I don't see it as free money though, its -250 after all
and I view it as supporting an ecosystem that is dead on arrival due to the business practices feeding these headsets to the public.
Smartphones STILL lock you into an OS. You can root but then you're also out of protection from the great gatekeepers of our time, much like warranty and tinkering with devices always has. Nothing is new here, like you correctly pointed out. In fact these walled gardens we speak of are a recent point of discussion up to and including lawsuits (Apple, Google, Epic, etc.), tying directly into what the price for digital distribution might be and how much hardware is allowed to lock consumers in - but also, how individual content creators are capable of marketing product and the share they pay to said gatekeepers, the exposure they get, etc.
But, I'm not here to buy all the hardware I can get, Im mostly buying hardware to do things with and in doing so support and broaden a marketplace/creator space that is valuable. In that sense, gaming has flourished, but mobile gaming most certainly is not taking off in any sort of way we prefer to see. Effectively mobile gaming on those smartphones you mention has been a nail in the coffin for serious games. Its time to connect those dots here wrt VR as well. Is this a long lasting, good creator space that Facebook is funding, or is it in fact more of the same that will and already is devolving into MTX, ad-ridden, F2P bullshit titles? I mean, the great VR games are still rare amongst a sea of half-finished tech demos, let's be real.
In a market that has already evolved and grown, these things have already had an impact (PC/console gaming) and now they're infesting a new creator space in VR. The game is basically corrupted before it really took off. The gems in VR have to already come from big studios because smaller ones are left with ad banners in hopes of budgeting a half decent game. Yep, that'll be fantastic in the long run...
Not with a ten foot pole or even for a 10 dollar entry fee, as long as this party and this policy is needed to make the price as it is. Its not viable that way and never will be, and if it is, its not a place I want to be found in.
That said, I get your argument and stance on it too, why not enjoy it for what it is, but I'm seeing a gross power/balance problem here with consumer versus supplier. I'm not supporting that either, because again, long term it damages us all. Facebook already, evidently, has and continues doing so. Zuckerberg has no shame and his moral compass is so fucked up, you can't even find his direction if you wanted to. Its all and only about cash flow and influence, to an end nobody really understands.
You understand them well, but sales do not equal worthwhile content. Mobile game sales go through the roof too, and what do we get, EA and others reporting year-over-year profit on SKINS and MTX instead of actual content. The actual content is really not all that great or much more than 15 minute dopamine cycles, more often than not. There isn't a lack of
content for VR... there is a lack of great content for it.
The quality content is not fed by ads. Never has, never will and even if it was, because it floats on ad revenue, it could fade any day of the week. One of the supposedly best VR titles right now, Alyx, didn't need or use a single ad to get created. Now find another dev doing the same trick in Facebook's ad-infested creator space. I think you'll be waiting a long time.
