I must admit I *was* looking at purchasing an Oculus Rift (or whatever the commercial version was going to be called). Now, however... There is something about this that is raising the hair on the back of my neck...
No Notch niche: Minecraft man in rift with Oculus after Facebook gobble
Minecraft creator Markus "Notch" Persson has used the occasion of Mark Zuckerberg's acquisition of Oculus VR to unload on the boy wonder's Facebook – and bid farewell to the Rift virtual-reality headset team. Perhaps at least a little miffed that Zuck's personal shoppers arrived a few weeks into an investigation about whether …
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Thursday 27th March 2014 04:07 GMT Aqua Marina
It's just struck me that the Wii U might inadvertently be an ideal VR platform. It already has a portable controller with built in screen. I bet I could take it apart and convert it into a VR headset myself, coupled with the motion plus bits of the old controllers, and come up with something useable within a few hours.
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Wednesday 26th March 2014 08:15 GMT sabroni
Re:...a multimillionaire already ..... can afford to walk away
That's sort of the point. A lot of the super rich couldn't tear themselves away from the potential for more profit irrespective of how much money they already have. If Notch has decided he's got enough money to pass up Facebook millions then he clearly has a moral compass that's missing from a lot of the psycopaths at the top.
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Wednesday 26th March 2014 09:29 GMT RISC OS
Re: ..a multimillionaire already ..... can afford to walk away
He is probably just as greedy as everyone else...
if not, let him put his money where his mouth is. and give all future rights and profits to someone else... maybe a homeless person... and let the rights go to another homeless person every 6 months...
I can't see him putting his money where his mouth is with this idea... what's the word for this... I know it, it's on the tip of my tounge...
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Wednesday 26th March 2014 11:31 GMT Anonymous Coward
Re: @ RISC OS
One of these things helps people, one does not:
1) Giving them millions of dollars/pounds as the lottery does. Because no one ever squandered it, right?
2) Giving people the opportunity for education and learning, work and community with the millions of dollars/pounds you have.
Which one?
Splashing cash out randomly does not solve many problems. So your suggesting instead of thinking first, Notch should give it out randomly? If you have a different point to make, I'm all ears though. :)
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Wednesday 26th March 2014 10:49 GMT frank ly
@AC Re: ..a multimillionaire already ..... can afford to walk away
A Psychopath doesn't WANT to kill everyone, it's just that if they do kill anyone then they have no bad feelings about it. Hence, they find it easy to kill if it makes 'logical' sense to them. On a more everyday level, they treat people very badly and have no qualms about it.
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Wednesday 26th March 2014 12:49 GMT Anonymous Coward
Re: ..a multimillionaire already ..... can afford to walk away
"richer"
is an interesting term, I'd wager most of us have less wealth than a lot more people than we imagine. I have negative wealth, ergo I have no tangible assets, very small savings and reasonable debts, as such anyone who has no debt and a fiver in their hand has more wealth than me. I have a higher salary than many people but that's taxed at a high rate and to gain wealth will require significant saving and life style reduction in the medium term...
Anyway fun stuff.
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Wednesday 26th March 2014 13:45 GMT Anonymous Coward
Re: ..a multimillionaire already ..... can afford to walk away
You might have negative assets, but that's only because you are so sucked in to materialism. But isn't that a wrong application of money? Shouldn't you be living in a shack, eating beans all day, maintaining the minimum standard of appearance to keep you employed and then donating all the rest to the less fortunate?
Just because you've borrowed money and invested it - how selfish of you by the way - doesn't mean you can't redeem yourself! Sell whatever assets you have, try to reach a zero-balance and then start shipping money to the less wealthy.
Because you say Notch should put his money where his mouth is (though his mouth has never claimed to want to help the homeless), and then when someone asks you if you do it you make bogus claims about being poorer than the starving African (at least that's what I understood to be implied?), instead of just saying "I never said I'd put my money where my mouth is, douche"
So just to be clear this whole post = a bitchy reply that I wrote cause, well I'm an entitled bastard with nothing better to do.
