After several unsuccessful attempts to return to China after the blockade of Facebook in 2009, Mark Zuckerberg could have the answer in Meta Quest 2. According to The Wall Street JournalTencent is in talks with the American firm to start marketing its virtual reality glasses in the Asian giant.
The aforementioned medium ensures that the Chinese company’s proposal is to become the exclusive seller of the Meta Quest 2 in their country. But the agreement would not be limited to hardware, since Tencent would also be in charge of publishing versions of the games already available on VR headsets, adapted to the Asian market.
If the deal goes through, It may be the most viable alternative for those from Menlo Park to return to China. It is true that Meta never fully left the Asian nation after the blockade of Facebook, but his presence has been limited to keeping his advertising business running. In recent years, Mark Zuckerberg has tried to ingratiate himself with the authorities to regain lost space among the general public, but without luck.
This being the case, an alliance with Tencent—a true technology giant and the main video game publisher in China—may be the most feasible option available to Californians today. However, the story is not as simple as sending a few units of the Meta Quest 2 and letting the Asian company take care of the rest.
Tencent wants to bring Meta Quest 2 to China
An alliance between Tencent and the parent company of Facebook to bring the Meta Quest 2 to China It wouldn’t be easy to solve. First of all, because the relationship between the United States and the Asian giant is going through one of its most tense moments. Therefore, any possible link between companies from both countries could be subject to great scrutiny by the authorities.
But we must not forget the rigorous control and espionage apparatus that the Chinese government has in place, with a special focus on sectors such as the web and video games. In 2021, for example, the authorities prohibited children from playing online for more than three hours a week. Situation that forced companies like Tencent and NetEase to increase their controls and implement a verification system that required the use of real identifications.
And not to mention the doubts that are already generated for the collection and handling of personal data of users. Something for which Meta has historically been criticized, and which could be magnified with the official landing of the Quest 2 glasses in China. Other VR headsets already require users to register under their real identity, and there is nothing to suggest that Californians can evade it.
On the other hand, the hypothetical alliance between Tencent and Mark Zuckerberg’s firm should face increasing competition in the sector. One of the most notorious cases is that of ByteDance, the company behind TikTok. This company already has several models of headset virtual reality created by Pico, a Chinese startup which he acquired in August 2021. Thus, earning a place among potential consumers would not necessarily be easy, even though there are two giant brands behind it.
first conversations
The Wall Street Journal indicates that talks between Meta and Tencent to bring Quest 2 to China only began in recent months. This means that it is not yet known if the agreement will even materialize.. However, it is still interesting that Mark Zuckerberg continues trying to access the Asian giant, especially if we consider the potential number of users that he could try to reach to expand his idea of the metaverse.
It is true that Meta’s commitment to virtual life has not yet yielded great results. Reality Labs, the subsidiary in charge of developing VR headsets like the Meta Quest 2, has proven to be a money-burning machine. and the landscape with Horizon Worldshis first virtual world, isn’t too promising either.
It remains to be seen how this story progresses. If it comes to fruition, the Meta Quest 2 won’t be the first third-party hardware pieces officially sold by Tencent in China. Let us not forget that, since the end of 2019, the firm markets the Nintendo Switch in the Asian giantalthough with a very limited game library.