Mattel and Google want to bring back your childhood memories by dragging that old school favorite – the View-Master – straight to the 21st century. By collaborating with Google Cardboard, the toy company is banking on the emotional and nostalgic appeal of the old toy and producing a modern version of it. Of course, this time you need a smartphone to go with it.
Don’t worry, we won’t judge you if you don’t know what a View-Master is (totally judging, btw). All told, it was one of the most awesome toys one could have as a child of the 80s – gave kids then a peek into a 3D world of global locations, 3D comics, and outer space. There was a viewer and 3D film reels which – with an ample light source – gave kids hours upon hours of fun.
Now, with working with technology from Google Cardboard, original View-Master manufacturer Mattel is bringing it back. Google Cardboard has been one of the revelations of the year, making virtual reality affordable by using cardboard pieces. With that in mind, the new View-Master would be utilizing a smartphone’s screen and some images which have been rendered in 3D specifically for the gadget and presented in an app – much like the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 with the Samsung Gear VR.
The new toy will be released in fall of this year, price point at USD$29.00 which will include one “experience reel” sample. We imagine there will be some spec issues here – Mattel has not yet put out a list of what size of phones will fit into their receptacle, and even what sort of graphics chip will be needed to render this on a phone’s screen.
VIA: SlashGear
Hey, the ViewMaster is much older than the 80s mentioned in the article. I had one as a child in the 50s (perhaps even as early as the late 40s).