There was considerable backlash against Oculus after it was acquired by Facebook. Questions about why a social network would need a virtual reality headset maker were abound. However, Oculus CEO Brendan Iribe told an audience at TechCrunch Disrupt about a possibility for the pairing; building a massively multiplayer experience for one billion simultaneous users.
Iribe admits that there is no existing social network that is able to support his grand scheme, although Facebook’s current infrastructure and reach is a solid start for Oculus. While Oculus’ main product, the Rift, is generally associated with gaming, Iribe believes that a focus on games would artificially limit the reach of the company.
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While building this billion person MMO may take a very long time, Oculus is setting its sights on a more manageable goal. The company aims to convince players that they’re having a “real conversation” with another person. Current computer graphics limit this from happening due to the occurrence of the uncanny valley; although that will hopefully change over the next few years.
[Source: The Verge]