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Wednesday 26th March 2014 19:13 GMT Daniel B.
Re: ..a multimillionaire already ..... can afford to walk away
Being neck-deep in debt does mean you can actually have negative wealth. It's a basic concept few people grasp, otherwise we wouldn't have so many people who go broke as soon as they spend more than a month without a job.
And not all people in debt are using their CCs to buy useless crap; some have to do so to survive.
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Wednesday 26th March 2014 18:14 GMT sisk
Re: ..a multimillionaire already ..... can afford to walk away
Have you played minecraft TSSSHHHHHHHHHHHHH
Ye gods I hate that sound. Especially when you're busy filling in the hole that the one a few seconds ago made (which is inevitably when the one that was hiding on the other side of one of my farms decides to come give me a hug).
In my humble opinion if you don't hate creepers you just haven't played enough Minecraft.
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Thursday 27th March 2014 01:08 GMT Tom Samplonius
Re: ..a multimillionaire already ..... can afford to walk away
"If Notch has decided he's got enough money to pass up Facebook millions then he clearly has a moral compass that's missing from a lot of the psycopaths at the top."
Umm.. what millions? Facebook isn't forcing money on people. And Facebook isn't paying anyone to port games to Occulus Rift. At least not yet. But they will probably have to, as "exclusives" are an ever present aspect in the gaming market, which involves paying developers to keep a game locked to a certain platform.
I find this whole "Facebook is evil", and that Notch is so principled walking away from a deal that wouldn't even have guaranteed making him any money, narrative pretty daft.
If you want to see his "moral compass" at work, try raising some money on Kickstarter to make a Minecraft Movie. He won't even sue you. He just calls some Silicon Valley buddies, and you just disappear from the Internet.
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Thursday 27th March 2014 12:20 GMT Ian Yates
Re: ..a multimillionaire already ..... can afford to walk away
"If you want to see his "moral compass" at work, try raising some money on Kickstarter to make a Minecraft Movie. He won't even sue you. He just calls some Silicon Valley buddies, and you just disappear from the Internet."
Maybe not an unbiased report, but Notch's explanation is that his lawyers (interestingly, without his input, apparently) said they could carry on if they removed the word "Minecraft", but they voluntarily shut themselves down.
He seems a pretty genuine/open person, from the interactions I've seen.
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Wednesday 26th March 2014 08:53 GMT dan1980
Re: There is nothing "social" ...
Talk to someone in a remote location over the phone line = social.
Talk to someone in a remote location over the phone line while also being able to see a graphical representation of them = "not social".
Apparently.
Unless phone calls are not social either. Maybe for Jake they aren't, but mine are quite convivial, at least when I am on the phone by choice.
The important part is interaction and there's no rule to say that you can't have meaningful, fulfilling, social interactions without being physically in the same room. I'll agree that doing so adds an element to the interaction but who's to say that that element is necessary or even beneficial in all instances?
I hate the idea that a tool designed for gaming has now been bought by a company that earns its money from showing people ads but, as always, it doesn't really impact me that much because I neither use Facebook nor was I looking forward to the Rift device.
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Wednesday 26th March 2014 08:25 GMT sabroni
Re: EOF
Your definition of "social" is out of date. Kind of like arguing that phone conversations aren't real conversations, or that when I skyped my son last night there was no communication. Physical proximity does not dictate whether something is social or not.
And as for "EOF", just as irritating as "End of", but with an extra helping of "Aren't I techy!". It doesn't signify the end of debate, just that you're not prepred to engage with anyone else's opinion.
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Wednesday 26th March 2014 10:08 GMT P. Lee
Re: EOF
I humbly propose anti-social, with "anti" in the earlier Greek meaning: in front of, in the place of, in opposition to, real-life social activity.
So if you use skype to reach those on the other side of the world, that's social. If you use skype to IM your spouse in the next room because you're too lazy to go and see them, that's anti-social.
I may have the wrong meaning there, but this is the internet - someone will correct me.
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Wednesday 26th March 2014 10:01 GMT Evil Auditor
Re: There is nothing "social" ...
