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Facebook's VR Headset Not Selling, Literally Giving It Away (news.yahoo.com)

submitted 1 year ago by L4s@lemmy.world to c/technology@lemmy.world

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Facebook's VR Headset Not Selling, Literally Giving It Away::Last fall, Meta-formerly-Facebook unveiled its Meta Quest Pro, a long-rumored, higher-end follow-up to the company's best-selling Quest 2 VR headset. The sleek device, which initially went on sale for an eye-watering $1,500, has really struggled to catch on since then, just as we predicted at the time. And, as Mixed Reality News reports, Meta is […]

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[-] LazaroFilm@lemmy.world 101 points 1 year ago

If I’m putting something over my head it won’t be from the greediest tech company ever.

[-] phx@lemmy.world 20 points 1 year ago

Meh. If they've still got some free ones to give out I'll take it.

But in all seriousness, the Quest 2 is pretty good hardware, especially for the price. The problem is that Meta tried to build an ecosystem around monetization and then bring people in, rather than building something that appeals to most people and still allows them to profit. Kinda the opposite of the Facebook model really, which became a defacto online community and kinda kept the monetization a little quieter or behind the scenes for a long time

[-] Buddahriffic@lemmy.world 16 points 1 year ago

They could release the best possible VR hardware that puts your body into a dream state and allows you to experience things fully in VR for $99 and I still wouldn't touch it if meta, fb, or zuckberg has anything to do with it.

[-] Not_Alec_Baldwin@lemmy.world 10 points 1 year ago

Iirc these headsets require your Facebook login to function at all?

Nope nope nope.

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[-] luciferofastora@lemmy.zip 10 points 1 year ago

I wonder: Did the people who successfully pulled off the Facebook strategy get replaced by dumber, greedier ones, did they get overruled by dumber, greedier decision-makers, did they get overconfident and thought their current market position would let Meta get away with it, or did they get lucky in the first place and fail to take any notes on why it worked?

Corporations tend to run on "if it works, why change?" so mixing up your entire strategy to this degree seems like it must've been a deliberate decision. I'm just curious who made that decision, and by what reasoning.

[-] LazaroFilm@lemmy.world 6 points 1 year ago

Now they have to show rising numbers to shareholders quarterly. They can’t play the long game anymore. They need results every quarter, even if it sinks the company on the long run.

[-] luciferofastora@lemmy.zip 7 points 1 year ago

Capitalism was a mistake. The only innovation it breeds is how to exploit things for money.

[-] LazaroFilm@lemmy.world 6 points 1 year ago

It works when the company is growing. But when it has reached 100% of their potential users, the only growth is greed and that’s where it fails.

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[-] Peppycito@sh.itjust.works 9 points 1 year ago

They tried to speed run the enshittification process.

[-] dual_sport_dork@lemmy.world 76 points 1 year ago

Well, possibly people have finally been turned off by Zuck Zuck and his creepy-ass avatar doing their combined best to make his "Metaverse" pipe dream as cringeworthy as possible. Seems he can't get it through his head that all we really want to do is play video games (and I guess maybe watch VR porn), and for $1500/999, we can buy an awful lot of game console with change left over for some games, or a pretty significant chunk of normal gaming PC.

I think I'll stick with my Reverb G2. I wouldn't take a Meta/Facebook backed device, nor touch its ecosystem, if they paid me.

[-] fartsparkles@sh.itjust.works 24 points 1 year ago

$1500 also buys a lot of porn (or so I’ve heard) especially as free is a pretty low price.

[-] MrMcGasion@lemmy.world 16 points 1 year ago

I've spent over $1500 on VR (HTC Vive, and Valve Index, plus some accessories for both). I've never been able to talk myself into even a Quest 2 for $200 back when they went on sale shortly before they raised the price due to "supply chain issues." I enjoy VR experiences and I'm personally okay with paying enthusiast prices for hardware that improves the experience, but I want nothing to do with Meta/Facebook's ecosystem, at any price.

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[-] Sanctus@lemmy.world 69 points 1 year ago

We're broke as fuck, we can not afford that shit. Money is better spent elsewhere than a VR "workstation".

[-] BowtiesAreCool@lemmy.world 18 points 1 year ago

Also their cheaper option is great for 1/3 or less of the price

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[-] LazaroFilm@lemmy.world 13 points 1 year ago

I’d use VR for work if I could afford it. But not from the take all you personal dada and sell it company.

