Facebook to buy virtual reality firm Oculus for $2bn

The TOI tried Oculus Rift, a prototype virtual reality headset, at Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas in January and found it to be an impressive piece of engineering that could transform video gaming. (TOI photo by Javed Anwer)

NEW DELHI: Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg is definitely not finished with his shopping. Barely a month after Facebook spent $19 billion on WhatsApp, the company on Wednesday announced that it was buying Oculus VR, a firm that was working on a virtual reality headset for video gamers.

For Oculus, Facebook is forking out around $2 billion. According to the company, "this includes $400 million in cash and 23.1 million shares of Facebook common stock."

"I'm excited to announce that we've agreed to acquire Oculus VR, the leader in virtual reality technology," Zuckerberg said in a post on Facebook. "Virtual reality was once the dream of science fiction. But the internet was also once a dream, and so were computers and smartphones. The future is coming and we have a chance to build it together. I can't wait to start working with the whole team at Oculus to bring this future to the world, and to unlock new worlds for all of us."

While Oculus VR has not yet shipped any product, for the last one and half years it has shown several prototypes that a video gamer can wear to change his or her field of view into a virtual 3D environment. The TOI tried Oculus Rift, a prototype virtual reality headset, at Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas in January and found it to be an impressive piece of engineering that could transform video gaming. Gamers wearing Rift do not see the gaming screen. Instead they see a virtual world made of 3D objects. Essentially, this gives the gamers a feeling that they are inside the game.

While many companies have tried to create virtual gaming environment to make video gaming more immersive, until now only Oculus has come close to provide a solution that works and is viable.

For now it is not clear how Facebook, which is not strictly a gaming company and neither has any known gaming-specific plans, will use Oculus technology. Zuckerberg in his post was vague on why his company was buying the maker of a virtual reality headset.

"Oculus's mission is to enable you to experience the impossible. Their technology opens up the possibility of completely new kinds of experiences," Zuckerberg wrote. "Immersive gaming will be the first, and Oculus already has big plans here that won't be changing and we hope to accelerate. 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."

He added, "But this is just the start. After games, we're going to make Oculus a platform for many other experiences. Imagine enjoying a court side seat at a game, studying in a classroom of students and teachers all over the world or consulting with a doctor face-to-face — just by putting on goggles in your home."

Oculus VR started working on its virtual reality headset in 2012. While it started small, the company's idea of how virtual reality should be done has steadily gained pace. The prototypes of virtual reality headsets the company created have been received well among game developers. Last year, John Carmack, an influential game developer who single-handedly created the first-person shooter genre with his iconic Doom game in early 1990s, left the company — Id Software — that he founded and joined Oculus as chief technology officer.

Zuckerberg hints that he does not consider Oculus as something that is strictly meant for gaming. Instead, he believes the virtual reality is the next technology platform. "Mobile is the platform of today, and now we're also getting ready for the platforms of tomorrow," said Zuckerberg. "Oculus has the chance to create the most social platform ever, and change the way we work, play and communicate."

Other companies are also working to create gadgets that can bring virtual reality to gamers. Sony recently announced Project Morpheus, a headset similar to Oculus Rift that will give PS4 gamers more intense gaming experience
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