They are banking on the casual market that doesn't pay attention to this sort of stuff. They were already big on the public name recognition thanks to the Kickstarter, and they have Facebook to bolster them further. Get enough exclusives - timed or otherwise - and they'll look like the peerless successful startup that they so want to be. At least superficially to those that don't understand the nuances of the market.
The gaming enthusiasts are just a small part of the VR pie. I don't think they give a rats ass about alienating them. Hell, they've already gotten a good deal of evangelizing from them before they did their 180.
But there is no casual market right now. The only market currently is the enthusiast market(not counting GearVR) making them 100% of the pie.