The massive public outcry that collectively boomed into the heavens upon Facebook’s purchase of Oculus’ is probably still floating around in the stratosphere somewhere. However, its creators assure us this is no reason to worry.
After dropping a hefty $2 billion dollars to acquire the up and coming VR tech, some believed the corporate influence of “big brother” would derail its grass roots nature into something more commercial. Now, even with the buyout months behind us, CEO Brendan Iribe is still attempting to put these fears to rest. In a recent interview, he states, “We’re really game developers at heart…We’re really focused on the game market. A lot of people think, ‘Oh, Oculus Rift is going to go into communications and these other areas.’ And, ‘Now Oculus is part of Facebook and they’re not going to be focusing on gaming so much.’ And that’s really not true.”
While some (myself included) have been glued to any news feed we could find regarding the Oculus’ development, some in the industry are less than sold on the proposition. Even though Sony has jumped on the band wagon with the Morpheus, Microsoft has not yet ventured into VR development. Even the Father of Nintendo has his reservations, as Shigeru Miyamoto feels the concept isolates gamers rather than bringing them together in a social environment.
However, Iribe maintains the ‘Rift’s focus has never shifted away from the game industry, stating it’s “…built on a 3D scene that you have to render in real time at an incredibly high frame rate, which is what game developers do best.”