It seemsĀ Mark Zuckerberg is on a sort of shopping-spree as of late. After recently buying WhatsApp for a staggering total of $19 billion, the Facebook CEO is making another steep acquisition. This time, the investment seems to be a lot wiser and frankly, less expensive. Facebook forked out $2 billion this time, and acquired a highly-anticipated technology by buying Oculus Rift, the VR technology of tomorrow.
Oculus Rift has been a technology many gamers have been looking forward to for awhile. Sony saw the potential too, and revealed a similar idea called Project Morpheus at this year’s GDC. Still, it seems the Oculus Rift has a head start, and Mark Zuckerberg sees this potential too. The Facebook CEO detailed his company’s decision to acquire the Oculus Rift via a Facebook post, stating that:
“Oculus already has big plans [in gaming] that won’t be changing and we hope to accelerate. 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.”
The truth is, the Oculus Rift VR technology is ambitious, but not exactly cheap to produce. Kickstarter funding is all good and well, but with Facebook pulling out the seemingly bottomless wallet (we’re still gasping at the costly WhatsApp acquisition), things should indeed speed up.
Mark doesn’t want the Oculus Rift to be gaming-exclusive though. He sees untapped potential in the technology, and aims to turn it into a thing of the future in more than one field. Stating that he aims “to make Oculus a platform for many other experiences”, Zuckerberg revealed ambitious plans for the VR technology that could include virtual doctor consultations or court-side seat locations at a sports game.
Where Facebook will be taking the VR remains to be seen, but the increased financial backing could help Oculus Rift develop and grow faster. One thing is certain though – after WhatsApp and now Oculus Rift, it seems Facebook is ready to buy anything worthy of attention, and competitors don’t seem to have a say about things.
Did this turn of events catch you by surprise?