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After reading several articles today in regards to the outcry from Oculus Kickstarter backers, I felt it was necessary to grab a couple of them and let them speak their mind on the podcast.

Nikki and 320 (not his real name) join me on this episode of the Rev VR Podcast. 320 backed the Kickstarter with the intention of getting his hands on a development kit and helping to bring VR to the masses. Nikki, on the other hand, only backed for the sheer passion and a cool t-shirt. Both of them have a great story to tell and were excited to have the opportunity to address some of the concerns that are causing such an uproar.

Several Kickstarter backers were unable to join us, but still wanted to have their voice heard. I read several statements that were sent to me so as to give everyone a chance to be heard. One contributor, mathpill, was very upset and sent his case along with several quotes from Palmer to justify his concerns. I read his statement and we debated it as well.

I also used this podcast as an opportunity to thank everyone who did back the Oculus Kickstarter. No matter which side of this debate you fall on, or how you feel about the acquisition, I want you to know that without you, VR might not have ever become a reality. The entire VR community owes you a large amount of gratitude for believing in something so strongly that you were willing to put your hard-earned money behind it. We are all going to have a chance to experience this amazing technology because of you. Whether you feel betrayed or you are excited about the recent events, know that you have my sincere thanks for being forward thinking pioneers of the future.

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Reverend Kyle
  • Alkapwn

    I think people are getting confused as to what exactly they were contributing to Kickstarter. People are only paying for what tier that they sign up for and the content that comes with that. You’re not investing into a share of a company.

    Also the fact that they delayed the Kickstarter launch is another thing. Before the Kickstarter launched, they already had funding and people backing the Company to some degree.

    The only people that could really get “up in arms” about this would be the pre-Kickstarter people. Being one of those adventurous people myself, I can somewhat understand how some could come to this conclusion. But even those of us that did send monies before the Kickstarter, we were not investing in a company, because there was no company at that point. We were just paying a higher price for basically at cost components for a DIY headset.

    Now as a side note, if I would have known it was possible to invest in Oculus before the Kickstarter launch I for sure would have attempted to send Palmer any scraps of savings I had for even the smallest percentage.

  • Peter Sassaman

    I think there will be plenty of subliminal adds like in the movies. Lols Reece’s Pieces get ready for round 2 XD. spoilers: ET refference

  • Dayv1d

    Maybe facebook wont change a thing on oculus within the next monthts, but what ya think about the following: I am GLADLY prefere a consumer version with e.g. just full hd res that i bought from a independent bunch of enthusiasts to a version that got a 5″ 4k display due to a 0.5 billion investment in the technology that comes from a cooperation that really just sees money and influence in vr. After all vr really was inevitable, wasnt it? And what really counts in a few years is who is in controll of it! Facebook knows this fact for sure…

  • Chris Given

    Valve/Steam might have been good for gaming VR but it would have been a hard uphill battle getting the mainstream to adopt it… Microsoft screws up everything including their own operating system… Google is way to controlling… The more I think about it… The more I think Facebook is a good fit… Social media is going to exsist in the metaverse and in VR in a big way which what we want… It’s about connecting even more then we do now face to face avatar to avatar… When I think about what I do when I go online… The first pages I go to check out are FB, Twitter, Youtube, Google +, Reddit, Instagram, etc… ALL of them are social media sites!!

    Gaming will always be held up as a primary driver for VR because it’s gaming that drives hardware and software… Gamers demand better all the time we demand more all the time… We have higher and higher expectations on developers to continually amaze us… That is why gaming will remain the primary focus for VR… Great gaming experiences = great non gaming experiences…

    I am excited for VR more now then ever… Because VR is for everyone not just gamers!! And I think it needs to be said that not everyone hates FB… Although Im not a huge fan I use FB everyday!! Millions and millions of people use FB everyday!!! Millions and millions of potential VR users!!

    Bottom line is Oculus is in a much stronger position to bring VR to everyone at a much lower cost… This is good for all of us… This is good for VR in general… VR has to become mainstream to have a chance to stick around as more then a novelty!! Think about all the game companies who want to make games for millions of people too… The only way they can do that is if VR is in millions of hands!!

    Cheers,

    Ghosty

  • Mageoftheyear

    Thanks for the fair representation on how many and which ks backers felt slighted.
    You’re the one site I can rely on not to be sensationalist.

  • Lenny Zimmermann

    Rev: Here’s the Linus Tech Tips things I mentioned at the VRChat yesterday, if you’re interested. I think they do a decent job of covering a lot of the angles. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ag9c3eGSD58&feature=share