View-Master

It was announced yesterday at the New York Toy Fair that Mattel’s View-Master is ditching the film ‘reels’ and partnering with Google “to deliver an affordable, kid-friendly immersive digital experience”  using a chunky plastic version of Google’s Cardboard smartphone viewer for educational VR experiences.

See Also: Google: ‘Cardboard is a Placeholder,’ 6,000 Kits and 50,000+ App Downloads in First Week

Rifting on an already well-established concept, which dates back to the wooden stereoscopes of the early 1800s, the View-Master 1939 design offered the mass market a compact and affordable way to virtually tour the world through stereoscopic 3D pictures, one that because of the rugged design and cheap materials, soon found its way into the hands of children.

Mattel wants to honor this tradition by partnering with Google to produce a new View-Master, one that like Google’s Cardboard VR viewer, uses the graphical power and display of a user-owned Android smartphone to drive VR experiences. With its iconic red and orange construction, the updated View-Master is both a physical product as well as a software platform that is targeted towards kids to deliver age-appropriate content, so children can “explore and learn about famous places, landmarks, nature, planets and more in 360 degree photospheres” that also promises to be interactive when pairing the View-Master’s ‘experience reel’ and special Android app.

‘Experience reels’ may look like the old cardboard stereoscopic reels, but through a yet unreleased method (likely NFC badges that allow access to proprietary downloads) include adventure and science-oriented destinations, each with multiple areas for explorations.

Just what age group Mattel is aiming for with their new smartphone adapter, has also yet to be revealed. The notable absence however of an included head strap indicates that like Cardboard, the device is meant for short bursts of VR content consumption, a fact that might assay the Consumer Product Safety Commission from wording the View-Master’s inevitable health and safety warning too strongly.

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A video from the Google-dedicated site, 9 to 5 Google, shows a brief encounter with the prototype View-Master, that according to ‘9 to 5’ will also be compatible with iOS devices by Christmas 2015.

The new virtual reality View-Master is coming out in the fall of 2015, retailing at an MSRP of $29.99 for the viewer and included sample ‘experience reel’, an accessory to be sold separately in $15 packs in the future. The low cost (minus the investment in the smartphone driving the device) and trusted kid-friendly design of Mattel’s products, will without a doubt put the new View-Master in a position to become a ‘VR first’ for many.

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Scott Hayden
Well before the first modern XR products hit the market, Scott recognized the potential of the technology and set out to understand and document its growth. He has been professionally reporting on the space for nearly a decade as Editor at Road to VR, authoring more than 4,000 articles on the topic. Scott brings that seasoned insight to his reporting from major industry events across the globe.
  • Don Gateley

    I think this is exciting. It’s enough to find out all that is possible with the Cardboard VR and its infrastructure. I’m in line for a more expensive version on a KS project but will definitely try this when it happens. When I first heard about Cardboard (here, of course) the name Mattel immediately went through my head. Who better. They have all the necessary pieces; experience, engineering, manufacturing, distribution and sales and have demonstrated great competence at each over a long period of time (much longer than most of today’s company’s have existed.)

    I really like the look of the face conforming adapter. It’s novel and could be superior. It’s pretty clear too that it is replaceable/interchangeable (assuming it is stretched and not bonded) and that can be used to accomodate different size faces. The fixed IPD is troublesome, however and I hope they move beyond that in the final version. They almost have to for the broad age range that can make up the total market for it.

    I also like their innovation of using capacitive connection for control. The magnet didn’t work for my Galaxy Nexus as it hasn’t for many other devices. This has the potential to be much more universal.

    Last but hardly least, a partnership with Google is valuable beyond measure.

  • VRMatthew

    This is big for a couple of reasons. First, and I must say, Google is BRILLIANT, by targeting children, Google has effectively WON the VR race…eventually. While Oculus will no doubt be a big player in VR, I sense they will be one of many fighting for the pole position. Many feel Oculus will win the race and be the next Apple. Maybe, but 10 years from now the first batch of kids who grew up on View Master will be looking for the best and latest adult View Masters. Google just has to OWN this category and is guaranteed loyal customers for life. The best part is…this is not vapourware…it is coming out this fall for $29, plus an Android device which MILLIONS of kids have. Truly Brilliant. I need to ponder with the gravity of this power.