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[-] Secret300@sh.itjust.works 11 points 1 year ago

For real. Even if I did have enough money to go buy something that's that much I'd rather get literally anything else

[-] Sanctus@lemmy.world 12 points 1 year ago

For that price I can buy a used ThinkPad AND set it up for work in a literal strip club. Thats the price tag.

[-] surewhynotlem@lemmy.world 15 points 1 year ago

I am intrigued by your message and would like to subscribe to your newsletter.

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[-] stigmata@lemmy.world 39 points 1 year ago

This is the dumbest take on what's happening. The Quest 3 is better than the Pro and it comes out next month. We don't need the Pro anymore. Some of y'all need to use some critical thinking. Roblox also just recently got a lot of attention towards it from Meta; it's not a coincidence these were Roblox devs that the Pros were given to.

[-] Astroturfed@lemmy.world 13 points 1 year ago

Shut up and hate the zuck with the crowd. How dare you question the groupthink hate train.

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[-] paddirn@lemmy.world 37 points 1 year ago

I wouldn't take anything from Facebook, no matter if it was free or if I was paid to take it. They're toxic as a service and as a company, I want nothing to do with them.

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[-] iHUNTcriminals@lemm.ee 31 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

No one is going to buy a pro VR set from meta, lol. That's like going to an Apple Bees with $1000 instead of a Michelin Star restaurant.

And what are people going to do with it...? Play the same Beat Saber they always have?

[-] XEAL@lemm.ee 20 points 1 year ago

Apple Bees

iBees

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[-] MataVatnik@lemmy.world 25 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

The goal has never been to sell VR head sets, the goal is to have 1Billion people on VR. The money would come from the monopoly they would have over selling software through their app store. Same way Google and Apple have a monopoly on who sells through their app stores. This has been zucks stated goal from the start

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[-] RememberTheApollo_@lemmy.world 25 points 1 year ago

Looking for the place so I can have my free, “literally” given away VR headset.

[-] sentient_loom@sh.itjust.works 24 points 1 year ago

I never knew it existed. It sounds extremely stupid.

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[-] Fiivemacs@lemmy.ca 23 points 1 year ago

No shit...the day my occulus rift got bought and whored out by Facebook was the day I stopped using it.

[-] dual_sport_dork@lemmy.world 6 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Mine too. My OG Rift is still sitting in a box in my basement. I don't even feel right selling it on, since I'd just be saddling the next user with the same bullshit.

It's fine anyway, since for the purposes I use it for my Reverb is much better.

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[-] dbilitated@aussie.zone 22 points 1 year ago

I find it so perplexing they released a "premium" version with barely improved resolution.

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[-] exohuman@programming.dev 22 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

The Quest 2 sells fine. The Quest Pro is for an audience that doesn’t exist at $1500. Also, Apple’s VR headset might as well not exist due to how expensive it is.

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[-] iesou@lemm.ee 17 points 1 year ago

Ok I agree with all that sentiment, but in the article I only saw a $500 price drop, were they ever free or are you taking the world literally figuratively?

[-] moormaan@lemmy.ca 13 points 1 year ago

It is referring to that Roblox developer conference. But yeah, somewhat click baity as people might be hoping to get one for cheap.

[-] WindowsEnjoyer@sh.itjust.works 15 points 1 year ago

Valve Index is much better device.

Also Zucc can go fuck hinself. Maybe he will find a privacy, because he stores it in his asshole.

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[-] negativeyoda@lemmy.world 12 points 1 year ago

Just realized that I don't even see people clowning on Zuck's VR fixation these days.

[-] Chobbes@lemmy.world 8 points 1 year ago

I think Twitter has just taken up all of the oxygen lately.

[-] FartsWithAnAccent@lemmy.world 10 points 1 year ago

Yeah, not even if you literally paid me. Fuck Meta/Facebook/Instagram/Snapchat/Oculus/etc..

[-] mrcleanup@lemmy.world 6 points 1 year ago

It's too bad because the hardware and software so far have been on point. The moment Facebook bought Oculus, I knew it was over, at least for me.

[-] specfreq@lemmy.world 9 points 1 year ago

You could not pay me... I'm not even mad at Facebook, fuck you so much Palmer Lucky!!!

[-] Tygr@lemmy.world 7 points 1 year ago

Nobody wants to buy this generation’s Nintendo Virtual Boy.

[-] Carnelian@lemmy.world 22 points 1 year ago

I want one! Just not from Zuck

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this post was submitted on 16 Sep 2023

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