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Oculus Quest 2 virtual reality headset: Facebook's flagship glasses are not available in Germany
Photo: Oculus
Excursions into virtual reality (VR) without annoying cables: Facebook's Oculus Quest and Oculus Quest 2 headsets lure them in. And apparently, the so-called stand-alone devices, which do not require an expensive gaming PC, are being used by interested users also good.
The Oculus Quest 2, which has been on the market since October, is, according to Facebook boss Mark Zuckerberg, "on the way to becoming the first mainstream VR headset".
How often Quest 2, the successor to Quest published in spring 2019, has sold so far, Zuckerberg did not say in a phone call with investors.
He noted, however, that there are now 60 studios that develop content for Oculus devices and make "millions in sales".
That is twice as many as a few months ago.
Zuckerberg also described the Quest 2 as one of the most popular Christmas gifts of the past year and already made hints of plans for new hardware.
Facebook has turned over 885 million dollars in its business areas outside of the advertising business in the fourth quarter, the company said itself.
Exactly how much of this is made up of headsets and VR games that are sold via an Oculus online store - it should be at least half, probably more.
For Facebook as a whole, the "other" sales are meanwhile of little importance: The company made 27 billion dollars with advertisements.
There is a sales stop in Germany
In any case, Oculus’s German business is much smaller than it could be.
Facebook has taken the Oculus Quest off the market in this country, Quest 2 never appeared.
Quest 2 can be ordered through retailers such as the French or Italian Amazon, and all glasses that are already on the market can still be used.
Officially, however, both Quest models have been withheld from users from Germany since October.
The sales stop is a reaction by Facebook to a procedure that the Federal Cartel Office has initiated against the company.
It deals with Facebook's controversial attempt to link the use of Oculus headsets to a Facebook account.
Quest 2 cannot be used at all without a link to Facebook.
The situation is annoying for VR fans: Even those who would be willing to link their Facebook account to a new headset will not find any German offers for Quest glasses outside of the second-hand market.
In response to a request from SPIEGEL on Thursday, Oculus said there was no news on the subject.
Something is happening at the Bundeskartellamt
However, the dispute over Facebook's VR division has not stood still, it is even getting a new facet.
The Bundeskartellamt points out on its website that the amendment to the law against restraints of competition came into force on January 19.
The new rules should make it easier for the authority to take action against the market power of the digital corporations.
On Thursday, the Federal Cartel Office said that the procedure for Facebook and Oculus is now being expanded and that it is examining “whether Facebook falls under the new regulations for companies with paramount cross-market importance for competition (Section 19a GWB) and that the links between the services are to be measured against this is «.
"The new options for intervening in digital corporations require that the company has an 'outstanding cross-market importance'," said Andreas Mundt, President of the Federal Cartel Office.
"This is characterized in particular by an ecosystem that extends across various markets - an economic position of power that is difficult to attack," said Mundt.
"With a view to the strong market presence of Facebook with the social network of the same name, WhatsApp and Instagram, such a position comes into consideration." This is the first case in which the Cartel Office wants to make use of the new regulations.
Presumably, Oculus will soon be back in the headlines in this country when virtual reality meets the reality of competition protectors.
It is currently difficult to predict when exactly this will happen.
For the time being, those interested in Quest 2 from Germany, who click on the “Buy Now” button on the official Oculus website, will probably end up in nowhere.
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