could think of other companies that would have more obvious synergies," Carmack wrote. Many have expressed concern over Facebook's policies regarding private information, but Carmack doesn't share those worries. "I'm not a 'privacy is gone, get over it' sort of person, and I fully support people that want [to] remain unobserved, but that means disengaging from many opportunities. The idea that companies are supposed to interact with you and not pay attention has never seemed sane to me," he wrote in a separate comment. "I have never felt harmed by data mining, and I rather like the recommendations that Amazon gives me on each visit." [Image: Oculus]
Joystiq Weekly: Facebook buys Oculus VR, Bioshock Infinite DLC review, GDC videos and more
Welcome to Joystiq Weekly, a "too long; didn't read" of each week's biggest stories, reviews and original content. Each category's top story is introduced with a reactionary gif, because moving pictures aren't just for The Daily Prophet. If GDC and this past week has taught us anything, it's that almost no one's happy with the present state of reality. Virtual reality headset Oculus Rift now has a pretty cushion-y parent company, the comparable Project Morpheus potentially has Sony's developers behind it, and Microsoft might be toying with their own ideas for augmented reality. The common consensus seems to be "let's reach the future, even if it means strapping displays to our faces." We're starting to wonder what Nintendo's non-wearable health technology is going to look like. If it's not something to block out our primary reality, and if it's planned to launch through Nintendo's fiscal year of 2016, will it be something to supplement devices we already own? Maybe we'll face a line of AdventureTrek treadmills, where we run and jump our way through iconic Nintendo universes. Maybe it will involve a Pokemon MMO played with pedometer devices like the Pokemon Pikachu, with dungeon raids consisting of a dozen people throwing their devices into dryers for the best possible attack speed. Or maybe neither of those ideas! Because they're garbage. What isn't garbage is the slew of news, reviews and original content we've lined up for you in this week's Joystiq Weekly. Even if you don't care about VR, there's news of a legal tussle between 3D Realms and Gearbox over Duke Nukem, a hint of The Last Of Us reaching the PS4 and a review of Bioshock Infinite's Burial at Sea Episode Two. There's also video features from GDC for Fantasia: Music Evolved, Goat Simulator and Videoball, in case you like moving pictures with your words. We've summarized all that and more for you to delve into after the break!
Daily Roundup: virtual Facebook concept, ThinkPad X1 Carbon review and more!
You might say the day is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workday, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Daily Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past 24 hours -- all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.
Valve R&D head Michael Abrash joins Oculus as chief scientist
Michael Abrash, the leader of Valve's Research and Development team, joined Oculus VR as chief scientist today. The news follows Oculus' recent acquisition by Facebook to the tune of $2 billion, which Abrash addressed, in a blog post on Oculus VR's site, as a promise that virtual reality "is going to happen in all its glory." "The resources and long-term commitment that Facebook brings gives Oculus the runway it needs to solve the hard problems of VR – and some of them are hard indeed," Abrash wrote. "I now fully expect to spend the rest of my career pushing VR as far ahead as I can." As of January, Abrash was at the forefront of Valve's efforts to work with Oculus to develop in-home virtual reality solutions. Valve's VR leader, Atman Binstock, joined Oculus earlier this month to lead a new Seattle-based team as chief architect. Abrash described his "unlikely" journey to Valve and now Oculus VR in the blog and his work with John Carmack, who joined Oculus in August as the company's CTO. Oculus' own path from a $2.5 million Kickstarter project to a $2 billion sale is equally remarkable, to be sure. [Image: Oculus VR]
Oculus Rift: From $2.4 million Kickstarter to $2 billion sale
Facebook's acquisition of Oculus VR stunned the game industry. In less than two years, Oculus VR and its Oculus Rift virtual reality headset have gone from (literal) overnight Kickstarter success to subsidiary of a social networking giant. To put it another way: John Carmack, one of the principal creative forces behind the original Doom, is now a Facebook employee. Wild. The transition of Oculus VR from a $2.4 million dollar Kickstarter to a $2 billion dollar acquisition seems unreal. To put things in perspective, and for the benefit of anyone who hasn't kept up with Oculus VR's meteoric rise, we've decided to retrace the company's story all the way from its humble beginnings in 2012.
