Key Highlights:
- Facebook latest earning reports suggests the firm’s take on the VR and AR world
- With its Oculus system, Facebook strategizes to secure a designated future in the Virtual Reality sector
- The company also plans to incorporate ads in the gaming experience, to comply with its standard business model
Oculus Pursuit 2
Facebook has always been at the forefront as one of the most popular social media platforms. Facebook’s latest earning reports was concerned around VR and AR, predicting “augmented and virtual reality to unlock a massive amount of value, both in people’s lives and the economy overall.”
According to various sources, the firm has been solely working on virtual reality and augmented reality, and has also been procuring small VR workshops over the years. This procurement process sheds light on Facebook’s grooming for the long-term marathon of acquiring its dominance over Virtual Reality and its further preparation towards asserting its individual worth in the world of VR and AR.
Facebook’s Threshold in VR World
With due course of time, Facebook has laid a robust foundation and a strong structure of modern technology and designer skill by acquiring existing Virtual Reality software and hardware business—as per Facebook’s traditional style. Subsequent to obtaining the Oculus Virtual Reality for $2B in 2014, Facebook has made significant progress in upgrading its Virtual Reality equipment to better fulfil clients’ demands and expectations.
The Oculus Pursuit 2 is a stand-alone headset with wire-free experience while playing and also calls for no exterior gadget such as a console or COMPUTER. On the other hand, Sony‘s wired PlayStation Virtual Reality headset calls for a PlayStation console. The Quest 2’s wireless, low-hardware conveniences combined with its lower price point relative to any other major headset on the market give Facebook a competitive edge when it comes to hardware.
By obtaining various small yet high-performing workshops, Facebook is securing earnings from pre-established and renowned Virtual Reality video games on Oculus, while preserving leading software program programmers to produce special material within the Oculus system.
Strategized Business Model
If one is familiar with Facebook’s business model, one might ponder when ads come into play. The company has announced that it will begin testing ads in selected games on the Oculus platform. However, it is still up for discussion as to how the ad experience will look like once the testing commences and how exactly will the VR gamers react to it.
If Facebook manages to comply ads without disrupting the comprehensive gaming experience, the concept can help developers generate more revenue which will further attract more developers to the Oculus platform and could even make gaming experience more realistic. For instance, real ads appearing on in-game TV screens and billboards would not break players’ immersion in their gaming world, while still driving revenue for developers and Facebook.
Other than attracting developers for top-tier content, Facebook has a unique edge in attracting consumers as well—its massive social networking user base. No other VR headset can offer such easy accessibility (low price point with no required console purchase) and such a high potential for network effects.
Future Dominance in the VR World
Facebook’s 2.8 billion monthly active users uphold much more potential to enhance the value of the Oculus platform using sheer volume of players, especially when it comes to popular social VR games like Population: One, Craya, and Beat Saber Multiplayer (developed by yet another Facebook-acquired studio, Beat Games). Social gaming experiences are inherently more valuable with more players. While some VR multiplayer games are cross-platform (i.e., an Oculus player can game with a PS VR player), Facebook will likely tighten up its exclusive content offerings to attract and retain players. As long as the company rolls out ad content in a way that feels relatively organic to Oculus players, Facebook is set up for success in rapidly gaining market share in VR gaming.
Also Read:- Apple’s new privacy policy can hamper Facebook ad business