EOF = end of fail? ;-)
Seriously, jake, I understand your resentment towards virtual contacts as I much prefer contact in real-life. But even El Reg's commentards' section is in a way social: we are interacting with each other. I don't think we need a new definition of social.
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Wednesday 26th March 2014 18:29 GMT sisk
Re: There is nothing "social" ...
Mainstream sociologists today disagree with you Jake. Some people get the majority of their social contact online. My wife is a good example. She's epileptic, so she can't drive. She's a stay at home mom because with the current competitive job market no one wants to hire someone who might have a seizure while at work. She has nothing in common with anyone who lives within walking distance of us, and, to be blunt, go near most of them with our children anyway.* All that adds up to her not getting out of the house very often.
*We're a single income family and I work for a school district in a state controlled by the TEA party. Guess what kind of neighbors we have.
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Wednesday 26th March 2014 07:05 GMT ADJB
Interesting way to boost your business.
Buy an exciting new* technology that a lot of gamers and gaming companies are really interested in.
Because of who you are alienate the whole of the same gamer client base.
Because of how you do business alienate all the gaming studios.
Build a new client base from people who don't even know what the product is or what it does.
Result - VR Candy Crush
*I know it's not at all new or original but you know what I mean
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Wednesday 26th March 2014 15:08 GMT Oninoshiko
Re: So
Is Valve (Steam) still working on something? I thought they fired that whole department (that's where the Jerri Ellisworth and Rick Johnson who started CastAR came from). CastAR does have a VR option, but I'm not sure how it's going to compare to a dedicated device.
Frankly, I'm kinda in shock still about this. I can kinda see it from the Occulus perspective, and it alleves my fears they will never produce a consumer product a little, but I can not see it at all from the Facebook perspective. I don't think full VR really works for Facebook, AR maybe, but not really VR.
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Wednesday 26th March 2014 08:59 GMT janimal
Thanks Notch
I would have loved minecraft for the rift, but not at the expense of having to join the facebook hegemony.
Games are one of those tech enabling areas (like porn) where the participants are prepared to pay for new technology. Gamers will spend money on one, my missus won't just to play candy crush or farmville 3d.
I've been watching the VR revolution that never occurred from the '80s onwards. I remember playing this VR tank battle game on a VR stand at the Trocadero in Leicester square. You needed the neck muscles of David Coulthard to wear the headset which contained a pair of exceedingly low res screens seemingly driven by valves and internal combustion engines.
I can wait a bit longer for one that doesn't require me to sell my soul to facefeck.
oh also, where's my flying car? :(
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Wednesday 26th March 2014 09:25 GMT Anonymous Coward
"Facebook's attitude towards games falls somewhere between indulgent neglect and hostility"
Wow. Its nice to see these bastards get called out for once! ..........."People have made games for Facebook....stuck in a very unfortunate position when Facebook eventually changed the platform to better fit the social experience they were trying to build"---- You nailed it!!!
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Wednesday 26th March 2014 11:00 GMT frank ly
Re: Now I'm looking forward to VR even more
Don't forget to buy some virtual slug pellets to deal with the razor-toothed slugs or a virtual shotgun for the flocks of pesky birds, or a virtual assault rifle to take care of the ravaging zombie hordes that will stumble towards you muttering, "Straaaaawberries".
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Wednesday 26th March 2014 10:07 GMT Piro
Good on Notch
He could no doubt still have made a bundle of cash shipping Minecraft for Facebook® VR™, but he cares more about sticking to reasonable principles other than just making some more money, especially if it means more money for Facebook.
I was, like everyone else, looking at Oculus Rift, but now, of course, like many others, I won't be. John Carmack, I hear there's a good job for you over at Valve developing their VR.
I guess it all goes back to that meme: in Gabe Newell we trust.
I think it's time for celebration over at Valve - there were a lot of developers expressing their disdain for the Facebook deal, and would no longer develop for Oculus Rift, and Valve is the clear alternative. To Valve: get a dev kit out soon!
