Video Games Thread

[harv]

Blimey, Facebook have bought Oculus for $2bn apparently

Unless it's an early April Fool's joke..?

[harv]

Nope, officially confirmed. Oculus should have made a LOT more out of that deal, $2bn is a steal

[Late]

On the other hand, the directors have made a cubic fucktonne of money and can now live on their own private islands in the sun.
Makes sense to cash out now, before Sony and Microsoft (and probably others) bring out VR devices in the next couple of years. If Sony and Microsoft's headsets do really well then the Rift will lose market share. If Sony and Microsoft's headsets don't do well then the Rift becomes market leader in a failed tech. It's a good move to get out of the race with as much money as possible (and I assume they got as much as they could).


I do wonder if it would've made sense for Microsoft to acquire Oculus though.
Not because they want or need Oculus' research - I'm sure they're proceeding nicely with their own - but because there's awareness of the brand, there's been a lot of work done on re-coding a good few pc games to work with the tech, and Microsoft like to own technology that will integrate with both PCs and xboxes.
These headsets aren't going to be cheap when they hit the market, and it's an easier sell if your device is compatible with both console and pc.
I'm sure their own headset will do all that, but maybe it's a missed opportunity. Or maybe they've saved themselves two billion dollars by not spunking it on a technology that's not really any different to what they've already built...

[Late]

Simpsons called it first. 





Credit to ‏@meowza on something called twitter.

[harv]

Lmfao, awesome

[jman]

haha.. I pretty much said to a guy at work today, that he'll be playing a VR version of Farmville in a few years time...

Surely its gotta be bad news for PC gamers.. facebook is casual.. pc gaming is anything but casual.. its nerdy, geeky and antisocial... I cant see how this deal is going to benefit anyone apart from the guys cashing in...  The deal is risky for FB in a number of ways... if Microsoft do have a pc product under wraps they will be a massive competitor, especially since Microsoft are already the leaders of motion tracking with Kinect.  The mass-market is also completely untested - nobody wanted it in the 80's.. and I can't personally see a use for a VR headset outside of games - I reckon facebook will want to build the first virtual chat-room.. where people can sit and talk to virtual avatars.. who cares 

Edit:  And never mind Microsoft - I'm positive they have their own thing.. I'm more surprised Valve didn't buy into it.  Apparently the guys over at Razer might have something in the pipelines as well 

[Late]

[harv]

You can't see a use of a VR headset outside of games..? Seriously..?

Training for surgeons, pilots, armed forces, referees and umpires in sports, astronauts, divers...the list goes on and on.

Uses in the classroom for kids at schools and universities.

And entertainment - porn, video games, films, sporting events.

Its use in porn alone is going to be worth a ridiculous amount of money, It's what made VHS a success over the far superior Betamax format.

[Late]

Dayum.
It'd be rather embarrassing to finish off and remove your visor only to find you're not alone.

It's dodgy enough knocking one out worrying the wife might walk into the room. I like to break a lightbulb and scatter it over the stairs so I can hear her approaching.
Lightbulbs are second only to petrol in my monthly budgeting...

[jman]

You can't see a use of a VR headset outside of games..? Seriously..?

Training for surgeons, pilots, armed forces, referees and umpires in sports, astronauts, divers...the list goes on and on.

Uses in the classroom for kids at schools and universities.

And entertainment - porn, video games, films, sporting events.

Its use in porn alone is going to be worth a ridiculous amount of money, It's what made VHS a success over the far superior Betamax format.

VR is existing technology though harv - I know that.. it's application is already used in many specialized things - what is a headset that comes to the MASS market going to offer other than playing games on was more my point.

Education.. no - I imagine it would have an adverse effect on education if used to be honest.
Films.. no - 4k resolution TV's.. would rather watch a film on that without having to wear a fucking headset.
Sporting Events.. no - I don't know what you really mean by this.. watching sporting events at home on the tv? - refer to earlier point.
Porn.. maybe, but who in their righ... oh you.

[Late]

Rumour has it that Sony's April ps+ games are:
PS4: Mercenary Kings
PS3: PES 2014, Sly Cooper Thieves in Time
Vita: Hotline Miami, Moto GP13

I stress it's rumour only. (I believe Sly Cooper is cross-platform, so would presumably also be on Vita.)
Good month for Vita, if true.

[harv]

VR is basically going to be used as a cheaper and better alternative to 3D. That's what I mean by the entertainment options I listed. Yes, you can go out and buy a 4K television if you have the money to spare but that television won't allow you to watch a sports event as if you're actually there. Or a film as if you're actually a part of it in full 3D. We're not far away from it happening, and Facebook are going to make billions and billions and billions from it.

And if you fancied a quick wank, what would you prefer..? Watching porn on your 4K telly or watching it in VR..? Anyone in their right mind would choose the latter instead of the former.

And as far as I'm aware those training examples aren't currently being done using a VR headset, although I will stand to be corrected of course.

[jman]

Think I'm gonna sell south park and buy Kinect Sports Rivals instead.. 11th April release.. I haven't seen many previews of the game in action, I've obviously played the demo.. but the face scan function looks pretty awesome and I did enjoy the football game from the first one, which has been rebuilt for Kinect v2.  Cant believe that new games are still £50 RRP.. its a joke really... thankfully not all companies are selling at that price.. Grainger Games have it for preorder at £39.99

[harv]

I do hope this is real rather than an April Fool's joke, it looks fucking awesome lmfao.

[Late]

Yeah, Goat Simulator's real. Was mocked up for lolz a while back, but got so much interest they're making it for real.




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