What… is going on here exactly.
In its continuing quest for cyberspace domination, Facebook today announced its purchase of Oculus Rift, a virtual reality company that created one of the world’s most advanced VR systems and crowdfunded it on Kickstarter.
The Oculus Rift is currently only available to developers—who have managed to create a few immersive games that’ve yet to be released to the wider public—and Zuckerberg said he plans to accelerate the company’s game program while developing it as a “new communication platform.” What could this mean? The future is limitless and not a little crazy. Facebook chat could one day include a virtual reality component, and oh, the long-distance relationships that will save.
Anyway, Facebook paid a staggering $2 billion for the company, including $400 million in cash and 23.1 million shares of stock.
“I’m excited to announce that we’ve agreed to acquire Oculus VR, the leader in virtual reality technology,” Zuck said in a statement.
“Our mission is to make the world more open and connected. For the past few years, this has mostly meant building mobile apps that help you share with the people you care about. 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.
This is where Oculus comes in. They build virtual reality technology, like the Oculus Rift headset. When you put it on, you enter a completely immersive computer-generated environment, like a game or a movie scene or a place far away. The incredible thing about the technology is that you feel like you’re actually present in another place with other people. People who try it say it’s different from anything they’ve ever experienced in their lives.”
Facebook is the Matrix.
[H/T: Techcrunch]