While some early Oculus Rift Kickstarter backers are concerned about Facebook's purchase of Oculus Rift, rival and competitor Sony sees the deal in a different light. Sony Worldwide Studios president Shuhei Yoshida says the deal validates Sony's efforts with Project Morpheus as well.
"I woke up that morning and saw the announcement," Yoshida told Engadget while referring to the time he first heard about the purchase. "And I was like, yeah! For me, it was a validation for VR."
Being at the helm of Sony Computer Entertainment's Worldwide Studios, virtual reality as a medium is a technology that has become so important to Yoshida.
Facebook announced in March their plans to purchase the fledgling VR Company for a reported $2 billion. While Facebook has been buying a number of startup software app developers, the Oculus Rift deal marks the first time the company has targeted a hardware manufacturer much to the surprise of many tech pundits. The deal has also sparked some debate regarding how the deal will affect the further development of Oculus Rift.
Aside from catching many tech watchers off-guard, the Facebook and Oculus Rift deal also came just a few days after Sony announced their own entry into the VR space with Project Morpheus. Despite criticism lodged against Facebook regarding the purchase, Yoshida sees the deal as a good omen for VR technology in general.
"We meant to validate Oculus by announcing Morpheus, and the Oculus guys knew what we were working on. I think they were waiting for us to make the announcement, so it would be Sony and Oculus together," added Yoshida. "'But now Oculus being acquired by Facebook is helping to validate our efforts.' It's big-picture thinking. Yoshida already liked the idea of Sony and Oculus calling attention to each other's efforts, but adding the Facebook name to the mix broadens the duo's exposure. 'More people will know about VR!'"
Yoshida was also optimistic about Zuckerberg's statement that VR may be the next big platform after mobile. Sony has also revealed that it is working on VR tech since 2010 but the announcement of Project Morpheus is viewed as the company's formal entry into the burgeoning consumer VR market.
While Sony is still busy working on Project Morpheus, Oculus Rift is preparing for the launch of their next generation developer kit. The Oculus Rift Development Kit is available to developers for pre-order of $350. The company will start shipping out the new kits this coming July.