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Wednesday 26th March 2014 10:42 GMT Anonymous Coward
Will they give their users the opportunity to sit in a virtual pub, with their hundreds of virtual buddies ("friends" pfff), using augmented reality? No thanks.
While I see plenty of use cases in simulation environments, I just can't see any social aspect to VR - quite the opposite actually, because the moment you have that thing on your head, you are unavailable for any other interaction with anyone around you until you take it off again.
Anyway, with Facebook buying Oculus, VR has made a step backwards. Competitors unite!
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Wednesday 26th March 2014 15:22 GMT Boothy
Re: "Mark Zuckerberg's acquisition of Oculus VR"
The guys from Oculus have already stated there will be no requirement for an FB account to be able to use the headsets, and no adds provided via the Rift software itself. Although they also stated they have no control over what the apps that use the Rift will do, so they could still do ads, jusrt like some games do now.
But who's to say what things will be like in a years time!
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Wednesday 26th March 2014 15:33 GMT Pascal Monett
Re: "The guys from Oculus"
The guys from Foculous have no more credibility than a banker now, although they are considerably richer than before.
The Kickstarter community that backed them must be positively incensed. I know I would be if had given money to help bring a promising product to the world (and promising it was with Carmack on board) only to have it Zuckified before it became anything.
If I were one of the Kickstarters I would be seriously thinking of suing right now.
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Wednesday 26th March 2014 13:12 GMT phil dude
open platform...
I think for some of us , the prospect that it will cease to be an open platform is extremely disappointing.
If their PR folks could address this, perhaps there would be less bile....?
The trajectory for gaming that OR was developing had all the tools to help in other research areas, such as for low vision patrons. There are a great many people in this world who have disabilities that could be helped by dual use tech such aas this, but corporations do not typically see this as a "core value".
I'm willing to see how it evolves before passing judgment, but as someone mentioned before "hairs at the back of my neck...."
P.
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Wednesday 26th March 2014 13:33 GMT Clive Galway
Good.
Maybe this will cause people to STFU about OR for a bit.
I fail to see what new IP they are bringing to the table, and they are taking away spotlight from already available solutions that IMHO fill the gap better (ie Head tracking).
Too many games promised support for TIR5 / Freetrack, then as soon as OR comes along they forget all about it - totally missing the point that existing head trackers provide superior motion tracking (OR is accelerometer based tracking - ie relative, not absolute) for a fraction of the cost, and still work with your big-screen TV, plus allow you to see the controls.
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Sunday 30th March 2014 18:56 GMT Clive Galway
If the display is 3D, then it does. In fact, that is the whole point - What happens to your OR when you get a brand new mega-sized TV with 3D, a curved screen, 4K resolution and all the latest bells and whistles?
If you have a head tracker, it will enhance your experience.
If you have an OR, it will mean nothing but sitting in front of your new monster TV (which you cannot see), trying in vain to find the bowl of peanuts on the coffee table whilst all your mates laugh at the idiot with the headgear on.
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Wednesday 26th March 2014 13:57 GMT Michael Habel
Why all the hate? I'm not gonna jump to Zucks defense here but, unlike you (or your "ideas" of who could do VR one better.), Zuckerberg bought it for 2bn US Dollars and you didn't. The question is what does he plan on doing with it? I'm not a stakeholder in Facebook, but if I were THIS would be the Question of the Day. Perhaps he see this as a side opportunity outside of Facebook. I get the feeling that if I were as talented, and as rich as 'ol Zuck. I'd probably tire of that One Trick Pony too...
So lets reserve our hate for now and see how this turns out first. If anything I see this as a good thing for the Oculus Rift. In as far as Zuckerberg has perhaps more motivation to get this junk out the Door ASAP....
Not the feeling I ever had with the People who were in charge of it before? I mean how long has the OR been in the pipeline for now?
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Wednesday 26th March 2014 14:47 GMT NomNomNom
"Zuckerberg bought it for 2bn US Dollars and you didn't. The question is what does he plan on doing with it?"
