Facebook just bought Oculus Rift for USD $2 billion. Mark Zuckerberg promises the new technology would help “change the way we work, play and communicate,” and critics hail the acquisition as a huge win for Facebook.
The Rift has been pitched as a video gaming device, but Facebook plans to use its technology for communications, media and other forms of entertainment. Zuckerberg says virtual reality may be the next great computing evolution, after the current transition from desktop computers to mobile devices. That makes it sounds like the future could be Facebook goggles versus Google glasses…
And $2 billion was for what? Oculus Rift (after launching “Rift” goggles two years ago) has not yet released a version of its headset for sale to the general public.
That doesn’t deter the competition. Sony also recently unveiled a prototype headset, codenamed Project Morpheus, that uses a 1080p head-mounted display with head-tracking capabilities.
It works in concert with the PlayStation 4 console to display imagery on the headset’s screen, providing a 90-degree field of view. The device will integrate with the PlayStation Camera with built-in sensors to track head movement.
Sony says the device, which covers a customer’s eyes with a screen, creates a unique experience that makes gamers feel more connected to what’s going on than if they were playing on a television.
“Nothing elevates the level of immersion more than VR,” Shuhei Yoshida, head of PlayStation’s videogame software division said at the launch event. “Many of us in PlayStation have dreamed of VR and what it can mean to the games we create.”
Sony’s effort bolsters the field of virtual reality goggles. If Zuckerberg is right, the headsets may start off in the hands of high end gamers…yet end up in enterprises.
Sony doesn’t say when the device will be launched, nor how is the cost. The company also wouldn’t say what the final specifications will be.
It seems in the world of virtual reality it must pay to stay… well, virtual.
