The backlash is a bit silly, though I also find the acquisition surprising. I suspect that companies with any sort of capital investment in a rift-based-game will continue development.
That being said, Oculus owned by Facebook is a different sort of animal than independent Oculus. Previously, they had to sell the public on a $2-300 VR gaming headset or die. Now they have a lot more wiggle room. Personally, I feel more comfortable working with companies that have as much skin as I do in the game. I understand why the shift would unsettle people.
$70, blue colour only with white trim, have to sign-in to Facebook to use, programmable only using Hack language, shows targeted ads in peripheral vision area.
It's emotional, but common, what is the proper reaction if one of the greats thing is bought by one of the worst? The only scenario worse than this i can image is Oracle.
How would you feel if SpaceX, if you invested in it's technology, would have been bought by John Deere? This is more tragic than the acquisition of Bell Labs by Alcatel.
As a investor who get's the money, i'd be that too. But if you bought a dev kit and invested money and time to develop for that platform this is about the worst possible news.
And over in a few days/weeks. It's a trend that comes from a gut feeling more than rationalization.
I really believe people will change their mind about Facebook now that Facebook is not just the social network but also Instagram, WhatsApp and Oculus.
Yes. All of us who hate this development are irrational. That's the only explanation for this groundswell. I can't think of a single reason to be cynical about Facebook or about this deal.
Nothing pathological or irrational here. Facebook has a track record of trying to trick its users into revealing more information about themselves than they want. Sneaky TOS changes, anyone?
More facebook in the lives of everybody = road to dystopia.
Unless of course, you think privacy is bullshit. Then I'd recommend a book on European history (1850 to now).
I think many peoples' issue with Facebook is that they have proven themselves to be untrustworthy on numerous occassions. They're constantly moving the goal post on user privacy with and without consent and they don't treat business users much better.
It's not surprising that people who care personally about Oculus would not be happy with the Facebook acquisition. Especially since the gaming community has a very strong aversion to the toxic social gaming landscape that Facebook was/is host to.
from a Reddit comment