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Facebook Founder Saw Demo of Morpheus Before Oculus

Facebook Founder Saw Demo of Morpheus Before Oculus

It would appear there was more than meets the eye behind the acquisition of the Oculus Rift by Facebook. Looks like Sony’s Morpheus was on their radar at one point as well.

As most already know, the Oculus Rift was purchased for a hefty 2 billion dollar price tag. However, it has now been revealed the Mark Zuckerberg asked to preview Sony’s new Morpheus project just a week before buying out the Rift. Marketing exec Guy Longworth revealed how it all went down, with Zuckerberg asking, “Can I have a tech demo?”

Naturally his motivations would be revealed just a few short days later, once the announcement that he had bought their competitor’s product was made public. Longworth jokingly states, “I wish he bought ours. All the folks at Oculus have got big smiles on today.”

While some may not see the Oculus Rift buy-out as direct competition to the Morpheus (as they are for different platforms), others have worried that perhaps Sony won’t be as gung-ho with their venture now that Facebook has planted its flag. However, Longworth sees it a bit differently.  “If you think about VR, not just in terms of gaming, I think wearable technology is a huge trend that’s going to continue. I think that being able to have experiences that are truly deep and immersive…that it somehow makes you feel you are there…is something that people want. If you could really deliver that in the future, that would be huge.” He says.

We’ll bring you more on what Facebook has in store for the Oculus Rift as it breaks.

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