Facebook has officially denied a claim by a New York Times source saying the social network will plaster its logo and interface onto the hardware of its new $2 billion acquisition Oculus.
The New York Times’ Nick Wingfield and Vindu Goel wrote “According to a person involved in the deal who was not allowed to speak publicly because he was not authorized by either company, Facebook eventually plans to redesign the Oculus hardware and rebrand it with a Facebook interface and logo.”
A Facebook spokesperson tells me this is “not true and not in the spirit of our relationship [with Oculus].” The NYT source was likely referring to Oculus’ Rift virtual reality headset. The Oculus doesn’t exactly have a default interface but instead plays a variety of games and cinematic experiences, and Facebook hasn’t shown off any sort of virtual reality navigation system. So the idea of Facebook “rebranding” Oculus with its “interface” doesn’t make a ton of sense.
Facebook says it will allow Oculus to operate independently, similar to it says it runs Instagram, and plans to run WhatsApp — it’s two other biggest major acquisitions. That hasn’t kept Kickstarter backers of the Oculus for complaining about the acquisition.
Though Facebook may keep Oculus independent, that doesn’t mean the parent company will be completely uninvolved. It’s expected to contribute research and development funding, engineering talent, recruiting help, and more to Oculus similar to how Facebook did to supercharge Instagram.
[Image via The Daily Dot]
