We're all impressed and excited by the potential of the Oculus Rift virtual reality goggles. It's amazing technology, but persuading game developers to actually invest time and money in implementing it will be no small challenge. Today, Oculus VR revealed it has hired former Electronic Arts senior vice president David De Martini to tackle that challenge with its new publishing initiative.
De Martini's official title at Oculus VR is Head of Worldwide Publishing, where he will be “providing Oculus developers additional resources to help them achieve their vision,” according to the company's blog .
Before coming to Oculus, De Martini worked at EA's Partners program, the company's co-publishing arm, which worked with other development studios on games like Brütal Legend, Crysis, and Titanfall.
De Martini didn't go into too much detail about what he'll be doing at Oculus VR or what this new publishing initiative will be responsible for exactly, but he said that it'll be similar to the work he did with the EA Partners program. “I'm figuring out how to partner effectively with big developers, small developers, all the way down to the individual who just wants to make something great for the Rift,” He told Gamasutra .
In addition to game developers, he plans to meet with people outside the games industry who may be interested in the Oculus Rift for other entertainment or educational purposes. There isn't a formal process in place yet, but for now he suggests that interested developers join Oculus' Developer Center , or contact him directly at david@oculusvr.com .
De Martini's joining Oculus VR comes on the heels of the news that the company has secured $75 million in Series B funding . De Martini is also in good company, with the recent news that Id's John Carmack joined Oculus VR as its chief technical officer .
