It’s being reported that Facebook—you know, that little social media site that legally owns your soul—has purchased Oculus VR, the company that makes the highly anticipated virtual reality headset the Oculus Rift, for around half the price that Disney paid for Lucasfilm, a grand total of $2 billion.
The Oculus Rift has been making huge waves for its ability to make you feel like you’re somewhere you’re not, such as a movie theater, but it’s especially anticipated in the realms of video games, where the headset looks to be the VR accessory gamers have been waiting for. A quick visit to YouTube and you can see thousands of videos showing off what the Rift can do, and how it will look with most compatible games.
Continue reading for more and to read a statement from Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg.
This week: When exactly did Target know about last year’s security breach?, Amazon raises the price of Prime and ponders a Chromecast-style set-top box, Sony reveals a VR helmet, Google‘s smartwatch OS, and Tech’s biggest leaders, both living and dead, have an opinion to share on big issues this week.
If you’ve not yet heard of the Oculus Rift, you will soon enough. Basically, it’s the virtual reality system we’ve all been waiting for for so very long now. A quick search over at YouTube will deliver to you hours of entertainment as people try various video games and other things out using the device.
In addition to a new type of video game experience, demos have been created to show off what the Oculus can do. The most popular of which lets you watch a movie in a virtual theater, but there are plenty others such as a wingsuit flight or a lunar flight simulator.
Recently at SXSW three cast members from HBO’s Game of Thrones got to try out another Oculus demo, one that lets you ride the winch elevator at Castle Black to the top of The Wall. Continue below to see a pair of videos of the experience, as well as a brief chat with the actors.
Gamers are ultra-passionate about what they play, but most of them are fully aware that epic gaming sessions are not exactly the healthiest of activities one can partake in.
But with the current boom of motion gaming, it’s easier than it’s ever been to drain those calories from your gamer-bod. The problem, however, has been a lack of games actually worth playing. Most hardcore gamers aren’t exactly excited by the thought of rocking out a session or two of Wii Sports or Just Dance.
This is where the oncoming boom of virtual reality gaming comes in. You’ve likely heard of the Oculus Rift—a new VR headset that has people very, very excited—already, but there are other virtual reality toys in the work as well. When some of these new toys come together, you get a little something that looks like The Cyberith Virtualizer—a gaming experience that’s…interesting, to say the least…and one that’s sure to whip you into shape.
Click on over to the other side to check out a video of this crazy contraption in action with games like The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, GTA IV, and others, as well as a trailer for it.
This week, no silver lining for cloud services in the wake of NSA leaks, Blackberry looks for a buyer, Bitcoin gets subpoenaed, Tesla‘s Elon Musk wants us all to be in the loop, and more…
Students of the Unusual™ comic cover used with permission of 3BoysProductions
The Mercuri Bros.™ comic cover used with permission of Prodigal Son Press
