Facebook learning the costs of consumer hardware with Oculus
StandardThe social networking giant’s $2 billion bet on the virtual reality pioneer is bringing into focus the real costs of becoming a mass market consumer electronics maker.
analysis
How Oculus Goggles Became More Than a Virtual Reality
StandardBrendan Iribe traces the surprising rise of Oculus VR Inc., FacebookInc.’s second-largest acquisition, to a demonstration in a hotel meeting room two years ago.
The videogame-industry executive had traveled to the hotel in Long Beach, Calif., after meeting with Palmer Luckey, a virtual-reality enthusiast who at the time was planning to launch a crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter Inc.’s website for high-tech goggles. His product eventually became “Oculus Rift.”
3-D Is in Focus at Videogame Conference
StandardProgrammers have long tailored videogames for computers, television consoles and mobile devices. Now they are also targeting three-dimensional simulations enabled by special eyewear, a key focus of a conference this week in San Francisco.
Many developers descending on the Game Developers Conference are expected to come toting prototype videogames, movies and virtual-reality goggles—updates of offerings that ignited a short-lived technology craze in the early 1990s.
Videogame Makers Duke It Out Arena Style
StandardVideogame makers have been grappling with many changes in the past few years, from new living-room consoles to the rise of smartphones. Now they face another challenge: arena-style games like “League of Legends.”
Gamers have flocked by the millions to play the Riot Games Inc. title, which typically pits two teams of five players in battles involving mystical characters called champions. The action is viewed from above—more like a simulated board game than the familiar first-person shooter perspective—and typically played online using PCs rather than consoles.
Videogames Become a Spectator Sport
StandardOn any given day, Jayson Love fires up a personal computer from his Billings, Mont., home and starts his job—playing videogames in front of an audience of thousands.
Why Apple Has Trouble Keeping Its Secrets
StandardIn one of his first interviews after becoming Apple‘s chief executive, Tim Cook vowed to double down on secrecy. It seems to be a hard promise to keep.
Apple Tests iPhone Screens as Large as Six Inches
StandardAs Apple Inc. prepares to unveil both a new high-end iPhone and a cheaper version for the first time next week, it is already working on something bigger.
Apple Stores Glow Less Brightly
StandardApple Inc.’s search for a new head of its retail stores is dragging into its 10th month, at a time when the stores need extra attention: The company recently reported its first drop in store sales in at least four years.
Classic Board Games Win New Fans on Tablets and Online
StandardScrabble might want to consider adding iPad to its dictionary of acceptable words.
Apple Moves to Embrace Videogame Controllers
StandardApple Inc. angling to court makers of sophisticated games and people who play them, is trying to spur the creation of game controllers for its mobile devices and computers.