ZeniMax VS Facebook/Oculus Court Case

djkav · 18 Jan 2017 at 12:12

So it begins, a trial that is set to last about 3 weeks. Where ZeniMax (former employer of John Carmack) claims that Oculus, Plamer Luckey and John Carmack have used stolen code and IPs in the Rift.

It all stems from before the kickstarter, where it was alleged that Palmer Luckey used ZeniMax resources under a signed NDA on a VR prototype, and also, the code created by Carmack, could belong to ZeniMax.

What does this mean for the future of the Rift, should ZeniMax win?

Source

Update: [URL="http://www.polygon.com/2016/10/28/13462260/oculus-zenimax-lawsuit-expert]Carmack hard drive contains proof of factual inaccuracies in Oculus lawsuit, expert says[/URL]

Rasseru · 23 Jan 2017 at 15:54

yeah i'm following this, its causing problems as I dont know what system to get, especially because fallout vr is my main target for game I want to play & bethesda is owned by zenimax and could easily snub oculus owners and make it vive exclusive by gimping touch.

Whether they will or not remains to be seen, but they could

And thats not even thinking about what happens if the IP in the rift is someone elses

ArmitageShanks · 23 Jan 2017 at 21:28

Unlikely to happen - at worst there will just be a big payout from Facebook. The PC VR market is small enough that Bethesda would be stupid to snub half of its potential VR customers.

You could, of course, just get a Vive and stop worrying

Rasseru · 23 Jan 2017 at 21:54

but but but, the touch controllers look so nice & comfy.

And also Oculus are likely to block people from playing games because facebook

I'd actually be happy if they did snub oculus with one of the best games to immerse yourself in. All we need is fallout 4 with decoupled head & decent shooting mechanics and i'm playing that for ages

SKILL · 23 Jan 2017 at 22:53

ArmitageShanks said:
Unlikely to happen - at worst there will just be a big payout from Facebook. The PC VR market is small enough that Bethesda would be stupid to snub half of its potential VR customers.

You could, of course, just get a Vive and stop worrying

You say that but several developers have done exactly the opposite, e.g. 'snub' Vive users in favour of the 'closed garden' of the Oculus store...

Although either way if you're willing to fiddle around with ReVive/ReRift it won't be a huge issue, personally I can't be bothered with the hassle but many do.

Interesting court case though, especially as a software engineer, but it'll just end up with company A paying company B a chunk of cash, nowhere near 2 billion though

ArmitageShanks · 24 Jan 2017 at 19:23

SKILL said:
You say that but several developers have done exactly the opposite, e.g. 'snub' Vive users in favour of the 'closed garden' of the Oculus store...

I don't think they snubbed it deliberately, just a cash grab in exchange for limited exclusivity (developers have to eat like the rest of us!)

SKILL · 24 Jan 2017 at 21:19

Some are cash grabs sure, but things like Assetto Corsa? afaik they didn't get any Oculus/FB cash but are still Rift only...

ArmitageShanks · 25 Jan 2017 at 14:02

SKILL said:
Some are cash grabs sure, but things like Assetto Corsa? afaik they didn't get any Oculus/FB cash but are still Rift only...

True, they won't be seeing my cash.
The same could be said for titles on Steam that don't officially support the Rift (and some like Google Earth that actively block it).

redrevis · 1 Feb 2017 at 23:22

Zenimax Awarded $500 Million Judgement in Oculus VR Lawsuit

Curlyriff · 2 Feb 2017 at 13:17

Honestly not surprised with outcome and think it was justified.

Absorbentsolid · 2 Feb 2017 at 17:03

I hope Bethesda don't snub you Rift owners with Fallout 4.