The New York Times announced a virtual reality project with Google on Tuesday called NYT VR. As part of that project, the company will send Google Cardboard viewers to print subscribers, according to a press release.
In addition, Times Insider subscribers and a selection of Times digital subscribers will receive promo codes via email to redeem for a free Google Cardboard viewer, which is simple to use and allows anyone to experience virtual reality with a smartphone.
Last month, Gurman Bhatia (who was our Google fellow) wrote about the spread of virtual reality storytelling among news organizations, including Gannett, The Associated Press and the Wall Street Journal. With products like Cardboard, experiencing VR is getting cheaper, Bhatia wrote.
Readers, or viewers, can download apps on their smartphones and use a Google cardboard type viewer – that are priced between $20 – $30 – and experience stories as if they were actually there. Meanwhile, building VR experiences – sometimes referred to as ‘immersive’ or ‘experiential’ storytelling – is getting easier too.
According to the Times, it will send print subscribers Cardboard on Nov. 7 and 8. The first VR film from NYT VR tells the story of three children displaced by war.
