My conspiracy theory is that it was wildly successful, because the point wasn’t creating whatever VR space they claimed wanted to happen; it was to cover up the story of the Facebook papers. The timing lines up (both in October 2021 within a day or two). The additional patents acquired in the process are just a nice little bonus.
Investors ate up the idea from someone who has a history of wildly successful growth. And we all know, it would have been outcry from investors that caused any real change (in America at least) about Facebook’s business practices.
One of the parts that gets me is there is a good opportunity for more sales there (if that should happen is another debate I don’t have the energy for). A few years ago I bought an electric kettle. So cue months of ads for electric kettles. It’s a kettle, you only need one. Now if I had been shown different teas or coffees, stuff I would use the kettle to make, they would have absolutely hooked me easily. I had a new toy, I was excited to use it, I would have loved trying new teas with it. I still did, but they were all ones I chose.