In 2014, Facebook paid $3 billion to acquire Oculus and retain its employees. The new standalone headset will differentiate itself from the rival Vive system made by HTC Corp and the Google Daydream headset, made by Alphabet Inc, because it will not require a smartphone to operate. Facebook will permanently cut the price of the Oculus Rift system to $399 from $499, the company said. Facebook is expected to ship about 213,000 Rift systems this year, while HTC is expected to ship about 305,000 Vive systems, according to Super Data research. The company has been developing software known as Facebook Spaces that allows friends to meet in virtual rooms, and it said it will soon integrate live video.

Source: bd News24 October 11, 2017 19:07 UTC