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The Story of Oculus Rift
An anonymous reader writes: A lengthy new article details the history of the Oculus Rift, from the VR headset's stereotypical beginnings in a hacker's parents' garage to its $2 billion acquisition by Facebook. "Luckey got into VR by way of computer games, which he was obsessed with for a time. After building what he recalls as a "beautiful six-monitor setup," for extreme visual saturation, he wondered, Why not just put a small screen directly on your face?" At just 19 years old, Luckey built a prototype good enough to impress John Carmack, which brought him all sorts of further attention. Investors came running, and eventually Mark Zuckerberg took an interest. "When Zuckerberg arrived, Luckey introduced himself and then quickly walked away. 'I'm a big fan,' he said, 'but I actually have to get back to work.' ... Zuckerberg seemed taken aback by Luckey's brusqueness but also charmed. 'They definitely have the hacker culture that we have,' he says." As the device approaches release, they're all wondering how much VR will change the world.
I bet you feel your skateboard is basically the same as a Ferrari.
Choke with cash.
That is the norm these days. Oculus was NOT worth 2 billion dollars. But when you are spending other people's money, no one gives a shit.
A prototype and all was worth maybe a couple of million in today's money.
Tech companies are just irresponsible with their stakeholder's money. It's just disgusting what I have been seeing in the last 20 years.
Mind you, Valve's stuff is supposed to be out by the time the Rift comes out, so it'll be possible to directly compare them before I'll be in a position to buy. I'm not ruling them out. But overall I like the Rift's odds, based on what I've been reading.
PHEM - party like it's 1997-2003!