On the odds alone the kind of person who would buy it for 2bn is not going to be the kind of person who is going to be good at directing it. Then there's...WTF does Zuckerberg know about VR?
The kind of people who *would* be good running it were precisely the kind of people who owned it before, you know the ones who made VR their living and understood it inside out. Rather than someone who has none of that but has a special interest in an unrelated area (facebook).
"I get the feeling that if I were as talented, and as rich as 'ol Zuck. I'd probably tire of that One Trick Pony too..."
Sure but the immaturity of buying Oculus for $2bn...For $2bn he could have developed his own VR product more closely aligned to Facebook.
"So lets reserve our hate for now and see how this turns out first. If anything I see this as a good thing for the Oculus Rift."
I disagree, there are so many bad potentials that come of this that weren't open before. The chance of this being a good thing for OR is low. Chances are OR is about to veer in a direction that is nothing like where it was heading before.
Look at Notch fleeing Oculus as the tip of a very big iceberg being pushed out the way.
"In as far as Zuckerberg has perhaps more motivation to get this junk out the Door ASAP....
Not the feeling I ever had with the People who were in charge of it before? I mean how long has the OR been in the pipeline for now?"
I don't see why there would be motivation to get it out the door. If anything the huge $2 billion tag attached implies there's even more time=money so no rush to get it out. Also there's all that facebook integration to do...
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Wednesday 26th March 2014 21:26 GMT Levente Szileszky
"Why all the hate? I'm not gonna jump to Zucks defense here but, unlike you (or your "ideas" of who could do VR one better.), Zuckerberg bought it for 2bn US Dollars and you didn't. "
Of course - except WE (=not me but all the people who did chip in) financed the takeoff for this supposedly "independent" company. Sugarhill came in with his cigar in his mouth, pulled out his checkbook, wrote a check and told all of us "thank you for making it happen - now get the fuck out of here."
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Wednesday 26th March 2014 14:30 GMT NomNomNom
I was going to get a development headset and get into it, but not now. I am not even going to buy it retail to play games now.
God I can't think of a better way to completely sink OR than have Facebook buy it. I bet many PC gamers hate facebook even more than me.
zuckerberg seems to be just buying up toys childishly. drones? vr headsets? wtf does any of it have to do with facebooks business model? it's an attempt to emulate google IMO, and a bid to make facebook more interesting than the boring account/messaging site that it is.
I want to get into "drones" and "virtual reality" and ....$2 billion is money down the pan. Facebook will never make that back from this investment. Where the F are they getting this money? when is this bubble going to finally burst.
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Wednesday 26th March 2014 19:41 GMT Mark 85
Zuck = Buzzwords
I've re-read several times what people have quoted and what he's said. It's all warm, squishy, give-me-hug-give-you-a-hug buzzwords. If he offers to buy a company, it's sold to him not for expertise nor for giving the company a future. It's sold for the large dollars he's offered.
Just go back and re-read the Zuckisms in this article and then ask yourself: "If I owned a company that produced a product I really really cared about, would I sell it to him?". If your motive is take the money and watch things go to hell from a safe distance, you'd take the deal. I find Zuck even scarier than Google or the NSA at this point.
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Wednesday 26th March 2014 21:26 GMT Levente Szileszky
You're missing the most disgusting part of this scumbag sale...
...which Notch put the following way:
"And I did not chip in ten grand to seed a first investment round to build value for a Facebook acquisition."
EXACTLY - what a disgusting, cynical scumbags make up Oculus (+Sugarhill himself, of course)!
They ran a Kickstarter campaign, only to FOUND AN OPERATION THEY IN TURN SELL FOR $2B and they are thank you for your support?
Disgusting scumbags.
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Thursday 27th March 2014 09:37 GMT rm -rf *.*
Re: You're missing the most disgusting part of this scumbag sale...
"They ran a Kickstarter campaign, only to FOUND AN OPERATION THEY IN TURN SELL FOR $2B and they are thank you for your support?
Disgusting scumbags."
Let's hope someone has the heart/conscience/common decency/common sense to refund the people's $.
Would be a nice gesture and all.
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