Virtual Reality

Falstaff · Mar 26, 2014

Attention Suckers: Please Send Us Your Money - Bloomberg View

mkopec · Mar 26, 2014

Good write up and totally true. They scammed all those crowdfunding people out of millions, and then tuned around and sold it for $2 billion.

Tuco · Mar 26, 2014

Eyashusa_sl said:
I'm sure you can find a few head scratching purchases on this list:List of mergers and acquisitions by Facebook - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The upside is that you control some of the best and most promising VR tech out there. You also stop Google, Apple, and anyone else from buying it.

but I agree with you, this is a very long term purchase. Unfortunately most people just see the immediate and think that Facebook will turn this solely into a wearable, VR Facebook device and fuck over all the promising development aspects of the tech. I don't think you can make that assumption right now.

I've looked at this list, which acquisitions are you saying are confusing?

Big Phoenix · Mar 26, 2014

Muligan_sl said:
What sucks about it is the fact it was crowd sourced/Kickstarted and they turned around and sold it. Pigs just want to get fatter.

Anyway... for your entertainment.

Why did you post this shit video? Its almost as bad as facebook buying oculus.

Adebisi · Mar 26, 2014

Face it - Kickstarter is nothing but a storefront for indie developers. I can understand being disappointed with Oculus being purchased, but you're not a shareholder, you don't get a say after you got your dev kit delivered.

On the upside, at least Mark Z is a young guy who might even enjoy gaming. He's not some old crusty Robert Kotick who wouldn't know a fun game if it fucked him in the jewfro.

Noodleface · Mar 26, 2014

Man I was really watching this Oculus stuff so closely, was thinking about doing dev work on one too to mess around with. This is fucking shitty, no matter which way you shake your stick at it.

This is the downfall of kickstarter, you can't really control where the product goes as you're just crowd-funding its inception.

Adebisi · Mar 26, 2014

Our baby grew up. We gotta let it go.

Falstaff · Mar 26, 2014

Tuco_sl said:
I've looked at this list, which acquisitions are you saying are confusing?

I'm not saying any are confusing. You said that this might be the first head-scratching purchase they made. Out of 45 other purchases, I'm sure there are others that might be considered "head-scratching" and not all are perfectly clear and understandable. I have no idea what those might be and I don't really care to be honest. Most were made before they went public anyways.

Tuco · Mar 26, 2014

Eyashusa_sl said:
I'm not saying any are confusing. You said that this might be the first head-scratching purchase they made. Out of 45 other purchases, I'm sure there are others that might be considered "head-scratching" and not all are perfectly clear and understandable. I have no idea what those might be and I don't really care to be honest. Most were made before they went public anyways.

Then I maintain my position that this is a unique purchase for facebook in that it doesn't directly intersect the social circle.

Falstaff · Mar 26, 2014

and I maintain my position that one day I hope to be as attractive and well spoken as you!

another interesting article from someone with "buyers remorse"... and I do have to agree with the main premise, although I'm not of the mentality that I would ever want to crowdfund a product so maybe I just don't get it.

Oculus Grift: Kickstarter As Charity For Venture Capitalists

Tripamang · Mar 26, 2014

I was going to pull the trigger on one of the new Dev Kits today... but man this really turned me off it fast. I honestly believe that he didn't want to do this and his VC partners saw a super quick return and bit it but we probably won't know until years later what really happened. It just doesn't feel like a good fit at all, and I'm not sure other than money what Facebook really brings to the table in this scenario.

It's truly disappointing.

Soygen · Mar 26, 2014

I don't agree with the sentiment that Oculus was in any way unethical to their Kicstarter supporters. They fulfilled all promises on that end. I just don't see how selling out to Facebook has anything to do with the Kickstarter.

Cinge · Mar 26, 2014

I don't know. Kickstarter doesn't hide exactly what is is. You are donating money and the only return you get is what the person doing the kickstarter list on the page. Sometimes that is actual physical items and other times digital or even sometimes just "the feeling of helping".

Can't even call it a scam because everything is known before you give your money and as long as you get what is listed or said to be gained from giving money, then all is ok. I mean I am sure there are scams, but most kickstarters are upfront about what they are doing and what you get in return. Scam implies deceit and I just don't see that in the majority of kickstarter.

If people want to invest(ie monetary returns), then they should be looking in a different place then kickstarter.

Soygen · Mar 26, 2014

Exactly. I understand the disappointment in the acquisition, but you're not an investor or a stake owner in the company just because you gave some money on Kickstarter.

Foggy · Mar 26, 2014

The article is really just lamenting the fact that the JOBS Act let Oculus take those people's money for zero equity. Before the JOBS Act, the investors would have received their fair cut of the $2 billion, not just a VR headset. This isn't a move in the right direction.

Cinge · Mar 26, 2014

Foggy_sl said:
The article is really just lamenting the fact that the JOBS Act let Oculus take those people's money for zero equity. Before the JOBS Act, the investors would have received their fair cut of the $2 billion, not just a VR headset. This isn't a move in the right direction.

I'm not up to date on the JOBS act, but just a curious glance, kickstarter launched 3 years prior to that bill being signed into law. So exactly what did it do to enable "Taking peoples money". Did it up the amount or something?

Adebisi · Mar 26, 2014

I dont see how Oculus is somehow beholden to their kickstarter backers after they've delivered on their KS pledges.

OTOH, if you do wanna see what it's like to be beholden to your crowdfunding "investors":Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen - Landing Page

Edit:

Eyashusa_sl said:
Oculus Grift: Kickstarter As Charity For Venture Capitalists

he's talking like he's an investor when in fact he is simply a hopeful consumer. It would be nice if you could buy a stake in a company on kickstarter but that's the role of VC and banks. Maybe the rules will change one day.

Soygen · Mar 26, 2014

In the comments of the Bloomberg article:

This is absolute bunk. Kickstarter and its like were in existence before the JOBS act - which hasn't yet even been implemented (the SEC is months late in rule-making, over which Rep. Jared Polis has sent a letter to its administrator - this is a matter of public record).

The person who wrote this article has absolutely NO IDEA what he's talking about. Kickstarters have *never* been about equity, and anyone who buys into a Kickstarter campaign knows that.

The purpose of investment regulations is to prevent unsophisticated investors from being scammed out of their money. In this case, Kickstarter funders are among the most aware - these people knew EXACTLY what they were doing.

Now, if you want to see sensible, net-worth-related limits on crowdfunding for equity, that makes a hell of a lot of sense to me - the emerging-companies-funding world is filled with sharks and it's incredibly complicated. There are many ways people can get scammed out of their money, this just isn't one.

Tuco · Mar 26, 2014

Kickstarters are just setting themselves up for failure when they think they become an investor instead of a hopeful consumer.

Adebisi · Mar 26, 2014

Tuco_sl said:
Kickstarters are just setting themselves up for failure when they think they become an investor instead of a hopeful consumer.

Define failure. Crying in their anime pillow?

"Kickstarters are just setting themselves up for crying in their anime pillow."

It's just the Facebook that leaves a bad taste in our mouths. If it was Valve our dicks would be rock hard.

Virtual Reality

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