Facebook In Talks With Hollywood For Creation Of Oculus Rift Content

Ever since Facebook acquired Oculus VR for $2 billion earlier this year, it seems like a fire has been lit under the team developing the Oculus Rift. The number of team members has increased, there are rumors that Oculus VR is making its own controllers, and a first-party content team was created. Now Facebook is talking to Hollywood about the creation of content for the Oculus Rift according to The Information.

It seems that studios have already been approached, such as Disney, Fox, Warner Bros., and Paramount, in addition to individual directors, about including an Oculus experience that could act as a film companion or to create full-length features for the Oculus Rift. However, creating film and television media for the Oculus Rift is already underway for Atlantic Productions. Back in April, it was revealed that Sir David Attenborough, known for his wildlife documentary series, is already filming Conquest of the Skies for the Oculus Rift with an eight-camera rig setup that will provide a full 360-degree experience.

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg has been vocal about the potential of Oculus beyond that of just video games. Back in March Zuckerberg wrote a post on Facebook that said, "But this is just the start. After games, we're going to make Oculus a platform for many other experiences. Imagine enjoying a court side seat at a game, studying in a classroom of students and teachers all over the world or consulting with a doctor face-to-face -- just by putting on goggles in your home.”

There is just one problem that could cause studios to refrain from hopping on board the Oculus train and that is the number of units in circulation. If there isn’t a large install base of users, the Oculus Rift Dev Kit 2 had 45,000 preorders, looking for Oculus Rift content, then studios would be disinclined to take such a risk. It’s a problem Oculus VR CEO Brendan Iribe recognizes as he said, “If we do want to get a billion people on virtual reality, which is our goal, we’re not going to sell 1 billion pairs of glasses ourselves. We are openly talking to any kind of partner that wants to jump into VR, and there’s a lot of interest right now.”

Whether Hollywood is ready or not to take the virtual plunge is something we will have to wait for and see.