The New York Times is giving away more than a million Google Cardboard headsets to its subscribers and a VR app as part of a new campaign.
"The NYT VR app for iOS and Android will launch on November 5th, and on the weekend of November 7th and 8th, a free Google Cardboard headset will go out to all print subscribers - the Times recently announced that it had 1.1 million of them," The Verge said.
For digital subscribers and Times Insider readers, a promo code will reportedly be sent out via email to redeem a free Cardboard headset.
But all those free VR headsets will be distributed with reason. NYT said they're making a VR film called "The Displaced" which is about three refugee children from eastern Ukraine, Syria and South Sudan. The film was made in collaboration with VR company Vrse.
"Our readers look to The Times for innovative and powerful storytelling and this is The Times at its best," the publication's executive editor Dean Baquet said in a statement.
"Our Magazine team has created the first critical, serious piece of journalism using virtual reality, to shed light on one of the most dire humanitarian crises of our lifetime."
Other VR films are slated for release including a behind-the-scenes look at the mini-documentary "Walking New York" cover image. More are reportedly coming in Dec. and next year.
If you aren't familiar with Google Cardboard, it "is a simple fold-out contraption that you can slip your smartphone inside, enabling you to use it as a VR screen," according to VentureBeat.
"We're excited to support The New York Times' use of immersive storytelling at an unprecedented scale to bring awareness to this important issue," Google's director of project management for VR Mike Jazayeri said.
Tech specs for v2 of the headset were released last month, as Franchise Herald reported.
Those without the Google Cardboard won't be left out. 2D versions of the film will allegedly be available on NYTimes.com.