Daily Roundup: the future of Oculus Rift, Turkey drops Twitter ban and more!
You might say the day is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workday, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Daily Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past 24 hours -- all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.
Oculus founder: Rift is open, Sony's Project Morpheus is not
Oculus VR co-founder Palmer Luckey highlighted the differences between his company's Oculus Rift headset technology and Sony's recently announced Project Morpheus in an interview with GamesBeat, predicting that the majority of Rift software would never see release on Sony's closed platform. "Most developers that are currently making things for the Rift don't really have that same option to make something for Project Morpheus," Luckey told GamesBeat. "We're an open platform that lets anyone develop anything. Sony is not [open]. There are hundreds of experiences already available for the Rift, and I would bet the vast majority of those would not make it onto a PlayStation 4." During the interview, conducted before Facebook revealed its $2 billion purchase of Oculus VR yesterday, Luckey also stated that Project Morpheus is a net positive for the burgeoning industry. "I think it's a good thing for virtual reality when more people come into the market," he said. "Especially a big player. It shows that VR really is something that is gonna have traction." Luckey additionally believes that the VR headset market will be large enough to support both Oculus and Sony. "This market is not even close to saturation, and the Sony thing is just for their console," he said. "Our thing is not on their console, so we don't even cross paths." [Image: Sony]
Oculus founders: Facebook lets us bring the best VR experience to a billion people
Oculus VR co-founders Palmer Luckey and Brendan Iribe had a vision for their company: to bring virtual reality to as many people as possible, in the best way possible, at the lowest possible price. And, according to the duo, selling the company to Facebook is the best way to reach those goals. "This is the best thing for us to do," Luckey told us in a post-announcement interview. "It leaves us in the same position we've always been in, doing the same things we wanted to do."
Daily Roundup: new HTC One review, Facebook acquires Oculus VR and more!
You might say the day is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workday, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Daily Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past 24 hours -- all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.
Palmer Luckey says Oculus' future 'just became crystal clear,' but Facebook's impact is still murky
If you're reading this, you're likely already aware that social networking juggernaut Facebook has just announced plans for yet another multi-billion dollar acquisition. This time it's spending $2 billion dollars (that's $17 billion less than WhatsApp for those keeping track) to buy virtual reality headset maker Oculus. Just minutes after the announcement, the startup's founder, Palmer Luckey took to Reddit to provide some perspective about the deal: "When Facebook first approached us about partnering, I was skeptical. As I learned more about the company and its vision and spoke with Mark, the partnership not only made sense, but became the clear and obvious path to delivering virtual reality to everyone. Facebook was founded with the vision of making the world a more connected place. Virtual reality is a medium that allows us to share experiences with others in ways that were never before possible."
Facebook buys Oculus VR
Facebook has acquired Oculus VR, the company building the Oculus Rift virtual reality headset, for $2 billion. Oculus will keep its headquarters in Irvine, California. "We are excited to work with Mark and the Facebook team to deliver the very best virtual reality platform in the world," Oculus co-founder and CEO Brendan Iribe said in a press release. "We believe virtual reality will be heavily defined by social experiences that connect people in magical, new ways. It is a transformative and disruptive technology, that enables the world to experience the impossible, and it's only just the beginning." Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg said that he views the Oculus Rift as a new communication platform. He wrote the following (in a Facebook post, of course): "The Rift is highly anticipated by the gaming community, and there's a lot of interest from developers in building for this platform. We're going to focus on helping Oculus build out their product and develop partnerships to support more games. Oculus will continue operating independently within Facebook to achieve this. But this is just the start. After games, we're going to make Oculus a platform for many other experiences. Imagine enjoying a court side seat at a game, studying in a classroom of students and teachers all over the world or consulting with a doctor face-to-face – just by putting on goggles in your home."
