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Comment by local_dev | Hacker News Reader

> People seem to think this is Facebook injecting ads into games all willy nilly

Based on previous behavior, this isn't an unfounded line of thinking. Many of the statements made by FB in regards to Occulus, while true at the time of the statement, have been completely reversed.

It is completely fair to expect that, at some point in the future, FB will inject ads into any VR app on Occulus at will.

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> It is completely fair to expect that, at some point in the future, FB will inject ads into any VR app on Occulus at will.

"Once we can roll back some of Halliday's ad restrictions, we estimate we can sell up to 80% of an individual's visual field before inducing seizures [...]"

That book/movie was such a missed opportunity to say something meaningful about a VR future, but it just kinda doesn’t follow through. In part, it is what I noted before. It lacks any meaningful humanity. There is a narrative acknowledgment that poverty, personal reinvention, and power exist, but it’s paint on the wall. No choices were contingent on them. No sacrifices made in response to them. None of it matters.

Then also - there is little future in it. Immersive VR is almost entirely where the future starts and stops. Everything else is mined from pop culture.

That's about as likely as Nintendo or Sony indiscriminately rendering ads on top of the viewport while a game is running on their consoles. It's never gonna happen.

I disagree. Nintendo and Sony don't earn the majority of their profits by selling ads. Facebook does. Nintendo and Sony customer base is people buying games while FB's customer base is advertisers. At the end of the day, each company will do what it must to retain/acquire customers.

Edit: fixing typos

Nintendo I agree with whole-heartedly. Sony, not so much. They sell consoles at a loss [0], and make up the difference with licensing and percentage-of-game sales from publishers.

Meaning I am Nintendo's customer, Epic Games (I... think(?) they make PS5 games) is Sony's customer, and assorted advertisers are FaceBook's.

[0] https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/sony-is-selling-th...

About as likely as youtube interrupting a chamber music concert or classical symphony to show ads. It's never gonna happen... surely, right?

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