John Carmack says that the deal was “unexpected”, but he has faith that Facebook can see “the big picture.”
When Facebook bought Oculus for 2 billion dollars earlier this month, one of the first people fans looked to for answers was John Carmack, the legendary game designer who joined Oculus as Chief Technical Officer last year. Carmack has been relatively silent on the issue, but has now made his thought’s clear on Peter Berkman (of Anamanaguchi fame)’s blog. Carmack says he wasn’t expecting the deal, but still has faith that Facebook can see “the big picture.”
“Honestly, I wasn’t expecting Facebook (or this soon),” said Carmack. “I have zero personal background with them, and I could think of other companies that would have more obvious synergies.”
“However,” he added, “I do have reasons to believe that they get the Big Picture as I see it, and will be a powerful force towards making it happen. You don’t make a commitment like they just did on a whim.”
Carmack said that he personally wasn’t involved at all in the negotiations. “I spent an afternoon talking technology with Mark Zuckerberg, and the next week I find out that he bought Oculus.”
He also mulled over going the “Valve” route, as in, “trying to build a new VR ecosystem like Steam from the ground up,” admitting that while this is what the most passionate fans wanted to see, it never would have worked. “VR won’t be like that,” he explained. “The experience is too obviously powerful, and it makes converts on contact. The fairly rapid involvement of the Titans is inevitable, and the real questions were how deeply to partner, and with who.”
Source: Peter Perkman’s Tumblr
