Virtual reality is one of those things that promised so much and got us all excited, but didn’t really deliver, at least not in a way that was affordable and able to match our standards. One of the biggest hold-ups with this tech is the fact that Oculus, the Facebook owned company, has been embroiled in a lawsuit with game publisher ZeniMax Media.
What the Lawsuit Was About
The lawsuit alleged that Oculus had stolen trade secrets from ZeniMax Media to create the virtual reality device back in the spring of 2014. They claimed that their copyrights were violated, with the lawsuit being filed shortly after Facebook acquired Oculus for a fee believed to be $2 billion.
It has hung over the media giant ever since and has been another obstacle for them to have to clear, what with the data scandal that has followed them around throughout 2018.
Recent Developments
A federal court ordered Facebook and Oculus to fork over $500 million to ZeniMax Media, only to change their verdict at the end of June when they announced that the amount would be half that. Still, $250 million is a lot of money for a company still trying to get off the starting blocks and it will no doubt have a big impact on Oculus’ future.
It is also 25% of the amount that Facebook paid for the company, so the reduction to $250 million goes a long way to continuing to make Oculus a viable company for Facebook.
After all, they weren’t the ones who invested the time and money in creating the software, so they will no doubt cut and run if it stops being financially viable, and that would disappoint the company, its founders and all of its fans.
Where is Oculus Now?
The Oculus Rift is a virtual reality headset that was launched in 2016. Initially, the price was very off-putting, made worse by the fact that it needed a high-powered PC to run. These days it has come down slightly, as has the price of the PCs needed to run it, but it is still an expensive headset and is a far cry from the affordable, all-in-one devices that many tech-lovers were hoping for.
Still, they have the basic set and now Oculus can look to improve and create more. They are already getting into more mobile units, although doing so could require the need of an accident and injury lawyer, as well as copyright lawyers, if the world is suddenly filled with perpetually distracted gamers wondering the streets wearing headsets.