EVE Valkyrie in development for PS4's VR headset
CCP's virtual-reality star fighter EVE: Valkyrie is also in development for Sony's recently announced VR headset, Project Morpheus. Though CCP and Oculus VR had announced a co-publishing agreement for the game, a spokesperson from CCP has told Polygon that the exclusive partnership only extends to the PC version of the game, for use with the Oculus Rift headset. "We partnered with Oculus VR to bring EVE: Valkyrie exclusively to the Oculus Rift on PC and we are thrilled to be working with Sony to bring EVE: Valkyrie to the PS4 with Project Morpheus," a CCP spokesperson said. EVE: Valkyrie, previously known as EVE VR, is a multiplayer space fighting action game within the universe of the MMO EVE Online, designed with virtual reality in mind. CCP's VR title is expected to arrive on PC sometime in 2014. [Image: CCP]
Pre-orders for second development kit of Oculus Rift now live
Oculus Rift, get your Oculus Rift, here! Well, not here, but those ready to take the plunge into virtual reality can now pre-order the second version of the headset's developer kit via the Oculus company site. Nabbing one will cost you $350, and shipments are expected in July of this year. The new kit - and the site stresses this is a kit, not a consumer product - features low-persistence OLED displays at a resolution of 960 x 1080 per eye, as well as positional head tracking via an external camera. The Developer Kit 2 announcement on the Oculus website notes that this opens up such possibilities as "peering around corners, leaning in to get a closer look at objects in the world, and kicking back on a virtual beach." "DK2 is not the Holodeck yet," the company states on the kit's announcement page, "but it's a major step in the right direction." [Image: Oculus]
Valve VR leader joins Oculus R&D with new Seattle team
Oculus has scooped up Atman Binstock as its new Chief Architect; he's the former Valve virtual reality head and one of the leaders of the VR Room demo at Steam Dev Days. Binstock will head up a new Oculus R&D team in Seattle, Washington, which joins existing offices in Irvine, California, Dallas, Texas, and San Francisco, California. It's worth noting that Valve is based in Bellvue, Washington, roughly 15 minutes from Seattle. Binstock says he began working on VR at Valve two years ago, after a pitch from Valve R&D leader Michael Abrash: "Michael convinced me that this was basically the myth of technological inevitability: the idea that because technologies were possible, they would just naturally happen. Instead, the way technological revolutions actually happen involve smart people working hard on the right problems at the right time. And if I wanted a revolution, and I thought I was capable of contributing, I should be actively pushing it forward. I signed up." Valve and Oculus are working together on the Oculus VR headset, and together they created the most recent Oculus prototype, the Crystal Cove. Valve doesn't plan on releasing an in-house VR headset, and will instead focus on helping Oculus. In February, we learned Oculus was running out of dev kits because some components were no longer manufactured. Now, the company has closed sales in most regions and it's ramping down production. Oculus writes, "We never expected to sell so many Rift development kits and the fact that we're close to being sold out after 60,000 kits is nothing short of incredible - Thank you for your support!" There's no word on a new dev kit model. [Image: Oculus VR]
Oculus Rift running out of stock as some components cease production
Oculus VR can't construct additional Oculus Rift dev kits because some components are no longer being manufactured, an Oculus community manager posted on Reddit. The company is now relying on on existing stock, but that's "quickly running out," the post reads. Oculus is investigating alternate sources for the required materials, but for now the team will simply suspend sales by region as its stock runs dry. Oculus Rift dev kits are currently still on sale in the US, Canada, countries in the EU, Japan, South Korea, Australia, Switzerland and Norway. There are more than 50,000 dev kits out in the wild, the spokesperson says. There's no word on the existence of a dev kit 2.0 (though it seems Reddit would love one). "We never expected to sell so many development kits and VR only made this much progress with the community's support and enthusiasm," the community manager says. "Even though we never wanted to sell out, it's a good problem to have – thank you!" If those missing components aren't electrical or lens-based, we may have a solution for Oculus: 3D printing. The future of gaming meets the future of manufacturing in one tidy hunk of layered plastic. [Image: Oculus VR]
