If you grew up from the 1960s
through the 1980s, chances are you or someone you knew had a distinctive red
image viewer and a stack of flimsy cardboard reels. The classic View-Master
reels could depict scenery, movies, TV shows, or any other visual content in
stereoscopic 3D, with some models even incorporating an audio track. Now, Mattel
has announced a partnership with Google to bring a Car board version of the
View-Master to life with 3D animated reels that introduce kids to the concept
of VR.
The new View-Master will be
available for roughly $30, new “reels” of content will cost roughly $15 in
packs of four and offer a new VR experience that’s tailor-made for children.
The device won’t be wearable, as such — it’ll maintain the interactive elements
that’ve made the View-Master option unique, with application availability
across Android, iOS, and Windows. The device will apparently fit most
smartphones (compatibility has yet to be detailed) and uses an uprated version
of Google Cardboard made from plastic. Content can apparently be purchased in
plastic reels or downloaded via the application (exactly how this works hasn’t
been disclosed yet).
The Verge wasn’t impressed with
the initial run of viewer apps, claiming that the environments look like crude video
games and that the informative captions “don’t do much to help.” The photos are
getting better ratings, and the entire idea of updating a physical, reel-based
system is both nostalgic for existing adults and possibly a cool idea for kids
as well, if the content can be brought up to snuff.
One issue that the Verge brings
up indirectly in its
coverage is the simple fact that VR content will live and die on the strength
of its material. This has been brought up in coverage at Ars
Technica and from
time to time in other areas — gaming that wants to include VR options have to
be explicitly designed for it. Standard video effects that work perfectly well
on a monitor aren’t well suited to a head-mounted display.
Done properly, Mattel’s
View-Master could be an amazing toy that blends old-school physical hardware
with brand-new content in resolutions and quality levels that children in the
1960s could only dream of. If the content is lackluster, however, the Mattel
View-Master will go down as a failed kludge — a device that tried to bridge the
gap between real-world toys and virtual entertainment and fell squarely into
the hole instead.
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